cognitive

• level of moral reasoning: moral development -

  • Kohlberg (1968) proposed peoples decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning - the higher the stage , the more sophisticated the reasoning
  • based theory on peoples responses to a series of moral dilemmas
  • studies suggested that offenders tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-offenders
  • showed that a group of violent youths were at a significantly lower level of moral development than non-violent youths - even after controlling for social background
• level of moral reasoning: link with criminality -

  • offenders more likely to classified at the pre-conventional level of Kohlberg's model (stages 1 and 2)
  • non-offenders have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond
  • pre-conventional level - characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards - associated with less mature childlike reasoning
• level of moral reasoning: link with criminality -

  • offenders more likely to be classified at pre-conventional level of Kohlberg's model (stages 1, 2)
  • non-offenders generally progressed to conventional level and beyond
  • pre-conventional level - need to avoid punishment + gain rewards - associated with less mature childlike reasoning
  • study support - offenders often egocentric + display poorer social perspective-taking skills
  • individuals who reason at higher levels sympathise more with rights of others and exhibit conventional behaviours (honesty, generosity, non-violence)
• cognitive distortions -

  • errors or biases in peoples information processing system characterised by faulty thinking
  • research linked this to the way in which offenders interpret other peoples behaviour and justify their own actions
• hostile attribution bias -

  • evidence suggests a propensity for violence is often associated with a tendency to misinterpret the actions of others
  • offenders may misread non-aggressive cues which may trigger a disproportionate, violent response
  • Jusyte (2014) presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions - when compared to control group, violent offenders significantly more likely to perceive images as angry and hostile
  • roots may be apparent in childhood
• minimalisation -

  • an attempt to deny or downplay the seriousness of an offence - elsewhere been referred to as the application of a 'euphemistic label' for behaviour
  • eg burglars may describe themselves as 'doing a job' or 'supporting my family' to minimise the seriousness of their offences
  • studies suggest that individuals who commit sexual offences are particularly prone to minimalisation
  • Barbaree (1991) found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim