Forensic Psychology
Professor David Canter
Part I: Nailing Forensic Psychology: A moving target
p024: Reliability: How consistently a procedure measures what it measures. (e.g. elastic measuring tape gives different results for every measure.) Validity: How well it measures what it claims to measure. (a proxy metric)
p031: Studying criminals means people who are convicted of crime. Not everyone who does something morally wrong, is legally a criminal.
p034: Criminal characteristics:
Mostly men (80%)
usually mid- to late teens
coming from dysfunctional families
access to other criminals (friends, family) [crimes as behaviour is normalized]
they probably have low education
p035:
nature vs. nurture; some general personality traits - desire for excitement, impulsivity and low intelligence
Many thieves see burglary as an exciting opportunity and not a carefully considered way of making money.
p037: Female offenders:
Commit less crimes (only 20% see above)
Court decisions tend to be more lenient towards women for reasons like:
motherhood
perception of less wickedness
p039: Thinking about crime:
Denial: It didn't happen or not as being claimed.
Justification: Moral authority, need or entitlement to the crime.
Minimisation: It wasn't that bad.
Rationalisation: Shifting the blame to the victim (Opportunity makes thieves, Victim shaming/blaming), "If they didn't want to get robbed they shouldn't have carried a wallet."
p041: Personality traits more common in criminals than non-criminals
External locus of control: The idea if wether one controls their own destiny (internal locus) or fate (external locus) does. Criminals tend to the latter, however research isn't cut-clear.
Lack of empathy: Some criminals don't have the ability to feel what others/their victims are feeling.
Lack of self-control: Impulsivity or a reluctance to delay gratification. Some highly successful people are on the opposite spectrucm.
Search for excitement: Many criminals are sensation seekers, that enjoy the excitement of committing a crime.
p043: Mental Disorders:
Sadism: origin Marquis de Sade Causing suffering and humiliating the victim gives pleasuer to the sadist, they are likely to be fascinated by weapons and violence.
Narcissism: A narcissist is wholly preoccupied with success, hypersensitive to criticism, self-important and feels entitled to admiration. They can get furious when being ignored and their desires not met, in these cases they might attack.
Borderline Personality Disorder: People with mood swings, difficulties forming stable relastionships and getting intensly angry without reason.
p135: 4 prevalent criminal narratives:
Being on Adventure: Crime is seen as exciting escape (escapism from boring reality, and search for excitement). Spoils go to the victor, here the offender.
Being on a heroic mission: Avening insult or defending/restoring honour of self or others (see honour killings). Offender sees himself as justified hero.
Being a tragic victim: Offender feels to always draw the short stick and being a misunderstood.
Being a professional: Usually older ones see crime as just what they do and might develop some professionl pride (like robbing a bank with noone getting hurt)
p141: Working on violent crimes:
Expressive violence: an outburst of emotional feelings
Instrumental violence: Violence is being used as a means to an end.
p175: Tony Blair (british PM) 'tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime' Succeeding only in displacing crime:
Moving area: crime spots are getting surveiled by CCTV cameras so different crime spots emerge.
changing timing: burglaries happen when security guards shift or are away.
changing operational procedures: wearing hoodies to prevent identification, car thefts at gunpoint due to new key technologies.
changing nature or targets: terrorists attack civilians as politicians increase security
p179: Reducing crime rate by changing the law.
abolishing prohibition
legalising homosexuality
legalising drugs The crime rate looks better now but alcoholism and drug abuse are still a problem.
p182: Strategies to negotiate with kidnappers:
Confirmation: Assuring the kidnapper has authority over the hostage and giving them room to manoeuvre "I know you can do it, I don't want you to make it worse."
Authorisation: Building rapport with the kidnapper against a higher power "I want to give you a car to get out, but the higher ups don't let me."
Complicating: Introducing circumstances the kidnapper might not have thought of hence limiting their assumptions on whats possible.
Testing: Directly challenging the hostage-taker about what they are threatening. Stating they are not going to hame the hostage if there is a peaceful solution.
p191: Personality test: Projective Procedures:
Rohrschach inkblot: looking at ambigous images indicate aspects of subconsious mind.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Stories about ambigous images are interpreted.
Szondi Test: Novel tes asking which face drawing is preferred, to indicate mental state. Objective Questionaire style tests:
Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI): 600 Binary questions
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI): Assessment of mental illness.
Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): 344 Questions to assess problems for treament planning Measure of intellect/cognition:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): Standard intelligence test
Trail Making Tests A and B: testing how quickly a person can do visual tasks
Luria-Nebraska Neurophysiological Battery: 269 items to measure brain functions.A
p198: Thinking abilities:
Attention: Ability to focus on a specific task and readiness to be distracted.
Memory: Ability to remember short and long term.
Reasoning: Ability to draw logical conclusions from presented information.
p199: Personality Dimensions
Agreeablness
Consientiousness
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Openeness see
p208: Malingering, faking symptoms/illness physically or mentally p211: Multiphasic Sex Inventory, more info needed. p213: Psychopath are lucid and coherent without signs of learning disability, they can be superficially charming and intelligent enough to be plausible on first acquaintance. Some DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual):
Paranoid: Seeing other people as demeaning, threatinig and untrustworthy.
Schizoid: Being indifferent to others, solitary and with limited emotional expression.
Borderline: Rapid mood changes, intense anger, fear abandonment.
Histrionic: often superficial but great excess of emotional reactions, attention seeking.
Narcissitic: Extremely self-important, feeling of entitlement to admiration, upset when criticised.
Antisocial: displaying behaviour disorders and irresponsibility, lack of remorse from 15 years old onward.
p215: psychopathy checklist Movies that display psychopathy with some psychological insight: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari No Country for Old Men
Type 1: superficially charming, pathological liars, callous and remorseless, e.g. Patricia Highsmith's fictional Tom Ripley
Type 2: antisocial tendencies, more obviously criminal with juvenile delinquencies, impulsive and irresponsible Selfish, callous psychopathy (Type 1):
Glibly, but superficially, charming
Grandiose feeling of self-importance
Pathological liar - lies even when no need exists
Manipulates others; cunning
Lacks remorse or any feelings of guilt
Doesn't really feel strongly about anything (see: Suzanne Grieger Langer on psychopaths)
Lacks empathy
Doesn't accept responsibility for own actions
Deviant Psyochopath (Type2)
Easily bored, needs excitement (see: Suzanne Grieger Langer on psychopaths)
Feeds of other people
No realistic, long-term goals
Impulsive
Irresponsible
Lack of control over actions
Behavioural problems in childhood
Juvenile Delinquency
Different types of offending
Abuses any conditions set by the courts Both types also tend to promiscuous sexual behaviour and many short-term relationships
p234: Battered women syndrome
Development of ways of surviving (for example, through appeasement rather than escaping)
Low self-esteem
Depression
Self-blame (the victim mistakenly believes the abuse is her fault and that she can do something to stop it happening in the future)
A genuine fear for her life or her children's welfare
p237: Munchausen Syndrome (Münchhausen-Syndrom) Munchausen syndrom is where a person seeks medical treatment from self-inflicted or non-existent symptoms. Munchause syndrom by proxy is where a parent forces medical attention on her child, a form of child abuse. Typical characteristics:
Mother is highly involved with her child and father is emotionally distant.
Parent is emotionally empty, unable to feel for other people and lonely.
Parent experienced childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse
Appears as an ideal, very concerned parent
Parent is over-protective and obsessed with child's illness. p226: Movie "The runaway Jury" p332: B.F. Skinner - Stages in the wise parenting process:
Building rapport and trust with the family by relating to theis daily concerns and experiences.
Establishing goals of what the family wants to achieve (see "Lack of commitment issue in 5 dysfunctions of a Team)
Reviewing any success in achieving initial changes, however small, so that the family begins to feel that the process is having some effect.
Identify parenting skills that can be developed and tried out between sessions with the therapist.
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