Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour

1. Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour Violence and Homicide

2. Definition of Dangerousness • Behavior likely to result in physical and/or psychological trauma • Mental health professionals involved in predicting future risk of dangerousness • Accuracy of prediction: a complex & controversial task • huge indicator is a hx of violent offending

3. Aggression & Violence • Aggression: behavior perpetrated or attempted with the intention of harming another individual physically or psychologically or to destroy an object. • Violence: Actual, attempted, or threatened physical harm that is deliberate and non-consenting

4. Types of Aggression • Hostile (or expressive) aggression: occurs in response to anger-inducing conditions, such as real or perceived insults, physical attacks, or one’s own failures. • Instrumental aggression: begins with competition or the desire for some object or status possessed by another person.

5. Violence as a Choice • The proximal cause of violence is a decision to act violently • The decision may be influenced by a host of biological, psychological, and social factors

6. Theoretical Perspectives on Aggression • Frustration-aggression hypothesis: wanting to achieve or obtain a desired goal but blocked frustration acting out aggressively • Social Learning: children learn, model/observe, their environment. • **Most research supports the notion that human aggression is primarily learned (early learning and socialization).

7. Cognitive Models of Aggression • Hostile attribution bias: individuals prone to violence are more likely to interpret ambiguous actions as hostile and threatening • Weak ability to control cognitions (i.e., poor self regulatory controls) impulsivity (acting out) violent outcome

8. How do people with apparently “good” structures commit horrible crimes? • social learning theory: certain circumstance breakdown in self-regulatory mechanisms disengagement from conduct • Dehumanizing: serial killers view victims as objects rather than humans • People will engage in conduct that goes against their morals if dictated by authority

9. Overt and Covert Aggressive Actions

10. Homicide • Homicide: • An act in which the life of one person is lost at the hands of another. • Criminal homicide is murder when: • The perpetrator intended to cause death or bodily harm likely to result in death. • First-, Second-degree murder, Manslaughter

11. Homicide • Incidence and Patterns (2002) • Frequency in Canada • 582 criminal homicides (1% of violent crimes) • 1.9 per 100, 000 • Nature of Homicide in Canada • Location (Private residence, 60%) • Number of Victims (Lone victim, 94%) • Victims (Male, Young, Family Members) • Suspects (Male, Young, Known to victim)

12. Homicide • General View of Homicide • Reactive violence vs. Instrumental Violence • Homicide is often the final word in an argument arising between people who know each other and who are engaged in their normal activities (Linden, 2004)

13. Homicide as “Crime of Passion” • Cognitive Self-Regulation • Excitation Transfer Theory (Zillman, 1979, 1983) • Arousal produced in one situation can persist and intensify emotional reactions occurring in subsequent situations • Impairment of cognitive processes

14. Homicide as “Crime of Passion” Prior Event An aversive earlier event creates frustration, emotional arousal. Frustrating Event Anger and frustration from prior event influences subsequent emotions and appraisal of current events. Cognitive Processes Impaired and subsequent actions are more impulsive.

15. Homicide as “Crime of Passion” • Dispositional or Personality Perspective • Violent Men(Hans Toch, 1969) • Certain personalities more likely to react violently in certain circumstances. • Violence can be traced to • Habitual response patterns • Past effectiveness in dealing with conflictual, interpersonal relationships • Humiliation/Threats to reputation and status.

16. Homicide as “Crime of Passion” • Dispositional or Personality Perspective • Edwin Megargee (1966) • The Undercontrolled offender: • Few inhibitions against aggressive behaviour. • Aggression becomes a habitual response when angry/upset. • The Overcontrolled Offender • Well-established inhibitions against aggressive behaviour, and rigidly adheres to them, even in the face of provocation. • When frustration and provocation overwhelm – excessive violence

17. Homicide as “Cold Calculation” • Multiple Murder • Serial murder: • A minimum of three victims over time • Cooling-off period • Spree murder: • Three or more victims without a cooling-off period, usually at two or three different locations. • Mass murder: • Three or more victims at a single location with no cooling-off period between the killings

18. Homicide as “Cold Calculation” • Criminal Profiling • The process of identifying personality traits, behavioural patterns, geographical habits, and demographic features of an offender based on characteristics of the crime.

19. Homicide as “Cold Calculation” • Assumptions of the profiling process: • The crime scene reflects the personality • The offender’s personality will not change • The method of operation remains similar • The signature will remain the same **This = the offender’s Modus Operandi (M.O.)

20. Homicide as “Cold Calculation” • Assumptions of the profiling process: • Personation or signature • Anything that goes beyond what is necessary to commit the crime. • Staging • The intentional alteration of a crime scene prior to the arrival of the police.

21. Sexual Homicide • What is Sexual Homicide? • The intentional killing of a person during which there is sexual behaviour by the perpetrator. • A sexual element (activity) as the basis for the sequence of acts leading to death.

22. Sexual Killers Slightly older, average age 28 years Single White, Aboriginal Paraphilia (up to 50% of cases) Sadism Criminal History (see Beauregard, 2012)

23. Sexual Killers - Victims • Female strangers • Female acquaintances • Males • White, Aboriginal – intraracial crimes • Drug or alcohol users • Prostitutes are frequent targets • Children can be also

24. Sexual Killers – What they do • Close contact killing techniques (hands, beating, stabbing) Disposed of body outdoors • Kept souvenirs • Only 10% had sex with body after death • Less than 5% on average mutilated body parts • Many engaged in overkill • Many had sex with victim before death

25. Organized Type General traits: Planning and premeditation Maintenance of control of self and the victim Often the victim is moved from the abduction area to another secluded area Disorganized Type General traits: No premeditation or planning Impulsive, anger, extreme excitement Victim’s body left in view; no alteration of crime scene Sexual Homicide

26. Serial Killers • A Profile of the “Typical” Serial Killer • Diagnosis of Mental Illness • Absence of Axis I disorders • Psychopathy, Major personality disorders • Age • Relatively older (Median age of 36 years) • Criminal History • History of non-violent offences, No juvenile history • Geographic location • A large number select victims near their current residence or place of work.

27. Serial Killers • Typology of Serial Killers • The Visionary Serial Killer • Motivation • Delusional visions and/or thoughts. • Pattern of Homicide • Highly disorganized; Spontaneous with little planning. • Ed Gein • He believed that by eating the corpses of women who looked like his mother, he could preserve his mother's soul inside his body(creating furniture with skin and body parts)

28. Serial Killers • Typology of Serial Killers • The Mission-Oriented Serial Killer • Motivation • A belief there is a particular group of people who are undesirable and who must be destroyed or eliminated. • Not psychotic; Function on a day-to-day basis without demonstrating aberrant behaviour. • Example: Peter Sutcliffe • Claimed voices told him to clean up the streets of prostitutes (also had a fight with a prostitute for payment… UK, prostitute user) – murdered 13 women

29. Serial Killers • Typology of Serial Killers • The Hedonistic Serial Killer • Motivation • Kills for the sheer pleasure • Aspect they enjoy varies • Lust Killer, Thrill Killer, Creature-Comfort Killer • Example: Dave Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) • Got a thrill out of shooting young couples in cars at random and then running away without ever physically touching the victims (enjoyed publicity)

30. Serial Killers • Typology of Serial Killers • The Power/Control Serial Killer • Motivation • To gain and exert power over their victim • Pattern of Homicide • Ritualistic Elements • Example: Cameron Hooker • Kidnapped a woman and held her hostage as a sex slave for several years (the woman in a box)

31. Serial Killers • Psychology and Development • Little valid empirical knowledge • The MacDonald Triad • Some serial killers display one or more of the following warning signs in childhood (un-validated theory) • Fire-Starting • Cruelty to Animals • Persistent Bedwetting

32. Risk Assessment • only an aid to expert testimony Relevant indicators for future crime • Previous violent conduct • Substance abuse hx • Young age Risk Assessment Tools: -HCR-20 -VRAG -PCL-R

33. Risk Prediction Will – Did (True Positive) Did Not (False Positive) Will Not – Did (False Negative) Did Not (True Negative)

34. Risk Assessment tools • They change depending on recent research • Must stay up to date! • Must have the qualifications to use the tool • Must understand certain risk factors and literature behind it

35. VRAG-R • Living with both parents until age 16 – no • Elementary school maladjustment – severe • History of alcohol or drug problems • Marital status – never married • Lots of previous nonviolent convictions • Failure on conditional release • Age at index offense (younger = more risk) • Lots of previous violent convictions

36. VRAG-R • Prior admissions to correctional institutions (more = risky) • Conduct Disorder • Sex Offending (hands on, female adult) • PCL-R, facet 4, antisociality

37. HCR-20 • Historical Scale (History of problems with...) • H1.  Violence • H2.  Other Antisocial Behavior • H3.  Relationships • H4.  Employment • H5.  Substance Use • H6.  Major Mental Disorder • H7.  Personality Disorder • H8.  Traumatic Experiences • H9.  Violent Attitudes • H10.  Treatment or Supervision Response

38. HCR-20 • Clinical Scale (Recent problems with...) • C1.  Insight • C2.  Violent Ideation or Intent • C3.  Symptoms of Major Mental Disorder • C4.  Instability • C5.  Treatment or Supervision Response

39. HCR-20 • Risk Management Scale (Future problems with...) • R1.  Professional Services and Plans • R2.  Living Situation • R3.  Personal Support • R4.  Treatment or Supervision Response • R5.  Stress or Coping