Cognitive Psychology

▪ Humans’ ability to engage in complex thoughts influences behavior. ▪ Cognitions (like behaviors) can be learned. ▪ Focus on: ▪ Cognitive structure (how people think) ▪ Cognitive content (what people think) Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Structure ▪ HOW WE THINK (Consistent Patterns) • Often, what we are not thinking ▪ Self-control ▪ Ability to empathize ▪ Ability to morally reason ▪ Ability to control anger

Policy Implication of Cog Structure • Cognitive Skills • Build empathy, or self control • Improve moral reasoning • HOW? Using principles of behaviorism • Model, practice, reinforce…

Cognitive Content ▪ Rationalizations or denials that support criminal behavior ▪ For example, a criminal thinks, “I’m not really hurting anyone.” • Extremely common for sex offenders ▪ Criminals are more likely to express such thoughts • Sociologists are often skeptical (time-ordering) • Psychologists: NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

Policy Implications of Cognitive Content ▪ Cognitive restructuring attempts to change the content of an individual’s thoughts. ▪ Confront antisocial attitudes when they are expressed • “The judge/lawyer screwed me!” • You are in this position because of your behavior, and this is your responsibility. • “I didn’t really hurt anyone” • Lets read the victim impact statement, or look at what happens to victims of this type of offense

Theory in Action ▪ Multisystematic therapy (MST) ▪ Creator Scott Henggeler and associates ▪ Comprehensive approach that targets many areas for change ▪ Very behavioral • Parenting Skills/Support • Cognitive Skills/Cognitive Restructuring • Shifting Reward/Punishment Balance • Model program for rehabilitaiton

Personality and Crime ▪ Crime and delinquency related to the presence of some personality trait ▪ Personality trait: a characteristic of an individual that is stable over time and across different social circumstances • Examples? ▪ Personality: the sum of personality traits that define a person

Personality Traits and Crime ▪ A number of related traits combine to form dimensions (super factors) ▪ Several different models ▪ Five-factor model ▪ Tellegen’s personality model ▪ Recent studies use the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)

Personality Traits and Crime ▪ Personality dimensions in the MPQ ▪ Constraint ▪ Traditionalism ▪ Harm avoidance ▪ Control ▪ Negative emotionality ▪ Aggression ▪ Alienation ▪ Stress reaction

Personality Traits ▪ MPQ predicts crime pretty well • Negative emotionality and constraint (but not positive emotionality) • Does so across race, sex, culture (New Zealand study), and class.

Criminal Personality:The Psychopath ▪ A distinct “criminal personality” ▪ One of the oldest concepts in criminology • “MORAL INSANITY”

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) from DSM-IV 1. Disregard for the rights of others. At least three of the following: behaves in a way that is grounds for arrest, deceitful and manipulative, impulsive, aggressive, irresponsible, lack of remorse 2. Age 18 or older 3. A history of child conduct disorder 4. Antisocial behavior not a product of schizophrenic episode

“Psychopath” is narrower concept • Hervey Cleckley’s (1957) The Mask of Sanity • Key features: Manipulative, Superficial charm, Above-average intelligence, Absence of psychotic symptoms, Absence of anxiety, Lack of remorse, Failure to learn from experience, Egocentric, Lack of emotional depth • Other Characteristics: Trivial Sex life, Unreliable, Failure to follow a life plan, Untruthful, Suicide attempts rarely genuine, Impulsive, Antisocial behavior

HARE PCL • The Psychopathy Checklist • Interview • Measures different aspects of psychopathy (each scored on a 0-2 scale) • Has produced very interesting studies (difference between psychopath and non-psychopath inmates)

Policy Implications of Personality Theory ▪ Personality traits consistently predict delinquency and crime. ▪ Criticisms: • Personality traits are often portrayed as impossible to change (See, Psychopathy) • What causes personality traits?

Intelligence and Crime ▪ “Feeblemindedness” was once thought to be a cause of crime. ▪ What exactly is IQ and how does it relate to criminal behavior?

A Brief History of Intelligence Testing ▪ Binet started out like his peers: Measuring people’s skull size • Not much difference—worried about bias in the tests • Developed a “hodgepodge” of tests measure identify learning disabled children • Not meant to be a measuring device for intelligence in “normal” students • Translated to English, used to identify “morons” and “low grade defectives” as part of eugenics

IQ and Crime ▪ There is an IQ gap of 8–10 points between criminals and noncriminals, even when statistically controlled for race and social class. ▪ IQ is not a very strong indicator of criminal behavior. • But, it does consistently predict

IQ and Crime ▪ Travis Hirschi and Michael Hindelang ▪ The Bell Curve ▪Direct effect ▪ Most criminologists find evidence of indirect effects IQ  School, Peers, etc.  Crime

Conclusion ▪ The common emphasis of all psychological theories is on the individual. ▪ Modern Theory • LEARNING • COGNITION and IQ • PERSONALITY ▪ Many psychological theories translate well into treatment programs.

Social Structure I Durkheim The “Chicago School” Social Disorganization

Emile Durkheim (late 1858-1917) • French Scientist • Suicide • Humans nature: selfish and insatiable • Effective Societies able to “cap” desires • Socialization & Social Ties • Special concern with “Industrial Prosperity” • Coined the Term “Anomie”: • Institutionalized norms lose ability to control human behavior and human needs

Durkhiem’s Legacy Rapidly Changing Society “Industrial Prosperity” Anomie (Norms are Weakened) Human Nature as Insatiable; must therefore cap or control Social Ties Important The Anomie/Strain Tradition (Thursday) The Social Disorganization and “Informal Control” Tradition (Today)

Meanwhile, back in America • “Social Pathologists” (1900-1930) • Cities as “bad” and “corrupting” • Immigrants as amoral and inferior • Chicago School (1930s) • University of Chicago (Sociologists) • Tie to Durkheim: City/Societal Growth • Worry over lack of integration (and control)

Park & Burgess (1925) How does a city growth and develop? • Concentric Zones in Chicago Industrial zone Zone in transition Residential zones

Shaw and McKay • Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas 1942. • Mapped addresses of delinquents (court records) • Zone in transition stable and high delinquency rates over many years • Implications of these findings: 1. Stable, despite multiple waves of immigrants!! 2. Only certain areas of the city Something about this area causes delinquency

Social Disorganization • What were the characteristics of the zone in transition that may cause high delinquency rates? • Population Heterogeneity • Population Turnover • Physical Decay • Poverty/Inequality • Why might these ecological characteristics lead to high crime rates?

Explaining high crime in the zone of transition 1. Social Control • Little community “cohesion,” therefore, weak community institutions and lack of control 2. Cultural Transmission of Values • Once crime rooted in a neighborhood, delinquent values are passed trough generations of delinquents

Social Disorganization 1960-1980 • Fell out of favor in sociology in 1950s • Individual theories gained popularity • Criticisms of Social Disorganization • “Official Data” • Are these neighborhoods really “disorganized?” • Cannot measure “intervening variables” • “Chicago Specific” (not all cities grow in rings)

Modern S.D. Theory • Interest rekindled in the 1980s • Continues today with “ecological studies” • reborn as a pure social control theory (left behind “transmission of values) • Addressing criticism • “Concentric rings” not necessary, it is simply a neighborhood level theory • Ecological characteristics do affect a neighborhoods level of informal control

Sampson and Groves (1989) Using British Crime Survey Data (BCS) • ECOLOGICAL • CHARACTERISTICS • Population turnover • Poverty / inequality • Divorce rates • Single parents • SOCIAL CONTROL • Street supervision • Friendship networks • Participation in • organizations

Sampson (1997) • Replicated results in Chicago • Areas with “concentrated disadvantage,” (poverty, race, age composition, family disruption) lack “collective efficacy” • Willingness to exercise control (tell kids to quiet down) • Willingness to trust or help each other • Lack of collective efficacy increases crime rates

Review of Social Disorganization • Macro (Neighborhood) level theory • Explains why certain neighborhoods have high crime rates Ecological Social Crime Characteristics Control Rates • Theory of “Places,” and not “People” • Not all people who live there are “crime prone,” in fact most are law-abiding

Other recent “ecological” ideas • William J. Wilson (Concentrated Poverty) • The “Underclass” or “Truly Disadvantaged” • Cultural Isolation no contact with “mainstream” individuals/institutions • Little respect for “life,” hypermaterialism, violence as “normative” • Robert Bursik • Political capital; inadequate access to public services

S.D. as an explanation for high rates of African American offending • “Non-Southern” blacks • High proportion of the current members of the “Zone in Transition.” • Public Policy has made matters worse (high rise “projects” of the 1950s-60s) • Why not move like ZIT residents (immigrants) • Housing Segregation • Loss of Manufacturing Jobs

Policy Implications? • Build neighborhood “collective efficacy” • How do you do this? • Address ecological characteristics that ruin collective efficacy • Family disruption, concentrated poverty, residential mobility • Moving to Opportunity Program in Baltimore • Randomly moved 200 families from high poverty to low poverty—then track the children • Community Policing Movement

Cognitive Psychology