Criminal Psychology | Edexcel GCSE Psychology (1PS0)
Criminal Psychology
- 64 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Paper 2
- Paper 2
Criminal Psychology is examined in Paper 2, optional (two of five are studied).
It covers operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime, Eysenck's criminal personality theory, punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation and Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study.
Sample questions from Criminal Psychology
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime
What are primary reinforcers?
Show the answer
Primary reinforcers are rewards that satisfy basic biological needs, such as food, water and warmth. A person who steals food when hungry receives a primary reinforcer. -
Operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime
What is modelling?
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Modelling is when a role model demonstrates a behaviour and an observer imitates it. A teenager may model an older brother's aggressive way of settling arguments. -
Eysenck's criminal personality theory
What is psychoticism?
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Psychoticism is a personality trait marked by being cold, aggressive and lacking in empathy. Eysenck linked psychoticism to higher levels of the hormone testosterone. -
Eysenck's criminal personality theory
What is a strength of Eysenck's theory of criminal personality?
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Eysenck's theory can be tested with a standardised questionnaire that gives objective scores. The theory combines biological factors with learning, so it is not one-sided. -
Punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation
Why does the threat of punishment not stop some people offending?
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The rewards of crime are usually immediate, while punishment is delayed and uncertain. An offender who is not caught is reinforced by each successful crime. -
Punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation
How does a token economy programme apply operant conditioning?
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Tokens are secondary reinforcers that strengthen good behaviour through positive reinforcement. Tokens can be taken away after poor behaviour, which is negative punishment. -
Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study
What did Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) find?
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Children who saw the aggressive model copied many of its physical and verbal attacks. Children in the non-aggressive and control groups showed little imitative aggression. -
Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study
Why was St Helena chosen for Charlton et al.'s study?
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St Helena is a remote island in the South Atlantic that did not receive broadcast television until 1995. Researchers could observe children before and after television arrived.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime | Reinforcement and punishment, primary and secondary reinforcers, and role models, identification, modelling and vicarious reinforcement as explanations of offending. | 17 |
| Eysenck's criminal personality theory | Extraversion, introversion, neuroticism and psychoticism, how Eysenck linked personality to conditioning and crime, its measurement, and the evidence for and against it. | 15 |
| Punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation | Recidivism, prison, community sentencing and restorative justice, token economy and anger management programmes, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. | 16 |
| Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study | Bandura, Ross and Ross's study of children copying an aggressive model, and Charlton's natural experiment on the arrival of television on St Helena. | 16 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 891 questions with their answers.