Edexcel A Level Psychology
Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 6: Criminological Psychology Exam Questions
Free Edexcel A Level Psychology exam questions for Topic 6: Criminological Psychology, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers biological and social explanations of crime, eyewitness testimony, treatments for offenders and Loftus and Palmer (1974).
Topic 6: Criminological Psychology exam questions
1 question pack of real past exam questions, each with its mark scheme. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can without notes, then mark every answer with the mark scheme. The more questions you do, the more quickly you will spot how examiners ask about each idea.
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About Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 6: Criminological Psychology
Criminological Psychology is Topic 6 of Edexcel A Level Psychology and is one of the option topics on Paper 2, Applications of Psychology. It asks why people commit crime and how the justice system can respond. You study biological explanations such as brain injury, amygdala dysfunction and genetics, and social explanations such as labelling, the self-fulfilling prophecy and social learning. You also learn factors that affect the reliability of eyewitness testimony and treatments for offenders such as cognitive behavioural therapy, anger management and token economy programmes. The classic study is Loftus and Palmer (1974). Methods include laboratory and field experiments and case studies.
What you need to know
- Biological explanations Brain injury, amygdala dysfunction, XYY syndrome and personality traits such as Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism have been linked to criminal behaviour.
- Social explanations Labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy suggest people become what others expect them to be. Social learning theory suggests offending is learned through observation and vicarious reinforcement.
- Eyewitness testimony Factors affecting reliability include leading questions, post-event information, weapon focus and anxiety, and the reconstructive nature of memory.
- Classic study: Loftus and Palmer (1974) Students watched film clips of car crashes. The verb 'smashed' produced higher speed estimates than 'contacted', and in a second experiment more participants who heard 'smashed' falsely reported seeing broken glass.
- Treatments Cognitive behavioural treatments such as anger management challenge faulty thinking and teach coping skills. Token economy programmes reward good behaviour in prisons; restorative justice involves offenders meeting victims.
- Methods Laboratory and field experiments, case studies of offenders, and ethical issues of researching offenders and witnesses.
Common mistakes in Topic 6: Criminological Psychology
- Writing that Loftus and Palmer used real eyewitnesses; they used students watching film clips, which limits ecological validity.
- Describing labelling theory as offenders labelling themselves; it is about others' labels being internalised.
- Saying a token economy changes thinking; it is a behavioural treatment that changes behaviour through reinforcement.
- Confusing weapon focus with general anxiety; weapon focus is attention drawn to a weapon at the expense of other details.
- Describing biological explanations as excusing crime instead of evaluating issues of determinism and responsibility.
Try three Topic 6: Criminological Psychology exam-style questions
1. Describe the results of Loftus and Palmer's (1974) first experiment. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Speed estimates varied with the verb used in the critical question; 'smashed' gave the highest mean estimate of about 40.5 mph; 'contacted' gave the lowest of about 31.8 mph, with 'collided', 'bumped' and 'hit' in between.
2. Explain how the self-fulfilling prophecy might lead to criminal behaviour. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
A person is given a label or expectation, for example being seen as a troublemaker by teachers or police; others treat them according to that expectation; the person internalises the label and it becomes part of their self-concept; they then behave in line with the label, fulfilling the prophecy and offending.
3. Outline anger management as a treatment for offenders. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
A cognitive behavioural approach; offenders identify triggers for their anger and how they think and feel when angry (cognitive preparation); they learn skills such as relaxation, self-talk and assertiveness (skill acquisition); they practise these skills in role plays (application practice); the aim is to reduce reactive aggression and reoffending.
Topic 6: Criminological Psychology FAQs
What does Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 6 Criminological Psychology cover?
It covers biological and social explanations of crime, factors affecting eyewitness testimony, treatments for offenders such as anger management and token economies, research methods, Loftus and Palmer (1974) and contemporary studies.
Which paper is Criminological Psychology examined in?
Criminological Psychology is one of the option topics on Paper 2, Applications of Psychology, alongside Child Psychology and Health Psychology.
How can I link Criminological Psychology to other topics?
Use cognitive psychology for reconstructive memory in eyewitness testimony, biological psychology for brain and genetic explanations, and learning theories for SLT and token economies.
