Edexcel International A Level Psychology
Edexcel International A Level Psychology Criminological Psychology Exam Questions
Free Edexcel International A Level Psychology exam questions for Criminological Psychology, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers explanations of crime, understanding offenders, eyewitness testimony, jury decision making, treating offenders and Loftus and Palmer (1974).
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 International A Level Psychology Criminological Psychology
Criminological psychology in Edexcel International A Level Psychology is an option in Unit 3, Applications of Psychology. It applies psychology to the criminal justice system. You study biological and social explanations of crime and antisocial behaviour, how offenders are understood and treated, and factors that affect the identification of offenders, including eyewitness memory and jury decision making. Methods include eyewitness memory experiments and mock jury research. The classic study is Loftus and Palmer (1974) on leading questions, and contemporary research includes Bradbury and Williams (2013) on race and juror decision making. Examiners like to ask about the reliability of eyewitness testimony and evaluating treatments.
What you need to know
- Explanations of crime Biological explanations include brain dysfunction, the amygdala and genetic factors; social explanations include labelling, the self-fulfilling prophecy and social learning theory.
- Understanding the offender Personality traits, cognitive factors and offender profiling help explain and predict offending behaviour.
- Eyewitness testimony Accuracy is affected by leading questions, post-event information, anxiety and weapon focus, as memory is reconstructive.
- Jury decision making Mock jury studies show juror decisions can be influenced by characteristics of the defendant such as race, by pretrial publicity and by the order of testimony.
- Treatment of offenders Approaches include cognitive behavioural therapy, anger management, token economy programmes and restorative justice.
- Classic study: Loftus and Palmer (1974) Participants who heard 'smashed' estimated higher speeds (about 40.5 mph) than those who heard 'contacted' (about 31.8 mph), and were more likely to report seeing broken glass a week later.
Common mistakes in Criminological Psychology
- Writing that Loftus and Palmer studied real witnesses; they used students watching film clips.
- Saying mock jury studies have high ecological validity; mock jurors know their verdict has no real consequences.
- Describing labelling as a biological explanation.
- Claiming all anxiety reduces eyewitness accuracy; some real-life studies show good accuracy under stress.
- Evaluating treatments without considering recidivism as a measure of success.
Try three Criminological Psychology exam-style questions
1. Explain how leading questions can affect eyewitness testimony. (3 marks)
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A leading question suggests a particular answer, for example through the verb used; this can bias the response given; or alter the memory itself as post-event information is incorporated, as shown by participants falsely recalling broken glass.
2. Evaluate the use of mock juries to study decision making. (4 marks)
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Strength: variables such as the defendant's race can be controlled and manipulated; so cause and effect can be established; Weakness: mock jurors know their decisions have no real consequences and often see brief trial summaries; so findings may lack ecological validity.
3. Outline token economy programmes as a treatment for offenders. (3 marks)
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Based on operant conditioning; offenders receive tokens (secondary reinforcers) for desirable behaviour such as following rules; tokens can be exchanged for privileges (primary reinforcers); this increases desirable behaviour in prison, though it may not continue after release.
Criminological Psychology FAQs
What does Edexcel International A Level Psychology Criminological psychology cover?
It covers explanations of crime and antisocial behaviour, understanding the offender, factors affecting identification of offenders including eyewitness testimony and jury decisions, treatments, Loftus and Palmer (1974) and contemporary studies.
Which unit is Criminological psychology examined in?
Criminological psychology is an option in Unit 3, Applications of Psychology, chosen instead of Health psychology.
How does Criminological psychology link to other topics?
It uses reconstructive memory from cognitive psychology, brain and genetic explanations from biological psychology and operant conditioning from learning theories.
