What is covered in OCR Psychology criminal psychology?

Criminal psychology is a Component 01 topic. It covers two explanations of criminal and anti-social behaviour (the biological explanation of brain structure, genetics and traits, and the social learning explanation of observation and imitation), Eysenck's criminal personality and the self-fulfilling prophecy, the classic core study Cooper and Mackie (1986) on video games and aggression, the contemporary core study Heaven (1996) on personality and delinquency, and applications that reduce crime such as token economies, anger management, restorative justice and the aims of punishment.

What are the core studies for criminal psychology?

The classic study is Cooper and Mackie (1986), a laboratory experiment on whether playing or watching an aggressive video game increases aggression in children, which supports social learning theory. The contemporary study is Heaven (1996), a longitudinal self-report study of whether personality (psychoticism, extraversion and self-esteem) predicts self-reported delinquency, which gives only weak support to Eysenck's criminal personality.

How should I revise criminal psychology?

Learn the two explanations (biological versus social learning) and be able to compare them, memorise Eysenck's three dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism) and the self-fulfilling prophecy, and learn both core studies in full (aim, method, results, conclusion, evaluation). Practise applying the applications (token economy, anger management, restorative justice, aims of punishment) to scenarios, and rehearse the 13-mark questions using OCR command words such as Describe, Explain, Evaluate and Discuss.

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OCR GCSE Psychology: Criminal psychology overview (J203)

Q: Which exam paper assesses criminal psychology in OCR Psychology J203?

Criminal psychology is assessed on J203/01 (Studies and applications in psychology 1), alongside development and psychological problems. The paper is 1 hour 30 minutes, worth 90 marks and 50 percent of the GCSE, and it also includes a research methods task on designing an investigation. Questions range from multiple choice to extended responses up to 13 marks.

An overview of the criminal psychology topic in OCR GCSE Psychology (J203), mapping the theories of criminal and anti-social behaviour, the criminal personality and self-fulfilling prophecy, the core studies Cooper and Mackie (1986) and Heaven (1996), and the applications that reduce and prevent crime, and how they are examined on Paper 1.

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The criminal psychology content
How this topic is examined
How to study the criminal psychology topic
For the official specification

Criminal psychology is one of the three topics on Component 01 (Studies and applications in psychology 1) of OCR GCSE Psychology (specification J203). It asks why people commit crime, what the evidence says, and how psychology can be used to reduce offending. This page maps the topic and links to a focused answer page for each part.

The criminal psychology content

Theories of criminal behaviour: The biological explanation (brain structure, genetics and inherited traits) and the social learning explanation (observation, identification, vicarious reinforcement and imitation), with their strengths and weaknesses. See Theories of criminal behaviour.
Criminal personality and the self-fulfilling prophecy: Eysenck's three dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) and how labelling someone a criminal can make the prediction come true. See Criminal personality and self-fulfilling prophecy.
The core studies: The classic study Cooper and Mackie (1986) on video games and aggression, and the contemporary study Heaven (1996) on personality and delinquency. See Core studies: Cooper and Mackie and Heaven.
Reducing and preventing crime: Token economy programmes, anger management and restorative justice, and how each draws on a theory of crime. See Reducing and preventing crime.
Punishment and rehabilitation: The aims of punishment (deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation), custodial and non-custodial sentences, and the evidence on whether punishment reduces reoffending. See Punishment and rehabilitation.

How this topic is examined

Criminal psychology is assessed on the first paper (J203/01), which is 1 hour 30 minutes, worth 90 marks and 50 percent of the GCSE, shared with development and psychological problems. Questions include multiple choice, short structured items, research methods (designing an investigation) and extended responses up to 13 marks. Expect to be asked to describe and evaluate the two theories, recall the core studies precisely, and apply the applications to unseen scenarios.

How to study the criminal psychology topic

Separate the two theories. Biological (nature, brain and genes) versus social learning (nurture, copying models). Be able to compare them.
Memorise Eysenck's E, N and P and the steps of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Learn both core studies in full. Aim, method, results, conclusion and at least two evaluation points for Cooper and Mackie and for Heaven.
Drill the applications. Token economy (operant conditioning), anger management (cognitive), restorative justice and the four aims of punishment.
Practise the long questions. Plan a structure and match the OCR command word.

For the official specification

OCR publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.

Sources & how we know this

OCR GCSE (9-1) Psychology J203 specification — OCR (2017)