10.3: Biological explanations for offending behaviour

Question 1

‘It can be argued that criminals are born, not made.’
Using your knowledge of the genetic explanation for offender profiling, explain why some believe offenders are born with a predisposition to commit crime (4 marks)

Answer 1

The genetic explanation sees offending behaviour as a result of an inherited condition, where genes for criminality are passed on to family members.
This can be assessed by twin studies, because if the explanation is true, then there should be a higher
concordance rate for criminality between identical (MZ) twins than between non-identical (DZ) twins

Question 2

‘It can be argued that criminals are born, not made.’
Using your knowledge of the genetic explanation for offender profiling, explain why some believe offenders are born with a predisposition to commit crime (4 marks).
The genetic explanation sees offending behaviour as a result of an inherited condition, where genes for criminality are passed on to family members.
This can be assessed by twin studies, because if the explanation is true, then there should be a higher
concordance rate for criminality between identical (MZ) twins than between non-identical (DZ) twins.

Answer 2

It can also be assessed by adoption studies, because if offender levels among adopted individuals are closer to those of their biological parents than those of their adoptive parents, the genetic explanation is supported