Genetic And Neural Flashcards
Genetic or neural
Heritable characteristics from parent to offspring
Neural differences between criminals and non criminals
The 2 could be connected
Genetic abnormalities could lead to structural and functional differences in the criminal brain
Genetic explanation
Would be offenders inherit a gene or combo of that predisposes them to commit crime
Genetic- twin studies
Christiansen- 3500 twin pairs in Denmark. Concordance rate identical-35% non identical- 13%
Suggests behaviour and traits are inherited
Adoption studies-Crowe- if bio mom was a criminal, 50% risk of having a criminal record by 18 vs 5%
Genetic- candidate genes
Tiihonen- genetic analysis of 800 offenders. 2 genes may be associated (MAOA-violent crime)(CDH13-substance abuse and ADHD)
5-10% crime in Finland is bc of these
Genetic- diathesis stress model
Environment moderates genes; as with sz
Offending may come about through the combo of genetic predisposition and triggers e.g. Criminal role models.
Strength- genetic- support for diathesis stress
Mednick- conducted a study on over 13,000 adopt
Neither biological or adoptive had convictions —> adoptees did 13.5%, 20% when either did, 25% when both did
Shows inheritance plays a role but environmental does as well
Limitation-genetic- twin studies
Assume equal environments as are raised together
This applies more to identical as people treat them more similarly
Higher concordance rate could be due to the same treatment rather than genetics
Limitation-genetic-adoption studies
Sep of genetic and environmental is problematic due to late adoption, may be in contact with biological parents.
Makes it difficult to assess impact of biology
assessing impact of nature and nurture may only be possible with early adoptions
Neural explanations
Neural differences in the brain of offenders and non-offenders
Much evidence involved individuals with APD ; reduced emotional response, lack empathy for others
Many convicted offenders have this
Neural -Prefrontal cortex
Raine- brain imaging studies showing reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex in people with APD
11% reduction in grey matter in the prefrontal cortex
Neural-mirror neurons
Mirror neurons switch on by default when we are performing or watching someone else; allow empathy
Keysers- When offenders were asked to empathise, their empathy reaction activated.
Shows APD have empathy but can turn it on and off by choice
Strength-Neural- brain evidence
Link between crime and frontal lobe
Kandel and Freed-Reviewed evidence on frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour
Impulsive , emotionally unstable, can’t learn from mistakes
Supports idea brain damage may cause offending behaviour
Limitation-neural-intervening variables
Other factors could contribute to APD and offending
Farrington- studied men who scored high on APD. Raised by convicted parents, physically neglected—> could have neural differences due to trauma
Relationship is complex and there may be intervening variables
Eval-Biological reductionism
Criminality is too complex to reduce to a genetic or neural level. Lots of things run in family so it’s hard to tell the possible influences
