Biological approach- study- Raine, buchsbaum and LaCasse

Question 1

Social implications

Answer 1

• If the research indicates that murderers are born rather than developed, those with similar or the same brain abnormalities could be imprisoned without any trial or consideration of their social circumstances
  -Therefore it is very important to make decisions on the way in which the research is conducted and reported

Question 2

ethical issues (3)

Answer 2

• Valid consent- not mentally competent to provide valid consent
• psychological harm- participants may have struggled to identify what they were required to do, particularly for the PET scans which they could have therefore found distressing.
• May not have understood their right to withdraw at any time, particularly since they were prisoners and wouldn’t have felt that they could say no

Question 3

What type of sampling technique was used- procedures

Answer 3

opportunity sampling

Question 4

what type of scan was used- procedures

Answer 4

PET scan

Question 5

purpose of the PET scan

Answer 5

study the brain and the differences between them

Question 6

What injection were the participants given

Answer 6

a tracer which took up the active parts of the brain

Question 7

what was the name of the tracer utilised?

Answer 7

fluoredeoxyglucose/ FDG

Question 8

What was the purpose of the continuous performance task

Answer 8

Allows for the investigators to see how different areas of the brain function

Question 9

What were the 3 main procedures?

Answer 9

1- Participants given 10 mins to practice CPT trials before receiving the FDG injection
2- Thirty seconds before they received the FDG injection, they started the CPT
3- Thirty two minutes after they receive the injection, a PET scan was done for each participant

Question 10

what was recorded of their brain?

Answer 10

10 horizontal slices (pictures)

Question 11

How were the 10 horizontal slices (pictures) of the brain recorded?

Answer 11

using cortical peel and box techniques

Question 12

How did they ensure that they study could be replicated?

Answer 12

The article provides precise details of the scanning techniques

Question 13

What type of experiment was this study?

Answer 13

Quasi experiment

Question 14

What was the experimental design for this study?

Answer 14

matched pairs

Question 15

Independent variable

Answer 15

NGRI or not

Question 16

Dependent variable

Answer 16

brain differences

Question 17

How many participants were used?

Answer 17

41

Question 18

How many participants were female?

Answer 18

2

Question 19

How many participants were male?

Answer 19

39

Question 20

What were all the participants charged with?

Answer 20

Either manslaughter or murder

Question 21

Where did the PET scans take place?

Answer 21

The university of California

Question 22

How did they ensure that the participants were medication free?

Answer 22

Checked urine

Question 23

mean age of participants

Answer 23

34.4

Question 24

Number of participants in the control group?

Answer 24

41

Question 25

How many females in the control group?

Answer 25

2

Question 26

How many males in the control group?

Answer 26

39

Question 27

mean age for the control group

Answer 27

31.7

Question 28

Who was each murder matched with?

Answer 28

A normal individual of the same sex and age

Question 29

Who were the schizophrenics matched with?

Answer 29

6 schizophrenics from a mental hospital

Question 30

Where the control group participants taking medication?

Answer 30

No

Question 31

Apart from those with schizophrenia, what couldn't the other control participants have?

Answer 31

A history of psychiatric illness or physical illness in any close relatives

Question 32

What are the 4 negatives for the evaluation?

Answer 32

1- ethical issues 2- social implications 3- the sample 4- Can't be generalized to other types of criminals

Question 33

What are the 3 positives for the evaluation?

Answer 33

1- PET scans (scientific) 2- Control group 3- Social implications

Question 34

How is the sample a negative point of the study?

Answer 34

- only 2 female participants - results cannot be generalized to women - Anderson and Huessman 2003- identified the large differences in prevalence of this type of agression between men and women

Question 35

Anderson and Huesmann 2003

Answer 35

There is a large difference in prevalence of this type of aggression between men and women.

Question 36

How is the fact that it cannot be generalized to other criminals a negative point of the study?

Answer 36

- only told us about the differences of brain patterns for murderers and man slaughterers and not any other types of criminal. - As crime is a major issue within many societies, it would be useful to know about the biology of criminals as a whole

Question 37

How is the use of PET scans a positive?

Answer 37

- Scientific, provide solid, observable evidence of results - allows Raine to establish a cause and effect between brain patterns and crime - With such highly scientific methodology being used, the research has more o fa scientific status and can be trusted more compared to other sources

Question 38

How is the use of the control group a positive?

Answer 38

Reduces the impact of participant variables on the results

Question 39

What are the positive social implications of this research?

Answer 39

- Potentially influence how cases are approached in the criminal justice system - Focus on underlying neurological issues rather than solely on the behavior - lead to more targeted interventions and treatments for violent individuals - Help researchers gain a better understanding of the how brain structure and patterns can be related to behavior - Highlight the importance of examining biological factors in criminal behavior

Question 40

What were the 3 findings of the murderers which differed from the control group?

Answer 40

1- Lower glucose metabolism 2- Lower parietal glucose metabolism, particularly in the left angular gyrus 3- abnormal asymmetry of activity with a decrease right and an increased left activity in the hippocampus and amygdala

Question 41

What were the 3 findings of the murderers which were the same as the control group?

Answer 41

1- Identical temporal lobe glucose metabolism 2- similar mid-brain and cerebellum activity 3- no difference to the behavioral aspects of the CPT

Question 42

What are the 6 conclusions?

Answer 42

1- biology isn't the only determinant of violence but it is also social, psychological, cultural and situational factors which play an integral role 2- Murderers pleading NGRI are still responsible for their actions 3- PET scans cannot be used as a diagnosis technique 4- The link between brain dysfunction and violence cannot be generalized 5- Certain areas of the brain are linked to aggression (amygdala) 6- Murders who plead NGRI have different brain functioning to normal individuals