Criminal Behaviours - Biological Explanations: Inherited Criminality

Question 1

When describing this explanation, what are the 5 components to describe

Answer 1

• genetic factors (Raine, 52, 21)
• searching for candidate genes (Brunner et al, 28 + Tihonen et al, 900, 5-10)
• diathesis-stress (Caspi et al, 1000, 1970, 26, 12, 44)
• differences in brain (Raine, 71 + Seo et al, Wright et al)
• inherited personality (Eysenck’s)

Question 2

Describe genetic factors

Answer 2

• Your genes predispose you to behaviour
• Evidence for this comes from Twin Studies. MZ twins = identical and share 100% of DNA. DZ twins = non identical and share 50% of DNA
• If criminality was inherited, then we would expect a higher concordance rate in MZ then DZ twins
• Adrian Raine (1993) reviewed lots of research on delinquent behaviour in twins and found there 52% concordance in MZ twins, and 21% concordance in DZ twins. This suggests that criminality has a genetic component which is inherited.

Question 3

Describe searching for candidate genes

Answer 3

• researchers have mapped 2 genes responsible for criminal behaviour, These are:
  1) MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) or sometimes called ‘warrior gene’
  2) CDH13 (Cadherin 13)
  -Han Brunner et al (1993). analysed the genes of 28 male members of a Dutch family with a history of criminality, and found that they all shared a gene that led to this criminal behaviour, as it led to low levels of MAOA (an enzyme which breaks down dopamine in the synapse). This led to them all having high levels of dopamine as a result of a lack of the MAOA enzyme, which then led to criminal behaviour.
• Jari Tihonen et al (2015) looked at 900 offenders, finding evidence of low MAOA as well as low activity of the CDH13 gene. This led to the estimation that 5-10% of all violent crime in Finland was down to abnormalities with these particular genes.

Question 4

Describe diathesis stress

Answer 4

-Diathesis: a genetic predisposition
- Stress: an environmental trigger
- Certain triggers (such as high levels of stress or maltreatment in childhood) in your environment will give you a genetic predisposition to be more vulnerable to that stress, and therefore cause criminal behaviour
- Therefore epigenetics is responsible for criminal behaviour. This is where gene expression is turned on and off in response to your environment.
- You may have the warrior gene, but without something in your environment to trigger it, you won’t express criminal behaviour.
-Avshalom Caspi et al (2002) used data from the longitudinal Dunedin study that followed about 1,000 people from when they were babies in the 1970s. He assessed antisocial behaviour at age 26 and found that 12% of those men with the low MAOA gene had experienced maltreatment in their childhood, but were also responsible for 44% of violent convictions. This suggests that biology is certainly involved in criminal behaviour.

Question 5

Describe differences in brain

Answer 5

• Criminal genes = differences in areas of the brain or differences how the brain functions
• Adrian Raine (2004) cited 71 brain imaging studies showing that murderers, psychopaths and violent individuals have reduced functioning in the prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain involved in regulating emotion and controlling behaviour, and moral behaviour in general). Lowered activity in this area is associated with impulsiveness and loss of control. Therefore suggests the brain plays a role in criminal behaviour.
• Seo et al 2008, suggest that low levels of serotonin may predispose individuals to impulsive aggression and criminal behaviour, partly because this neurotransmitter normally inhibits the prefrontal cortex. Low levels of serotonin are linked to criminality (as well as depression). Dopamine hyperactivity may enhance this effect
• Both very high and very low levels of noradrenaline have been linked to aggression, violence and criminality. Wright et al (2015) found that Noradrenaline helps people react to perceived threats appropriately, as it works as a part of your anxiety system. Therefore having too low levels = you don’t perceive the police as a threat = you commit
  crime

Question 6

Describe inherited personality

Answer 6

Eysenck’s theory of criminal personality says that some people inherit types of behaviour that predispose them to behaving in a criminal way

Question 7

When evaluating this explanation, what do you talk about?

Answer 7

:)
- scientific + twin studies (Mednick, 14000, 15, 20 + Raine, 52, 21)
:(
- issues with deterministic stance (Stephen Mobley)
- issues with construct validity (Lynn Findlay)

Question 8

Write a paragraph for the strength of being scientific + adoption studies

Answer 8

P: A strength is that this explanation takes a scientific approach by using methodologies such as adoption studies and comparing concordance rates
E: Mednick et al’s study of 14, 000 adopters found that 15% of sons adopted to a criminal family went on to be criminals, compared to 20% whose biological parents (not adoptive parents) were criminals and then went on to be criminals. Raine (1933) reviewed lots of research on delinquent behaviour in twins, found 52% concordance in MZ twins and 21% in DZ twins. Suggesting that inherited genes is more of a significant factor.
T: Therefore the strength of using such scientific methodologies to show how criminality is influenced by inheritance is that it increases the credibility of the explanation because it’s based on objective, measurable evidence.
HOWEVER: However, a limitation is that even scientific studies like these can be affected by confounding variables — for example, twins often share the same environment, making it difficult to fully separate genetic and environmental influences

Question 9

Write a paragraph for determinist approach

Answer 9

P: weakness is that it takes a narrow deterministic approach that individuals are destined to be criminals based solely on their genetic makeup from what they’re inherited
E: For example, Stephen Mobley was accused of murder and his lawyers tried to argue that he was born to be a criminal due to his aggressive family history of generations of aunts, uncles and grandparents who had committed violent acts such as rape, murder and antisocial behaviour. His lawyers suggested he get tested for potential presence of MAOA gene variant and made the case that he was ‘born to be a criminal’. However the judge and also Supreme Court of Georgia decided that the research evidence wasn’t strong enough and Mobley was executed in 2005
T: This shows that genetic explanations risk oversimplifying complex human behaviour by ignoring the role of free will and social/environmental factors, making the theory less credible and potentially ethically problematic when used to excuse criminal acts.

Question 10

Write a paragraph for the lack of contstruct validity

Answer 10

P: A further weakness of the inherited criminality explanation is that it lacks construct validity, as it fails to account for the wide range of criminal behaviours, particularly non-violent crimes.
E: Criminal behaviour is not limited to acts of violence; it also includes offences such as theft, fraud, drug use, and bigamy. Lynn Findlay (2011) argues that crime is a social construct, meaning that what we define as ‘criminal’ is shaped by cultural and legal norms rather than being a naturally occurring category. This makes it problematic to apply a single biological explanation to all types of criminality.
T: Therefore, the biological explanation is weakened by its narrow focus, as it does not adequately explain non-violent or socially defined crimes, limiting its overall validity and usefulness in understanding the full spectrum of criminal behaviour