Criminal: Topic One Flashcards
(40 cards)
What is topic one?
What makes a criminal?
What is the name of the key research for topic 1?
Raine - Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by PET
Describe the sample used in Raine’s study
41 murderers (39m, 2f) all pleading NGRI
Name one of the varying conditions that the murderers suffered from
Schizophrenia
Who were the murderers matched with?
41 non murderers
What research method and experimental design did Raine use?
Quasi with matched pairs
What was each P injected with?
A glucose tracer
What did each P have to complete? (Key research)
CPT (cognitive performance task)
How long did each P have to complete CPT for?
32 mins
What were P’s given whilst completing the task?
A PET scan
In what areas did the murderers have less activity in?
The prefrontal cortex, the amygdala and the corpus callosum
What does low activity in the prefrontal cortex lead to?
Impulsive behaviours and lack of self control
What does low activity in the amygdala lead to?
Lack of fear
What does low activity in the corpus callosum lead to?
Not understanding long term consequences
What did Raine conclude from his study into murderers?
You cannot use the results or brain scans to determine whether someone will become a murderer
What did Brunner research/look into?
MAOA and serotonin
What does serotonin control?
Appetite and mood (incl. anger and depression)
What can high levels of serotonin lead to?
Aggressive behaviour
Who did Brunner investigate?
A family in the Netherlands with an abnormally large amount of violent and aggressive males
What did Brunner analyse form 5 of the aggressive males?
Urine samples
What did Brunner find from the urine samples?
They all had a genetic mutation that reduced MAOA in their body
What is MAOA?
An enzyme which absorbs serotonin
Due to the reduced MAOA what did this mean?
That there was too much serotonin left in the blood
What did Jahoda look into?
Self fulfilling prophecy
