Neural

Question 1

Psychology as a science

Answer 1

• One strength of research into the role of neural mechanisms on
  offending behaviour has been the use of laboratory experiments. Using the PET scanning method to highlight areas of brain activity is an objective method using scientific
  measurements to understand offending behaviour. Because of this rigorous control, the process meets the criteria of psychology as a science as it removes many extraneous variables that may possibly affect results, as well as the subjectivity inherent in measuring emotions. This therefore creates confidence in the research findings in order to explain offending
  behaviour.

Question 2

Reductionist

Answer 2

Offending behaviour is a very complex phenomenon. The neural explanation of offender behaviour is biologically reductionist simplifying criminal behaviour purely and
simply to an individual’s neural components. Many psychologists, including supporters of the
differential association theory believe, that we should focus on a higher more holistic explanation for offending behaviour which concentrates on the groups of people with whom an individual associates with, and their social norms. That being said, reductionist explanations allow more straightforward investigations into offending behaviour to be conducted, as it would be nearly impossible to disentangle all of the possible offending behaviour explanations and their interactions and investigate them scientifically. This is important to consider as while reducing complex behaviour like offending behaviour to its simplest form does require researchers to overlook key factors, it is also essential for good scientific practice.