Raine et al (1997)

Question 1

What was the aim of Raine et al study?

Answer 1

Look at direct measures of both cortical and subcortical brain functioning using PET scans in a group of murderers who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI)

Question 2

What was the expectation of the participants in Raine et al study?

Answer 2

Expectation that the murders would show evidence of brain dysfunction in their prefrontal cortex as well as in other areas that are thought to be linked to violent behaviour

Question 3

What is the method of Raine et al study?

Answer 3

The method is a natural experiment because the researchers do not deliberately manipulate the independent variable of whether the participant committed murder or not.

Question 4

What is the dependent variable being measured in Raine et al study?

Answer 4

The results of the PET scan

Question 5

What type of scan was used in Raine et al study?

Answer 5

The study used PET scans to examine the brains of 41 NGRIs (39 males and 2 females) who were charged with murder and compared them with 41 controls

Question 6

What were the reasons for the NGRIs referrals to the University of California Imaging Centre in Raine et al study?

Answer 6

Schizophrenia 
Head injury or organic damage
Drug abuse
Affective disorder
Epilepsy 
Hyperactivity or learning difficulties
Personality disorder

Question 7

What was the mean age for the NGRIs in Raine et al study?

Answer 7

Mean age was 34.3 years

Question 8

How were the controls in Raine et al study matched to the NGRIs?

Answer 8

Matched for age and sex

Six NGRIs who were diagnosed as schizophrenic were matched with six other people with the same diagnosis but no history of murder

Question 9

What happened 30 minutes before a glucose tracer was injected in Raine et al study?

Answer 9

A continuous performance task based around target recognition was started so that the brain activity was being recorded before the tracer was injected.

Question 10

Why was the continuous performance task chosen in Raine et al study?

Answer 10

Chosen because it had been shown to give an increase in glucose metabolic rates in the frontal lobes

Question 11

What happened 32 minutes after the glucose tracer was injected in Raine et al study?

Answer 11

The participant was given a PET scan

NGRIs were compared with the controls on the level of activity in the right and left hemispheres of the brain in 14 selected areas

Question 12

Where did the researchers of Raine et al study look at activity in the brain?

Answer 12

Six cortical areas including the parietal, occipital and temporal lobes

Eight subcortical areas including the amygdala, cerebellum and thalamus

Question 13

What were the differences in brain activity between the controls and NGRIs in Raine et al study?

Answer 13

Found to have less activity in their prefrontal and parietal areas, more activity in their occipital areas and no difference in their temporal areas

Question 14

What were the results from the subcortical area in Raine et al study?

Answer 14

Found less activity in the corpus callosum (joins the two halves of the brain)

In the amygdala and hippocampus, compared to controls, the NGRIs had less activity in the left side and more activity in the right side

In the thalamus the NGRIs had more activity in the right side, no difference in the left side

Question 15

What can the difference in activity in the amygdala in Raine et al study be seen to support?

Answer 15

Can be seen to support theories of violence that suggest it is due to unusual emotional responses such as lack of fear

Question 16

What do the differences in corpus callosum activity in Raine et al study explain?

Answer 16

Difference in corpus callosum activity between NGRIs and controls explains why they can have inappropriate emotional expression and an inability to grasp long term implications of a situation

Question 17

What are the strengths of Raine et al?

Answer 17

Control group

Standardised procedure

Sample size

Psychology in society

Question 18

What are the weaknesses of Raine et al?

Answer 18

Generalisation

Reductionism

Socially sensitive research

Nature and nurture

Question 19

Why is a control group a strength of Raine et al?

Answer 19

The control group were matched on variables such as age and sex and were screened for their physical and mental health

All participants taking medication were ask to refrain from this for two weeks prior to their PET scan

Controlling such variables helps increase internal validity

Question 20

Why is standardised procedure a strength of Raine et al?

Answer 20

All participants had to do the same continuous target recognition for 32 minutes before the PET scan

This allowed the scanning procedure to be replicated increasing the reliability of the findings

Question 21

Why is sample size a strength of Raine et al?

Answer 21

Sample size of 82 participants

Should be large enough for useful comparisons to be made with the control group and for generalisations to be made regarding murders pleasing not guilty by reasons of insanity

Question 22

Why is psychology in society a strength of Raine et al?

Answer 22

Study has applications to the real world in cases of claims of diminished responsibility

e.g. murder trial of Donta Page, Raine testified Page’s frontal lobes were misshapen in the same way as the 41 murderers in his study. Led the jury to find Page guilty of a lesser charge of murder

Question 23

Why is generalisations a weakness of Raine et al?

Answer 23

Results can only be generalised to NGRI murderers because that was the group studied

Findings cannot be said to be true of all murderers

Question 24

Why is reductionism a weakness of Raine et al?

Answer 24

Study could be criticised for being biologically reductionist in that complex behaviour of aggression is reduced to a consequence of brain functioning

Ignores many other possible reasons why a person may act violently.

Other factors must be taken into account such as person’s social background, their role models, psychological predispositions

Question 25

Why is socially sensitive research a weakness of Raine et al?

Answer 25

Findings from the study could negatively affect children with this brain structure because children could be labelled and treated differently if the brain damage is detected early on in their lives

Question 26

Why is nature and nurture a weakness of Raine et al?

Answer 26

Reasons for brain dysfunctions cannot be explained by this study. The findings describe the differences but don’t explain them

Could be such differences were present at birth and are biologically given. However could be the differences come from environmental influences and although are biologically differences, they aren’t caused biologically