What makes a Criminal (Biological) Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is physiological?
If criminal behaviour has a physiological cause, this suggests that it is controlled genetically and is therefore the product of evolution.
What are the background studies (physiological)?
Lombroso (1896)
Sheldon (1942)
Brunner (1993)
Outline Lombroso (1896)
He observed similar features such as prominent jaws, brow ridges and large ears.
From the perspective of natural selection he recorded characteristics that could be seen as primitive in terms of evolution.
Outline Sheldon (1942)
He proposed that mesomorphs were more likely to be criminals
Bigger, muscular children and adults might discover that they can achieve things more easily by force than by hard work.
Finally the mesomorph body type may be more common in those from poor backgrounds. If poor background are also associated with higher rates of criminality.
Outline Brunner (1993)
Warrior gene a case study on a Dutch family was carried out to investigate biological explanations of crime.
Brunner found that they all had mutations in their monoamine (MOA) gene which involved with serotonin.
What is meant by non-physiological?
Behaviour is not effected by the brain but instead development and the environment around the individual.
What are the background studies (physiological)?
Fafchamps (1999)
Farringron and Judy (2001)
Outline Fafchamps (1999)
In Madagascar there was extreme poverty due to a bias and corrupt election and shortage of food.
In conclusion people steal food and others possessions when poverty has increased suggesting that the effect of poverty makes people more inclined to turn to crime, perhaps because they have no choice.
Outline Farringron and Juby (2001)
Reseracher wanted to compare minor crimes among boys living in permanently disrupted families (not raised by biological parents).
The research found that minor crime rates were highest in boys living in permanently disrupted families at age 15 compared to those living in intact families
Boys who’d lost their mother were more likely to offend than those who’d lost their father.
Outline the aim of Raine et als reserach
To study brain activity in murders and non-murders using positron emission tomography (PET) to find out whether there were differences in areas thought to be involved in violent behaviour.
What is the role of the Amygdala?
The amygdala is associated with aggressive behaviour and the recognition of emotional stimuli such as fear on someone’s face. Damage to the amygdala is associated with ‘fearlessness’.
What is the role of the limbic system?
The limbic system made up of the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex governs the expression of emotion.
What research method was used?
Quasi experiment
Matched pairs design
Outline the sample used
41 murderers’ (39 male, 2 female) not guilty by reason of insanity
41 controls (39 male, 2 female)
What were the materials used?
Thermoplastic head holder
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer
Outline the procedure?
Ten minutes before receiving the FDG injection, participants were given practice trials on the CPT.
32 minutes after the FDG injection, the participant was transferred to an adjacent PET scanner room.
An individually moulded, thermosetting plastic head holder was used to hold the head still during the scan.
Two techniques were used to identify brain regions:
Cortical peel technique
Box technique
What were the results?
Criminals reduced brain activity in limbic system.
Abnormal asymmetries: reduced activity on the left, greater activity on the right
What did Raine et al conclude?
The abnormal activity in the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus are associated with aggressive behaviour. Impulsiveness and lack of fear.
The results do not show that violent behaviour is determined by biology alone.
Outline how plastic surgery can be used to reduce criminal behaviour
Self forfilling prophecy.
Lewinson conducted an experiment on 450 facial reconstruction operations on the prison population.
Sex offenders and drug users were rejected to participate in the research.
Results:
42% re-offended which is considerably less than 75% rate for the general prison population
prisoners shifted from blatant crimes to more subtle e.g. theft to fraud or con artistry
How did follow up research by Raine propose a strategy to reduce criminal behaviour?
Raine created a programme that consisted of providing:
Nutrition – milk, fruit juice and a hot meal a day consisting of fish or chicken with salad.
Physical exercise – afternoon sessions in the gym, free play and structured games.
Cognitive stimulation – nursery school provided activities consisting of toys, puzzles, art, drama and music.
