AC2.1

Question 1

What is lombroso’s theory?

Answer 1

-Criminal is a seperate species
-physical shape of the face and head determined a born criminal
-a born criminal is an atavism (throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution)

Question 2

Lombroso’s study

Answer 2

-studied the bodies of executed and deceased offenders as well as examining living inmates
-large jaws, high cheekbones, prominent brows and especially long arms - features of a born criminal
-the male with 5 or more of these physical anomalies is marked as a born criminal

Question 3

3 strengths of lombroso’s theory

Answer 3

-large sample sizes
-detailed research
-past and present criminals

Question 4

3 weaknesses of lombroso’s theory

Answer 4

-temporal validity
-research based on his own theory
-wasn’t looking at a good demographic of crime

Question 5

What was sheldons theory

Answer 5

That people could be classified into three body shapes which correspond with three different personality types

Question 6

Endomorphic

Answer 6

Fat and soft
sociable and relaxed

Question 7

ectomorphic

Answer 7

thin and fragile
are introverted and restrained

Question 8

mesomorphic

Answer 8

muscular and hard
tend to be aggressive and adventurous

Question 9

Sheldons study on college boys

Answer 9

-used a sample of photos of college students and delinquents rated on a scale of 1-7 in terms of resemblance to mesomorphy
-the delinquents had higher scores for mesomorphic

Question 10

Sheldon and Eleanor Gleuk study

Answer 10

800 delinquents compared to a matched sample of non delinquents found that delinquents are more likely to be mesomorphs

Question 11

5 strengths of sheldon’s theory

Answer 11

1. used an equal and good sample size
2. results supported theory
3. reliability- other studies such as gleuk and gleuk supported his theory
4. the most serious delinquents had a mesomorphic body shape
5. Had a control group

Question 12

5 weaknesses of Sheldons theory

Answer 12

1) using photos
2) made up a scale
3) completed the study himself
4)doesn’t account for ectomorphic and endomorphic criminals
5) body types can change

Question 13

What are the two different types of twins

Answer 13

-identical twins (monozygotic)
-non identical twins (dizygotic)

Question 14

what did early twin studies find?

Answer 14

A higher concordance for criminality amongst MZ than DZ twins

Question 15

what was the problem with early twin studies?

Answer 15

it was flawed by a combination of small sample sizes and poor methods for deciding whether a twin pair was MZ or DZ

Question 16

What have more recent twin studies done

Answer 16

addressed the early issues and they have generally produced lower estimates for the heritability of criminal tendencies than the early research

Question 17

where do the most convincing twin studies come from

Answer 17

Denmark where researchers have access to extensive data on over 3500 twin pairs

Question 18

what did Christiansen find

Answer 18

MZ concordance rates of 52% compared with 22% for DZ twins

Question 19

3 strengths of twin studies

Answer 19

1) denmark had a large sample size
2) findings are supporting that MZ twins are more criminal
3) more recent studies are more valid

Question 20

3 weaknesses for twin studies

Answer 20

1)the early studies weren’t representative
2) only looking for one explanation (bias)
3) twins in the studies could’ve lied

Question 21

What did adoption studies look at

Answer 21

relatives,siblings and twins that are adopted at a young age. This means they share genes but not the same environment
-by taking environment out the picture we can be sure that genetics are the reason of criminality

Question 22

What did the adoption studies involve

Answer 22

comparing the behaviour with birth parents
-behaved more like their biological parents but their environment has been surrounded by their adoptive parents (genetic basis for criminality)
-behaved more like the adoptive parents= environmental basis for criminality

Question 23

a strength of adoption studies

Answer 23

sample size more people available

Question 24

2 weaknesses of adoption studies

Answer 24

1)researcher bias
2) Age of adoption may mean the children have already been influenced by their biological parents or foster environment

Question 25

what is the XYY syndrome?

Answer 25

The idea that chromosome abnormalities might cause criminal behaviour

Question 26

what did researchers discover xxy syndrome

Answer 26

in the 1960s they discovered that males with an extra Y chromosome are more likely to be violent and criminals. The condition is not inherited

Question 27

what is XYY linked to

Answer 27

slow learning

Question 28

what does Jacobs XYY theory show us about reasons why people commit crime

Answer 28

-Some XYY men have an increase in aggression these are labelled “super males”

Question 29

Jacobs studies

Answer 29

-chromosome survey conducted at a maximum security hospital. 9/315 patients had the extra chromosome

Question 30

2 strengths of Jacobs XYY theory

Answer 30

1)results supported research
2)prince and what more found links between XYY and property crime

Question 31

2 weaknesses of XYY syndrome

Answer 31

1)even if they have the syndrome doesn’t prove that it was the cause of their violence
2)offers no explanation for female criminality
3)Low IQ link may make them easier to get caught and that’s why there in prison

Question 32

Sex hormones

Answer 32

-over production of testosterone linked with crimes like rape and murder
-levels peak between puberty and early 20s and this correlates with male crime rates

Question 33

Serotonin

Answer 33

-Some studies show that low levels of serotonin are linked with higher aggression

Question 34

serotonin study

Answer 34

conducted on 29 antisocial adults and children and low levels of serotonin were found in all of them

Question 35

testosterone case example

Answer 35

american body builder beat a man to death after overdosing on steroids

Question 36

blood sugar levels

Answer 36

low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) can trigger aggressive reactions

Question 37

substance abuse

Answer 37

abuse of drugs such as cocaine and crack and steroids correlate with violence

Question 38

two strengths of biochemical explanations

Answer 38

1) there is strong medical evidence to support that substances and hormone levels can affect mood,judgment and aggressions
2) biomedical factors are recognised by the courts and in some case written into law

Question 39

two weaknesses of biochemical explanations

Answer 39

1)might create a pre disposition to offending but need an environmental trigger
2)the effect of biochemicals on aggression might be overstated e.g might lead to verbal aggression rather than physical

Question 40

phineas gage

Answer 40

-severe damage to frontal lobe of the brain after accident on the rail road
-major personality change
-gave us insight into how important this area of the brain was for controlling emotions and regulating behaviour

Question 41

RAINE

Answer 41

-used PET scans to study the brains of impulsive killers
-damage to the pre frontal cortex in the brains of criminales

Question 42

Charles Whitman

Answer 42

-killed his mother and wife
-then shot three people
-and opened fire at random and killed a further 11
-it was found that he had a tumour pressing on his amygdala (processed emotions)

Question 43

3 strengths of brain injuries and disorders

Answer 43

-in extreme cases brain injury or disease has led to extreme changes in personality
-correlation between abnormal EEG readings and criminality
-prisoners are more likely than non prisoners to have brain injury

Question 44

3 weaknesses of brain injury/ disease

Answer 44

1)brain disease/injury is rare personality is likely to be a more important factor
2)it’s not clear abnormal brain wave activity causes criminality some psychopathic criminals have normal EEG readings
3)prisoners higher likelihood of brain injury could be a result rather than a cause of their criminality e.g. getting into fights