area 1- forensic

Question 1

what are the 4 physiological explanations of what makes a criminal

Answer 1

Lombroso
Sheldon
Brunner
choy

Question 2

what did Lombroso believe makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 2

facial structure
first to study crime scientifically
looked at skulls of 4000 prisoners -400 dead ones ( no comparison- science?)
criminals- strong cheek bones, prominent jaw line, asymmetrical faces
atavist theory= criminals are sub-type of genetic throwbacks that cannot conform to modern day rules so are distinguishable by particular facial characteristics ( genetics- born with it from evolution)

Question 3

what did Sheldon believe makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 3

body type
mesomorph-muscular, little fat= traits such as assertive, attention seeking, adventurous
ectomorph- little fat, not muscular= traits such as self conscious, thoughtful, fragile
endomorph- fat, round= traits like sociable, relaxed, comfortable
Sheldon believed that mesomorphs are more likely to commit crime as they are risk taking and domineering
He studied photographs of the physical proportions of 4000 men and compared them to a sample of photographs of college students and delinquents rating them on a scale of 1 – 7 (high) for their resemblance to mesomorph. Delinquents had a higher mesomorph rating.

Question 4

what did Brunner believe that makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 4

media twisted what Brunner said that their is association between genes and aggressive behaviour that their is a gene for crime that was known as warrior gene.
The ‘warrior’ gene is MAOA which is responsible for enzyme monoamine oxidase-A which breaks down excess serotonin
he began research as a doctor in Netherlands with a number of males who suffered from mental retardation- leading to aggressive behaviour and concluded their carry mutation in x chromosome
became known as Brunner syndrome - case study 5 males took urine sample found lack of MAOA resulting in high serotonin levels which made them aggressive

Question 5

what is the summarised version of brunners findings and

Answer 5

he believed their was genes associated with aggressive behaviour- media twisted this to their is a warrior gene
after doing case study on 5 males and took urine samples they found lack of MAOA is a genetic mutation which lead to high levels of serotonin leading to aggressive behaviour

Question 6

what did choy believe makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 6

heart rates
low heart rate has relationship between gender and crime
894 children who are 11 - took sample from meningitis health project
data from self-report and official conviction list from convictions up to age of 23
low resting heart rate can predict low criminal behaviour

Question 7

what are the two non-psychological explanations

Answer 7

Farrington
Sutherland
Kohlberg

Question 8

what did Farrington believe makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 8

family life influences criminal behaviour
sample of 411 males, interviewed from 8 to 48 (longitudinal) who were all from the same class
details of aggressive behaviour from teachers, criminal records , self-report and interviews with family= holistic, high construct validity
family link-loss of mother caused delinquent behaviour

Question 9

what did Sutherland believe makes a criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 9

differential association theory= learned through interactions with others
gain social norms of criminal groups e.g. friends/family attitudes and motives e.g family hating police
how frequent the interaction is with criminal attitudes e.g. how long the parents have hated police

Question 10

what does Kohlberg believe makes criminal and what did he do/find

Answer 10

pre-conventional= stage 2- doing behaviour to benefit themselves e.g. avoid punishment
conventional= stage 3- doing behaviour to benefit others and society
delinquent group showed less mature reasoning so adult criminals may be stuck in pre-conventional stage.

Question 11

what is the amygdala responsible for

Answer 11

fight or flight response- emotion
overactive- aggression, impulsive
reduced- cold, calculating

Question 12

what is the hippocampus responsible for

Answer 12

metabolic rate- high in murderers
damage- impulsive, unplanned

Question 13

what is the thalamus responsible for

Answer 13

evolutionary emotional responses- damage linked to combativeness

Question 14

what is the corpus collosum responsible for

Answer 14

communications between hemispheres- opposite sides- makes sense of situation

Question 15

what is the prefrontal cortex responsible for

Answer 15

decision making, impulsiveness
damage- less self control, understanding consequence

Question 16

what is the angular gyrus responsible for

Answer 16

language, integrating info
lack making sense of situation

Question 17

what is the aim of Raine

Answer 17

to investigate brain dysfunction in violent offenders who committed murders and pleaded NGRI (not guilty for reasons of insanity) in relation to previous brain regions but their would be no dysfunction in the cerebellum

Question 18

what is the background of Raine

Answer 18

brain regions responsibilities
previous research found offenders have poorer brain functioning and improved brain scanning like PET has enabled researchers to localise area of the brain

Question 19

what was the method and design of Raine

Answer 19

quasi experiment- IV= being a murderer or not
DV= activity of specified brain regions as assessed by PET scan
matched participants on type of mental impairments and the same number of variety, age and sex

Question 20

what is the sample of Raine

Answer 20

41 male murderers
all charged with murder and pleaded NGRI ( not guilty for reasons of insanity)- proved after examination at uni of California

Question 21

what is the procedure of Raine

Answer 21

all participants were asked to be medication free for 2 weeks as form of control -consent given
ppts work on CPT task( clicking buttons) for 32 mins - this worked areas of brain he wanted to look at
10 mins prior to glucose injection they could practice, one waited 32 mins pictures of brain were taken using PET scan

Question 22

what were the main 3 results form Raine

Answer 22

murders had reduced activity in prefrontal cortex, left angular gyrus, corpus collosum, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus in right hemisphere
no differences in brain regions he hypothesised wouldn’t be effected
no difference in behaviour on CPT

Question 23

what can we conclude about Raine

Answer 23

damage to amygdala could mean murderers are less likely to perceive threatening situations as dangerous e.g. fighting
murderers have reduced activity in prefrontal cortex and left hippocampus - explaining loss of control and increased aggression

Question 24

what are 2 applications to what makes a criminal in terms of nutritional supplements - evidence for omega 3

Answer 24

biological intervention programme - prenatal diet reduces criminal and antisocial behaviour - nutrition prevents crime
omega 3- deficiencies may result in limited regulation of limbic system, leading to self-control problems and aggressive behaviour. anti-social behaviour in prisons is reduced by diets supplemented with vitamins, minerals. e.g. omega 3 is found in salmon, oil, walnuts
Gesch-omega 3 capsules taken 4 times a day- found 26% improvement in disciplinary records

Question 25

explain plastic surgery in terms of what makes a criminal

Answer 25

reconstruct facial deficits
Lewinson- 450 facial reconstructions in prison- found increased cooperation in prison activities- recidivism( criminal offences) were reduced by 42%

Question 26

explain antipsychotics in terms of what makes a criminal

Answer 26

block D2 receptors
clozapine (atypical)- prevent +/- symptoms by blocking D2 and serotonin

Question 27

biosocial interventions in terms of what makes a criminal

Answer 27

outline risks for children of anti-social behaviour and put interventions in place