BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION: NEURAL EXPLANATION Flashcards
what did RAINE investigate?
the link between brain dysfunction and criminality
what did RAINE believe?
there was an identifiable biological disposition for criminal behaviour and a biological dysfunction with the brain that could cause an individual to commit acts of violence
what individuals had this research been mainly conducted on?
individuals with antisocial personality disorder
what is the amygdala?
the part of the brain that is a major processing centre for emotions
how is the amygdala associated with offending behaviour?
the amygdala is associated with offending behaviour as people with a dysfunctional amygdala are 4x more likely to commit a crime within 3 years.
what was RAINE (1997) study into the prefrontal cortex?
RAINE used PET scans to create 3D images of the functional processes happening in the brain of 41 murders and 41 control participants.
the murderers showed reduces glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus and the corpus callousm, and asymmetrical activity in the 2 hemispheres
so some of the brain processes were dysfunctional, therefore suggesting a link between brain dysfunction and predispositions to violent acts.
what are the 3 neurotransmitters linked to offending behaviour and why?
noradrenaline: high levels link to aggression
serotonin: low levels link to criminal behaviour
dopamine: links to addiction therefore substance abuse which is linked to crime
AO3: how is ‘scientifically and empirical’ a strength to the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
One strength to the neural explanation for offending behaviour is that it is scientific and empirical. For example, Raine conducted his research in highly scientific ways such as it taking place in a lab. He also used a control group where he matched the participants and controls on variables such as their age and sex. Therefore, we can conclude the results found were due to the variables being investigated instead of extraneous due to the highly controlled experiment.
AO3: how is ‘focus on APD’ a limitation to the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
One limitation to the neural explanation for offending behaviour is that it focuses on antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder is a particularly challenging type of personality disorder characterised by impulsive, irresponsible and often criminal behaviour. This means that these types of criminals are more likely to engage in aggressive and impulsive crimes such as rape and murder. Therefore, this theory doesn’t explain all types of crime such as white collar crimes and therefore can be seen as a partial explanation to offending behaviour.
AO3: how is ‘biological reductionism’ a limitation to the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
criminality is complex, neural explanations may be over simplistic. crimes appear to run in families but so does poverty, emotion and mental disorders (KATZ 1997). so it is hard to disentangle biological and social explanations
AO3: how is ‘biological determinism’ a limitation to the neural explanation of offending behaviour?
stating there is a neural cause presents a dilemma to our legal system. it removes free will and raises ethical issues.
