Biological explanations Flashcards
what are the two biological explanations?
Atavistic form & genetic and neural
what is the atavistic form?
the idea that criminals are genetic throwbacks, incapable of functioning appropriately and characterised by particular features.
who theorised atavistic form?
Caesar Lombroso
cranial characteristics focus on the skull. Give four examples of cranial characterises that make up the atavistic form.
- Narrow sloping brow
- strong prominent jaw
- high cheekbones
- facial symmetry
how did Lombroso come up with the atavistic form? what study did he carry out?
He examined 383 dead criminals and 3839 alive ones and concluded that 40% of criminal acts are committed by people with atavistic characteristics
what are the atavistic characteristics of murderers?
bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears
what are the atavistic characteristics of sexual deviants?
swollen lips, glinting eyes and projecting ears (dark skin and extra fingers, toes and nipples were also assumptions)
what lips do fraudsters have?
thin and reedy lips
what is the only strength of the atavistic form theory?
he revolutionised the study of crime at the time (even inventing the word ‘criminology’. He shifted the focus from a moralistic view (offenders were evil people) to a more scientific viewpoint that genetics can play a part in criminality.
why does the atavistic theory make us question whether criminality is born or raised?
because facial abnormalities can be caused through poor diet, lack of exercise etc… this contrasts with the view that criminality is inherited and has a genetic cause.
atavistic form is majorly……….
racist. Lombroso’s characteristics describe the features of African people. This could mean that the theory is just based on racial prejudice rather than any credible scientific basis.
Goring set out to establish whether offender could be distinguished for their….
appearance. He did an analysis of 3000 offenders and 3000 non offenders and found no distinct difference in features. Challenges the idea that offenders are physically distinguishable.
Lombroso’s methodology is poorly….
controlled. he didn’t compare his offender group to a non offender group like goring. This could’ve accounted for a number of confounding variables.
What does the genetic explanation suggest?
offenders inherit a gene or a combination of genes that predispose them to committing crime.
what are the two genes associated with violent crime?
MAOA and CDH13
MAOA regulates….
serationin (linked to aggression)
CDH13 links to…
substance abuse and ADHD
who suggested that MAOA and CDH!£ may be associated with crime?
Tilhonen et al after analysing 800 Finnish offenders.
what percentage of crime in Finland can be attributed to MAOA and CDH13?
5-10%
what is the diathesis-stress model?
AKA Vulnerability stress model. A model that explains how much someone’s psychological disorder is related to predisposition or environmental stressors.
what type of study is used to research genetic explanations for offending?
twin studies.
Explain Karl Christiansen’s twin study
studied over 3500 twins in Denmark and found that In identical twin males, there was a 35% concordance rate. In non identical twin males there was a 13% concordance rate.
the assumption of equal environments is a limitation of twin studies because…
high concordance rates in twin studies may be prevalent because they look the same and so are treated the same- rather than the fact that they are brought up in similar environments. This means that the basic ideas of twin study research could be based on unclear foundations.
there is support for the diathesis stress model that shows how both genetic and environmental vulnerability can lead to crime. What is this support?
mednick et al studied 13000 danish adoptees. They found that the adoptee was more likely to be convicted if both their biological and adopted parents were convicted (24.5%) as opposed to if only one biological parent was convicted (20%)
why is it hard to find nature/nurture results In adoption studies?
they rely on the idea that the children should still experience biological factors without experiencing any biological parenting… however, many adoptions take place when the child is older or they’re often encouraged to maintain contact with biological parents making nature nurture harder to distinguish.
define the neural explanation for offending
the idea is suggestive that there is a difference in the brains of offenders compared to non offenders.
where does most research into the neural explanation for crime come from?
APD (antisocial personality disorder) / psychopathy.
where did Raine conclude that offenders had less activity?
in their prefrontal cortex…. the area that regulates emotion
Keysers found that when offenders were asked to empathise…
their mirror neurons were activated, suggesting that they can turn their empathy on and off
why would the neural explanation affect our current justice system?
it proposes the idea that criminality is something that we cannot control. This biological view complicates the principles of the justice system that states how we are in control of our own actions.
Neural differences and their relationships to APD are complicated, there might be other factors involved. Who studied this?
Farrington et al studied men who scored high on the APD scale. they found other factors such as childhood trauma, neglect and convicted parents. These could be the cause as opposed to neural differences.
Kandel and Freed’s (1989) research supports the idea that brain damage links to offender behaviour as they reviewed…
people with frontal lobe damage and found that they show signs of impulsive behaviour, instability and inability to learn from mistakes.
