Biological explanations of criminality Flashcards
Twin studies
Christiansen(1977) found that 35% of identical male twins recorded in Denmark were both criminals compared to the 13% of non-identical male twins. However this information may produce a problem as twins are also brought up in the same environment to criminality could be due to nature or nurture.
Adoption studies
21% of adopted children who went on to commit crimes had a biological father convicted of crime. Compared to only 10% whose biological father was not convicted of crime but the adoptive father had a criminal record.
Personality theory
This suggest that our personality comes from our temperament. Our temperament has a biological basis. Personality theories suggest that some personalities are associated with being a criminal. Eysenck studied different personality traits and suggested that certain characteristics could be more prone to criminality.
Extraversion
Behaviour that is outgoing, sensation-seeking and sociable
Neuroticism
This refers to the nervous disposition of someone and whether they overreact or not in a situation
Psychoticism
A personality trait that is cold, lacks empathy , is antisocial and can be aggressive
How are they measured
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)
The biological basis of personality (Extraversion)
People with a high extraversion score are believed to have a nervous system with a low arousal level, so they seek external simulation to raise their biological arousal level. They do this by sensation-seeking.
The biological basis of personality (Neuroticism)
Unstable Neurotics have a high neuroticism score and are believed to have a nervous system that responds very quickly to stressful conditions. They tend to overreact quickly.
The criminal personality
High PEN scores are relatively uncommon and have been used to explain criminality. However, this theory is not completely about our biological make-up. It also explains hoe the PEN personality traits interact with how we are raised. This is called the process of socialisation.
Strengths of the theory
There is research evidence linking these personality traits to criminal behaviour. If we compare the PEN scores of convicted criminals with non-criminals, we should find that criminals have a higher PEN score
It combines biological, psychological and social factors into one theory so it is more holistic than other theories
Weaknesses of the theory
The explanation assumes that personality traits are fixed. Traits that have a biological basis in our nervous system are viewed as unchanging throughout our lives. However, it is possible that we change our behaviour according to the situation we are in.
Much of the evidence for the theory uses self-report questionnaires. This evidence may be flawed because people tend to answer questions about themselves in a way that best reflects their desirable characteristics rather than undesirable ones.
