Biological Explanations Of Offender Behaviour Flashcards
Expand on twin study of danish twins
-investigating how many of their co-twins had also spent time in prison
-3500 danish twins, one twin in each pair had previously served time in prison
-35% both male MZ twins
-13% male DZ twins
Research into the MAOA gene and it’s role in criminal behaviour
-genetic analysis of 800 Finnish offenders suggested that two genes may be associated with violent crime
-MAOA gene helps to regulate serotonin productions in the brain, when individual has low functioning MAOA gene this can cause a build up of serotonin which can lead to an increase in aggressive/violent behaviour
Role of the CDH13 gene and it’s involvement in criminal behaviour
-plays a role in brain connectivity and communication, particularly in regions linked to impulse control, decision making and emotion regulation (eg in the pre frontal cortex)
-dysfunction in these areas can lead to increase in impulsivity and decrease in empathy and difficulty in regulating aggressive behaviours which may increase likelihood of criminal antisocial acts
Expand on the neural correlates of antisocial personality disorder
-individuals with APD (impulsivity, aggressive behaviours, exploiting others and lack of remorse) have lower activity in their prefrontal cortex which is the part of the brain that controls emotions, decision making, personality and logical thinking
-also shown to have reduced grey matter in their frontal lobes in comparison to typical individuals
Expand on role of mirror neurones in antisocial personality disorder
-impaired mirror neurone system in those with APD, can experience empathy but more sporadically
-research found that when asked to empathise with an individual experiencing pain in a movie they could empathise and the researcher saw activity in their mirror neurones but acts as a switch so can turn empathy off and on
Expand on limitation that approach is biologically reductionist
-criminality is complex so reducing offending behaviour to a genetic neural level may be inappropriate and overly simplistic
-only 35% of MZ twins both criminals not 100% so criminal behaviour cannot be purely genetic, environment must have some influence
-suggests biological approach does not consider all factors affecting criminal behaviour, not holistic
Expand on limitation that approach biologically deterministic
-reduces moral responsibility of criminals as suggests they cannot help their criminal behaviour if they have a certain gene, ignores free will
-may reduce engagement in rehabilitation
-implications for justice system
Expand on limitation that ethnocentric samples
-the MAOA and CDH14 gene may only be prevalent in the societies studied
-may tell us very little about how genetics influences criminal behaviour in the wider population
Expand on strength that research uses empirical methods
-brain scans to look at activity and size of grey matter in prefrontal cortex and gene analysis of criminals not open to bias
-increases scientific credibility as can be more sure their criminal behaviour is due to biological factors
