Biological explanations of offending behaviour

Question 1

Atavistic form

Answer 1

LOMBROSO
Suggested criminal behaviour is based on biological factors
Can be identified from certain features they have (The way they look)

Question 2

Lombroso study

Answer 2

Examines features and measurements of 4,000 criminals and the skulls of 400 dead criminals
= 40% had atavistic features
Suggested that these individuals were not responsible for their actions, it was down to their innate inherited physiology

Question 3

Atavistic features

Answer 3

General features on the face and head:
-Narrowing, sloping brow
-Prominent jaw
-High cheekbones
-Facial asymmetry
-Curly hair
-Long ears

Question 4

SHREK

Answer 4

s- sloping brow
h- high cheekbones
r- really large jaw
e- ears are long
k- Kan’t feel pain

Question 5

Atavistic features in females

Answer 5

-Shorter
-More wrinkled
-Darker hair
-Smaller skulls than ‘normal’ women

Question 6

Kurtzberg

Answer 6

Found that prisoners behaviour improved following facial surgery:
Those who had surgery: Recidivism rate of 42%
Those who hadn’t: Recidivism rate of 70%
Those who had face surgery tended to do better on release from prison than those who didn’t

Question 7

Kretschmer

Answer 7

Leptosome or Asthenic: Tall and thin- petty thieves
Athletic: Tall and muscular- Crimes of violence
Pyknic: Short and fat- Times of deception and sometimes violence
Dysplastic or Mixed: More than one type- Crimes against morality (EG: Prostitution)

Question 8

DeLisi et al

Answer 8

Branded the theory as racist- just because an individual has those features it does not make them a criminal
-African-Americans are more likely to be criminals because they have curly hair ?

Question 9

Genetics

Answer 9

Genes that run in families or occur randomly in the population, pre-disposing those genes to engage in criminal behaviours

Question 10

The MAOA gene

Answer 10

Criminal gene which breaks down brain chemicals like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin.
MAOA L (LOW)- Struggles to break down these chemicals which leads to an overload of those chemicals= leads to aggression, out of control and impulsiveness

Question 11

Bruner et al (1993)

Answer 11

Analysed the DNA of 28 violent criminals
Found 5 of them shared a MAOA L gene
Linked to aggression

Question 12

CDH-13 gene

Answer 12

A gene involved in neural connectivity
Believed to be involved in impulse control and is associated with ADHD

Question 13

Jari Tiihohen

Answer 13

900 offenders
Found evidence of MAOA L snd CDH-13 genes
Those with the gene variants were 13 times more likely to have a history of repeated violent behaviour
5-10% of all violent crime in Finland could be attributed to individuals with these genotypes

Question 14

Twin studies

Answer 14

3586 twins in Denmark

Males:
Concordance rate of 35% for MZ
Concordance rate of 13% for DZ

Females:
Concordance rate of 21% for MZ
Concordance rate of 8% for DZ

Question 15

Adoption studies

Answer 15

Analysed the court convictions of 14,427 adoptees with adoptive and biological parents

Biological and adoptive parents convicted= 24.5% criminal record
Adopted convicted= 15% criminal ecord
Biological parent convicted= 20% criminal record

Supports the idea that criminality is likely due to genetics paired with environmental stressors (diathesis-stress model)

Question 16

Diathesis-stress model

Answer 16

Someone may have biological tendencies towards crime but an environmental trigger us what causes them to become a criminal

Question 17

Raine (2004)

Answer 17

71 brain imaging studies of:
-Murdered
-Psychopaths
-Violent individuals
All had reduced functioning in their prefrontal cortex

Question 18

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 18

Responsible for thinking, planning, language, regulating emotions and controlling moral behaviour

Question 19

Limbic system

Answer 19

Associated with emotions and drives

Question 20

Raine (1997)

Answer 20

Investigated the difference in brain activity in 41 murderers and 41 non-murderers
Used PET scanning techniques
Found differences in the prefrontal cortex and areas of the limbic system (amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus…)

Question 21

Evaluation

Answer 21

+ Research to support
+ Diathesis stress model takes into account both biological and environmental
+ PET scans are scientific

• Reductionist
• Deterministic
• Stereotypes if. children from criminal families
• Don’t actually know if therapy will work as its a biological approach