Biological explanations of offending- Genetic and Neural Flashcards
How would the genetic explanation explain criminal behaviour?
Suggest some people may inherit a gene that is passed down from family members and may make them more likely to engage in criminal behaviour
What genes are said to be involved in criminal behaviour?
MAOA & CDH13
Name two biological regions associated with neural explanations
Frontal cortex, Mirror Neurons (can also have hypothalamus)
What is APD?
Antisocial Personality Disorder
What are the three assumptions of the genetic explanations?
1- Criminal tendencies can be inherited.
2-Investigation of the person’s genetic material, brain or body will reveal criminal tendencies.
3-Stressors in the environment can trigger genetics (diathesis stress model) but people are pre-disposed to crime
What did Christiansen (1977) find?
3500 pairs twin pairs in Denmark born between 1880-1910 with “offender behaviour” checked against Danish Polish records.
Findings:
MALE:
MONO- 35% DYZO- 13%
FEMALE
MONO-21% DYZO-8%
What did Raymond Crowe (1972) find?
Adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record had 50% risk of having a criminal record by the age of 18, whereas adopted children whose biological mother didn’t have a criminal record only had a 5% risk.
What is the responsibility of the MAOA gene?
MAOA Regulates dopamine and serotonin which (as well as mood) can play a role in impulsive aggression.
Low variants (MAOA-L) results in low activity of this enzyme
What is the responsibility of the CHD13 gene?
is linked to substance abuse and ADHD.
About 5-10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to MAOA and CDH13
how can the diathesis stress model be applied to criminal behaviour
Frazzetto et al. (2007) found a higher level of antisocial aggression and the MAOA-L variant in men but was only the case in those who had experienced significant trauma (e.g. sexual or physical abuse) before age 15. Those with the gene variant but no trauma did not display the same levels of aggression.
How does the pre-frontal cortex (neural) link to criminal behaviour?
Adrian Raine has conducted many studies of the APD brain- individuals with antisocial personalities have reduced activity in prefrontal cortex that regulates emotional behaviour.
Raine also found 11% reduction in volume of grey matter in prefrontal cortex of people with APD compared to controls.
How does mirror neurons (neural) link to criminal behaviour?
Offenders with APD can experience empathy but do so more sporadically than the rest of us.
Did so when asked of them (Keysers 2011) suggests APD individuals not without empathy but may have a neural switch.
What was the procedure of Raine’s 1997 research?
41 murderers (NGRI) compared with a control group of 41 non-murderers. Matched pairs design. Were instructed to be medication free for two weeks prior to scanning.
What was the findings of Raine’s 1997 research?
Reduced brain activity in certain areas may be one of the many predispositions toward violence. The areas identified as having abnormal activity are associated with lack of fear, lower self-control, increased aggression, impulsive behaviour and problems controlling and expressing emotions. All of these could lead to an increased risk of committing acts of extreme violence.
What research supported the pre-frontal cortex explanation of neural?
Kandel & Freed (1989) found people with frontal lobe damage tended to show impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and an inability to learn from their mistakes.
