BIOLOGICAL Raine et al

Question 1

what was the aim of the study

Answer 1

to look at abnormalities of the cortical and sub-cortical brain functioning using PET scans
to compare to NGRI murderers

Question 2

what was the sample

Answer 2

41 control and 41 NGRI murderers (39 males and 2 females, schizophrenia, head injuries and epilepsy)

Question 3

explain the procedure

Answer 3

• medication free for 2 weeks before tests
• injected with a glucose tracer
• asked to carry out continuous target recognition for 32 minutes
• given PET scans
• comparisons made between groups in terms of levels of activity in the right and left hemisphere

Question 4

what groups design was used

Answer 4

independent groups design
- matched for age, sex, schizophrenia

Question 5

what where the results

Answer 5

NGRIs had less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, corpus collosum, the amygdala and the hippocampus in the left hemisphere
but higher activity in the right hemisphere (negative emotions)

Question 6

what did Raine et al conclude

Answer 6

less activity in the amygdala supports the theory of violence (unusual emotional responses)
less activity in the corpus collosum (inability to grasp long-term implications)

Question 7

positives of the study

Answer 7

• reliability - standardised procedure - can be replicated for 82 participants
• internal validity - controlled variables (matched for multiple qualities - can make conclusions
• useful application - Donta Page - testified that her frontal lobe was different - peopple who claim diminished responsibility - objective evidence

Question 8

negatives of the study

Answer 8

• direction of effects is questionable - correlational meaning impossible to know a cause and effect
• generalisability - only for NGRI murderers - may bot be true to all murderers
• socially sensitive research - leads to screening of children to detect early on - negative implacations as related to aggression