causes of criminal behaviour

Question 1

How can brain injury cause criminal behaviour

Answer 1

caused by various factors, brain localisation- different areas of the brain are linked to different functions. damage to one area linked to rationality or controlling impulse may make this function less affective leading to criminal behaviour

Question 2

studies supporting brain injury as an explanation

Answer 2

williams et al

Question 3

what did Williams et al find

Answer 3

60% of prisoners had some traumatic brain injury, those with them tended to enter prison younger and had a higher rate of recidivism

Question 4

studies/ideas against brain injury as an explanation

Answer 4

correlational search not causation, Kreutzer et al

Question 5

what did Kreutzer et al find

Answer 5

they were unable to prove or disprove a connection, out of 74 prisoners, 20% had been arrested pre-injury, and 10% after so must be other factors at play

Question 6

how can the amygdala provide an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 6

amygdala is responsible for controlling emotion so damage or improper functioning of this area may affect emotion driven behaviour such as aggression, for example psychopaths are known to have smaller than average amygdalas

Question 7

studies supporting the amygdala as an explanation

Answer 7

Charles Whitman, Raine et al

Question 8

what does Charles Whitman show us

Answer 8

had a tumour pushed against his amygdala committed a mass shooting at a university in America. went to many doctors saying he felt he was getting more aggressive but had no idea why

Question 9

studies/ideas against amygdala as an explanation

Answer 9

James Fellon, Robert Hare

Question 10

What does James Fellon show us

Answer 10

has a psychopaths brain, e.g has a small amygdala but has not committed any crimes and is a leading psychologist

Question 11

What does Robert Hare tell us

Answer 11

lots of psychopaths are in high management positions, also 1-2% of the population are psychopaths and a third of men have a criminal conviction so must be other explanations

Question 12

how does XYY syndrome act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 12

extra Y chromosome on the 23rd pair, occurs randomly at conception, causes defects in IQ, ,language and speech delays and are usually very tall

Question 13

what studies/ ideas go against XYY syndrome as an explanation

Answer 13

Alice and Theilgard, women can commit crimes too

Question 14

What did Alice and Theilguard find

Answer 14

only a very small difference of percentage in population and prison population however this is more likely due to common symptoms of the disorder such as being high,. higher testosterone and lower IQ than the chromosome itself

Question 14

how can the MAOA gene provide an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 14

MAOA gene breaks down neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenalin and serotonin at the synapse, there are 2 versions of the gene a high activity version and low activity version and it is thought the low activity version has a link to crime as you don’t properly break down the neurotransmitters

Question 15

what did Mednick find out

Answer 15

85.7% of male adoptees who had a criminal record had a father who had a criminal record compared to 31.1% who didn’t have a criminal record. shows there must be a genetic cause to crime

Question 16

what did Brunner find out

Answer 16

looked at the family who had very bad criminal records, were all found to have this gene. in the Netherlands

Question 17

what did Capsi find out

Answer 17

80% of people with the MAOA gene show antisocial behaviour, but when they’re brought up in a loving home this goes down to 20%

Question 18

How can personality act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 18

eysneck personality theory- PEN personality, psychotic- lack of empathy, extrovert- need for constant stimulation and excitement, neurotic- emotionally charged and driven behaviour, arousal theory- individuals are motivated in a way that maintains a certain level of psychological arousal, will do things to stay that level psych as criminal behaviours

Question 19

what studies support personality as an explanation

Answer 19

Ruston and ohrisjohn, Bodusuzek et al

Question 20

what did Ruston and ohrisjohn find

Answer 20

found a link between high delinquency and high extrovert and psychotic scores

Question 21

what did boduseuzek find

Answer 21

if more extroverted more likely to reoffend

Question 22

what studies go against personality as an explanation

Answer 22

barlot et al

Question 23

what did barlot et al

Answer 23

found that people in prison tend to be less extroverted than those that arent

Question 24

how can personality disorders act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 24

Antisocial personality disorder- extreme callousness manifested in truancy, aggressive, ignore rules
psychopaths- poverty of emotion, no sense of shame, manipulation, won’t learn from mistakes
paranoid personality disorder- suspicious, distrustful, expect to be mistreated or exploited, unjustifiably jealous
Narcissistic personality disorder- self-obsessed, self centred, exploit others, require constant attention, excessive arrogance

Question 25

what did Hare et al find

Answer 25

for diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder as well as the other you need to recall events that took place many years ago and are relying on the answer of a person who is a habitual liar

Question 26

how can neurotransmitters act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 26

seretonin- regulating mood, lower levels–> aggression

dopamine- learning and reward system, higher levels–> aggression

Question 27

what did lavine find

Answer 27

increased levels of dopamine through amphetamine use causes increased levels of aggression

Question 28

what did virlkuken find

Answer 28

people who have a history of violence tend to have lower than average levels of seretonin

Question 29

how can testosterone act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 29

testosterone- linked with higher levels of aggression
the age at which men are most likely to be engaged in criminal behaviour is between 15-25 when men have higher levels of testosterone

Question 30

what did dabbs et al find

Answer 30

took saliva samples from prisoners, those with the highest levels of testosterone had more violent crimes, lower levels were with non-violent offences

Question 31

what did Goldstein find

Answer 31

castrated male rats and young male rats fought much less than other male rats

Question 32

ideas against testosterone as an explanation

Answer 32

issues with research into animals, Edwards with rats also found that age was a factor, women also commit crimes and t levels vary less amongst females, correlational not causation

Question 33

how can self fulfilling prophecy act as an explanation for criminal behaviour

Answer 33

a prediction about behaviour based on stereotypes that his made true as a result of ones actions due to this stereotype
self identity- characteristics and qualities that people use to define themselves
a stigma is a powerful label that affects someones self concept- beliefs about themselves based upon the views of others
projective label- using a label to say or predict a future behaviour

Question 34

studies supporting self fulfilling prophecy as an explanation

Answer 34

jahoda, madon

Question 35

what did jahoda find

Answer 35

looked at the shanti tribe in west Africa, boys were named based on days of the week, Wednesday boys were said to be aggressive and Monday boys placid, 22% of crimes were committed by Wednesday boys but only 6.9% by Monday

Question 36

what did mason find

Answer 36

when both parents overestimated a Childs alcohol use there was a positive correlation to the Childs alcohol use a year later

Question 37

studies against self fulfilling prophecy as an explanation

Answer 37

copeland et al, zebowritz et al

Question 38

what did copeland et al find

Answer 38

those in low positions of power may try and defy labels

Question 39

what did zebowritz et al find

Answer 39

looked at baby faced boys, usually labelled nice but weak, found had higher crime levels

Question 40

studies/ ideas for social learning theory

Answer 40

bandura, bastian- video games causes dehumanisation of themselves and others, Parke et al- in a juvenile detention centre, split into two groups one watched violent films and the other didn’t, those who watched the violent films had higher violence levels in the following days

Question 41

studies/ideas against social learning theory

Answer 41

catharsis- stops people doing violent acts themselves by watching others do it, based on correlational research not causational