Chapter 2 of Text Flashcards
What are the basic principles of evolutionary psychology?
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What are the biological explanations of crime?
Genetics
Neurochemistry
Hormones
Psychphysiology
Are evolutionary and biological theories of crime compatible with traditional theories of crime?
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What are the characteristics of a strong theory?
1) Parsimonious
2) Identifies the causal mechanisms, corresponding mediators and moderators
3) Testable and hence falsifiable via hypotheses and predictions
4) Based on empirical data, modified in response to new data
5) Interdisciplinary compatibility
6) Respects gender, ethnicity, and culture
Who was Franz Gall?
Franz Gall - founding father of phrenology—a theoretical perspective positing that there is a relationship between the shape and size of a person’s head and their personality, mental ability, and behaviours
Who was Cesare Lombroso?
- Lombroso compared criminals to “normal” segments of the population.
- Argued that criminals possess distinctive physical features such as sloping foreheads and twisted lips often not observed in his “normal” subjects
Within Lombroso’s theory, what is an atavism?
- Physical features that Lombroso thought identified criminals
- Suggested that criminals were evolutionary throwbacks who had more in common with Neanderthals than modern-day man
What was Charles Darwin’s position on how humans evolved?
- Published On the Origins of Species in 1859
- Posited that humans had evolved from ancestral species via the mechanisms of natural selection.
What was Francis Galton and what did he do?
- Founded eugenicS
- Theory responsible for the forced sterilization of thousands of individuals deemed “unfit” to reproduce in the United States during the early part of the twentieth century, andalso for the atrocities that occurred under Hilter’s regime
How might behavioural genetics researchers investigate the genetic basis of crime?
- Might employ twin methodology to ask whether identical twins are more likely to commit crime than non-identical twins.
How might molecular biologists researchers investigate the genetic basis of crime?
Molecular biologists might compare the genetic makeup of a group of “criminals” to one of “non-criminals” to look for distinct genetic differences between the two.
How might those interested in neurochemical approaches examine the genetic basis of crime?
Neurochemical approaches might examine how genes actually express themselves in terms of the brain’s neurotransmitter systems.
How do researchers examine the link between biology and crime?
- By comparing “normal” individuals to individuals who have been officially diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), conduct disorder (CD), or psychopathy
Outline what percentage of DNA humans have fixed and what percentage is flexible
- Every human being shares about 99 percent of his or her DNA sequence with the rest of the species.
- The percentage of DNA that humans collectively share is fixed, accounting for similarities such as two arms, two legs, and so forth
- Behavioural genetics focuses on the remaining 1 percent of the variance that is free to vary.
Explain the difference between monozygotic and dizygotic twins
- Monozygotic (MZ) or identical twins are genetically identical. They share 100 percent of their genes. Specifically, the 1 percent of DNA that is free to vary from human to human is 100 percent identical for MZ twins
- Dizygotic (DZ) or fraternal twins are no more alike than non-twin siblings, sharing on average only 50 percent of that 1 percent that is free to vary
