CONTEMP DEBATE: Raines research on criminals Flashcards
What does neuroscience offer researchers?
It provides a scientific (knowledge based) and objective method of studying human behaviour by examining what happens in the brain and the nervous system.
Name two methods of examining the brain
fMRI scan (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography)
What is neuromarketing?
Use of brain scans to see how ppts react to tasting/viewing products.
E,g., coca cola vs pepsi test; ‘blind’ test ppts held equal preferences between the two; when one was labelled, they preferred the label and scans showed areas of the brain light up related to memory and emotion. Coca-Cola brand had imprinted on their responses.
This can help reduce marketing budgets by making it more culturally and individually specific (e.g., why waste budget on advertising for cruises to the over 60s in mass circulation magazines - it’s too broad a market?)
What did Raine et all (1997) find in criminal brains?
- Different levels of brain activity in the criminal group relative to the control group:
- amygdala and corpus callosum.
What was the aim of Raine’s et al (2003) research on brain cell function?
Enrichment of brain cell function focusing on nutrition, education, and physical activity.
Initial motivation for the research came from animal studies.
What was the procedure of Raine’s 2003 research on brain cell function?
- 83 children in Mauritius, aged 3 for two years.
- Educated on a 5:1 small class ratio.
- Control group of 355 children following 30:1 large class ratio, basic lunch of bread or rice.
- The 83 children had 2.5 hours of organised physical activity, lesson to promote visual-spatial and memory skills and relatively good nutritious food of milk, fruit juice, chicken/fish, and salads.
- At ages of 17 and 23, the enrichment group showed less anti-social and criminal behaviour.
What did McClure’s et al (2004) research into marketing find?
With ppts given Coca Cola and Pepsi, they could not tell the difference when presented in unmarked cups. When presented the drinks with one of the cups labelling the drink as either Coca or Pepsi, suddenly they preferred the Cokes … since they could not tell the difference physically, McClure et al concluded that the difference was due to marketing and associations.
What are the ethical issues surrounding neuroscience?
If people commit crimes because of the nature of their brains, then they are not really responsible for what they do. Therefore they can found to be not guilty by reasons of insanity.
This challenges the notion of free well (you knew what you were doing….) and the need for individuals to be responsible for their actions.
On the other hand, brain scans could show which people are more likely to be committing crime and therefore introduce interventions early on to stop them becoming psychopaths. However this assumes guilt before an act has taken place and the potential use of brain surgery in children which raises enormous ethical and medical issues.
Philosophically, we can aske whether criminals’ brains change with criminal behaviour because of the choices that they make rather than the other way round? (Analogously, a footballer developers better field perception, balance, and ‘reading of the game’ than others who don’t play football; or London black cab drivers (that’s not their race, that’s the colour of the cabs….) were tested and they were found to improve areas of their brain associated with orientation.
Lots of early medical interventions in the past century are now seen as very questionable ethically and physiologically. On the other hand medical intervention may not be necessary: behavioural changes and dietary changes may be used to help bolster healthy brain and hand social development.
Neuroscientific research on Alzheimers and dementia people is also problematic because of the need to gain consent from people whose ability to give consent is diminished. To get round that requires legal papers either already in place by the family before the onset of debilitating brain disorders or by authorities acknowledging the diminution of responsibility has taken place.
Neuromarketing could use techniques to monitor our reactions to stimuli such as marketing ads and adjust accordingly to trigger higher sales. But is this not just a sophisticated version of the long drawn out process of asking a relectant partner on a date…flowers, dinner, cinema, walk on the beach… :)
What are the social implications of neuroscience?
Huge - from detecting early onset of Alzeihmer’s and dementia through to helping patients retard the slowing down of brain cognition and repair damage done through exposure to drugs.
(For a quick understanding, there’s a video by some comedienne, Laura Clery, on getting a brain scan and then the results of the scan - I picked it up Facebook, just put her name and “brain scan” in search - it’s probably on google etc search engines.)
Concluding thoughts on neuroscience debate
Neuroscience advances are challenging beliefs about criminality and consumer behaviour and can lead to developments to prevent crime and say increase sales but also to help research into brain degenerative issues and related mental disorders.
Eg., use of early (soft) interventions to encourage young people to stay away from brain destroying drugs and alcohol; interventions to slow down brain degeneration in the elderly or those who have suffered brain injuries; education to sustain brain health throughout life.
