Crime: What Makes a Criminal? Flashcards
What are the two main causes of criminal behaviour?
Physiological (comes from within) and non-physiological (comes from external factors)
What did Lombroso suggest was a physiological cause of criminal behaviour?
A ‘criminal look’ such as prominent jaws and large ears. These characteristics were primitive in terms of evolution
What did Sheldon suggest was a physiological cause of criminal behaviour?
Said that there are three different body types and mesomorph (strong and bulky) were most likely to commit crime
What are other physiological causes of criminal behaviour?
- Higher levels of testosterone
- Extroverts more likely to commit a crime due to lower resting heart rate so they seek adrenaline
- More activity in the prefrontal cortex
- XYY is a gene mutation that makes people more aggressive
- Warrior gene also means higher levels of aggression
How can operant conditioning be a non-physiological explanation of criminal behaviour?
- The observer receives positive reinforcement for the criminal behaviour they have learned
- Muscular people may find that they can achieve more through force than hard work
What are other examples of non-physiological factors that can cause criminal behaviour?
- Family dynamics
- Exposure to violence and abuse
- Homelessness and low socioeconomic background
- Social influences and conformity
- Role models
What view should be taken in the cause of criminal behaviour?
Interactionist/ holistic
How do adoption studies show a holistic approach to the causes of crime?
- Having biological parents that a child has never met increases the chance of sons also having a criminal record
- The same is true if the adoptive parent has a criminal record
What was the aim of Raine’s study?
To see if violent offenders who commit murder and plead Not Guilty for Reasons of Insanity have localised brain dysfunction (no control over their actions)
What sampling method was used in Raine’s study?
Opportunity
What was the sample of Raine’s experiment?
Experimental group - convicted of murder or manslaughter and pleaded NGRI
Control - non murderers
- 39 men and 2 women in each group
- Matched for sex and age
- No medication
- 6 had schizophrenia
What was the method and design of Raine’s experiment?
Quasi experiment using a matched pairs design
What was the procedure of Raine’s experiment?
- CPT for 32 minutes to increase brain activity in the frontal cortex
- Allowed to practise the CPT
- Injected with radioactive substance 30 seconds before their full CPT session
- Brain scalled using a PET scan to see which parts were active
What do CPT and PET stand for
Continuous performance task and Positron emission tomography
What were the results of Raine’s study?
Murderers:
- less activity in the prefrontal cortex - more impulsive
- less activity in the corpus callosum - communication issue in brain leading to a lack of consideration of consequences
- Abnormally asymmetrical activation in the limbic system leading to fearlessness and aggression
What conclusions may be drawn from Raine’s study?
- Biological differences in brain functioning between murderers and non-murderers but does not show one root brain mechanism as the cause
- Holistic view must be taken
- Murderers are still responsible for their crimes
- Findings can only be generalised to murderers
- Can’t be used to diagnose people who are more likely to become murderers
What are three applications of Raine’s research?
- Plastic surgery
- Chemical castration
- Bio social intervention
What does recidivism mean?
The likelihood that people will re-offend
What were the psychological effects of plastic surgery?
- No longer see themselves as a criminal
- Boosts confidence
- Increase in cooperation with authority
- More likely to want to learn a trade
- Raised morale and reduced hostility
Is plastic surgery effective?
Lewinson (1965) found that recidivism rate was 42% lower than those without plastic surgery (75%)
What are the negatives of plastic surgery?
- Eugenics
- Socially sensitive to people who look a particular way
- Western ideas of beauty standards
- Shift to anti-social crimes, though this was rare
How does chemical castration work?
- Androgens are hormones that regulate the development of sex characteristics
- Males have higher levels of androgens
- Anti-androgen drugs work by blocking the effects of androgens, such as testosterone
- They bind to proteins called androgen receptors so the androgens can’t bind to the androgen receptors
How can omega 3 be linked to criminal behaviour?
It is a brain food linked to IQ. Low IQ leads to criminal behaviour. A study found that children on a smart fish drink experienced a reduction in aggression, delinquency, and attention problems
