Criminal Behaviour - Biological

Question 1

What are the two biological theories of criminal behaviour?

Answer 1

Role of the amygdala
Inherited Criminality

Question 2

What is the amygdala is where is it located?

Answer 2

The Amygdala is a structure in the brain that is located in the Medial Temporal Lobe.

It has widespread influence on how both humans and non-humans. It plays a crucial role in how we interpret and respond to environmental threats.

Question 3

Name and explain the first element of role of the amygdala

Answer 3

Fear conditioning

Fear conditioning is a process that takes place during childhood and relates to situations where we want to behave aggressively but we have been conditioned too instead hold back on these urges because of our conditioning of punishment, for instance if you were caught fighting with other children when you were younger you are punished by the adults.

Question 4

Explain how the amygdala is involved in fear conditioning

Answer 4

Some individuals have disrupted fear conditioning causing them to not be able to recognise social cues that indicate threat / punishment, this causes them to become fearless of the repercussions of their actions such as prison.

This means if someone has a faulty amygdala it could result in less fear conditioning in these individuals and cause more engagement in fearless / criminal behaviour.

Question 5

What key study is used to support the role of fear conditioning in criminal behaviour

Answer 5

Key Study 1) Yu Gao Et Al

In this study 1795 three-year-olds took part in a longitudinal study investigating fear conditioning.

Their fear conditioning was measured by their physiological arousal (sweating) in response to a loud and painful noise.

The same individuals were tested 20 years later, they found that those who had been fearless at age 3 were the ones who were far more likely to go and commit crime when they were older.

Question 6

Name and explain the second element of role of the amygdala

Answer 6

The second element of the role of the amygdala is psychopathy.

A psychopath is someone with a form of anti-social personality disorder. The main traits of psychopathy are being impulsive, manipulative and having a lack of empathy. Psychopaths are far more likely to go onto commit horrific crimes than the average person because of these traits.

Question 7

Explain how psychopathy is caused by the amygdala

Answer 7

The reason psychopathy to the amygdala is that one of the functions of the amygdala is to respond to signals of stress from other people, this helps to prevent anti-social behaviour as we won’t act aggressively to someone who is clearly distressed out of empathy / remorse.

As this process is disrupted in individuals who have a dysfunctional amygdala, they are far less empathetic to other people and don’t care for how their actions may affect them which makes them far more likely to commit crimes as they won’t feel empathy for their actions.

Question 8

What key study is used to support the role of psychopathy in criminal behaviour

Answer 8

Key study 2) Glenn Et Al.
In this study, 17 individuals with varying levels of psychopathy took an FMRI scan while making moral decisions like ‘should you smother your crying baby to save you and others who are hiding from terrorists?’
Glenn found a direct correlation between Psychopathy and Dysfunctional amygdala during this task.

Question 9

Name two strengths of Role of the Amygdala explanation of criminality.

Answer 9

Strength 1) Method of modification

One strength of this approach is that if we know a dysfunctional amygdala can result in criminality, we can attempt to reverse this dysfunction to reduce criminality. There is evidence to support this in the form of Gesch and co-workers 2002

Strength 2) Research evidence in the form of Yu Gao Et Al who found a direct link between fearless 3 year olds and criminality later in life.

(However, one weakness of this study is that it lacks External Validity this is because all the participants come from Mauritius where the majority of the participants are Indian, this means we cannot generalise the study to other areas of the world as the findings could be completely different in countries that have higher / lower crime rates)

Question 10

Explain the study of Gesch and co-workers 2002

Answer 10

Conducted placebo-controlled, study with 231 adult British prisoners. Some prisoners given food containing nutrients like vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids while the control group had a placebo

Found after taking supplements for 2 weeks, the experimental group committed 35% fewer disciplinary offences on average before trial began, they also committed 26% fewer offences on average than placebo control group.
Appears there may be benefits in taking a neurobiological approach to changing criminal behaviour using aspects such as diet. Raine 2013 = biology isn’t a destiny; we can change the biological roots of crime and violence.

Question 11

Name two weaknesses of Role of the Amygdala explanation of criminality.

Answer 11

Weakness 1) Reductionist

Despite the studies showing a correlation between a dysfunctional amygdala and criminal behaviour, some would argue that it is reductionist to look at the amygdala alone when looking at biological factors involved in criminal behaviour when the amygdala is only one of many parts of a complex system of functions in the brain.

For instance, in Raine et al’s study on NGRI murders and non-murders using a PET scan, he found only a small difference in amygdala activities between the NGRI murders and non-murderers, while other parts of the brain like the Corpus Callosum had far more significant differences between the two. This supports the idea that there are more factors involved in criminality than just a dysfunctional amygdala - suggesting it is reductionist to look at just the amygdala.

Weakness 2) Determinism and Ethical Implications.

Biological theories such as a dysfunctional amygdala place the blame for offending on the offender. By doing this it absolves society and the government of any responsibility. This is a weakness because a significant contributor of crime is inequality and poverty, by placing all the blame on the criminal, it is ignoring a significant reason for the crime. This approach could instead result in more criminal behaviour as individuals will feel they are being unfairly treated by the government and commit more crimes as a result. It could also be argued it is highly unethical to punish criminals for crimes that are caused by factors beyond their control like their genetics of a dysfunctional amygdala rather than trying to help them.

Question 12

Name and explain is the second biological explanation of criminality?

Answer 12

Inherited Criminality

Inherited criminality involves the theory that crime occurs because of genetic predisposition that is passed down from their parents.
A gene that is potentially linked to Criminality is called a ‘candidate gene’.

Question 13

What is the first element of Inherited Criminality?

Answer 13

The first element looks at the role of the MOA-A gene.
This gene produces the enzyme Monoamine Oxidise-A, this enzyme metabolises serotonin in the brain.

Question 14

How does the MOA-A gene explain criminality?

Answer 14

A variant of the MOA-A gene produces less of the enzyme, this results in higher levels of serotonin, however because of this, over time the brain becomes desensitised to the calming effects of serotonin, this results in increased aggressive and therefore increased likelihood of criminal behaviour.

Question 15

Name and describe the key study that is used to support the role of MOA-A in causing criminality?

Answer 15

Key Study – Brunner et al 1993

Study on large family in the Netherlands on a large family in the Netherlands where the men had a history of very violent crimes (rape and attempted murder)

In the study they analysed the X chromosome of 28 of the men in the family who were found to have a gene variant that resulted in particularly low levels of the MOA-A gene as well as lower levels of intelligence (average iq was 85). This gene was also not present in the non-violent men of the same family.

Question 16

What is the second element of Inherited Criminality?

Answer 16

Twin Studies
Two types of twins:
Identical (monozygotic)  share 100% DNA ———- Non-identical (dizygotic)  share 50% DNA.

Using MZ and DZ twins, we can get a view into how much of an impact genes play in criminality using concordance rates. If MZ twins have a higher concordance rate than DZ twins we can infer that genetics play a part in that characteristic.

Question 17

Name and describe the key twin study that is used to support the role of genes playing a part in criminality.

Answer 17

Key Study: Christiansen 1977
Involved the study of 3500 twin pairs in Denmark.
Compared the Criminal concordance rate between MZ and DZ twins by the time they turned 18 years old.
Found MZ twins have a significantly higher concordance rate than DZ twins implying a genetic element to criminality

Male MZ: 35
Male DZ: 13

Female MZ: 21
Female DZ: 8

Question 18

What can we infer from the results of Christansen?

Answer 18

These findings are interesting as they indicate a degree of inheritance; however, there are some key points to consider. Firstly, the concordance rates are low, even for monozygotic twins, which indicates that the environment / Nurture still plays a large part in criminal behaviour.

Secondly the difference between male and female twin pairs raises an interesting question about the role of gender in criminal behaviour

Question 19

What is the third element of inherited criminality?

Answer 19

Adoption Studies
A key criticism raised by research into genetics (twin and family) is that it cannot rule out the effect of the environment. For example, a twin study may find a high concordance between monozygotic twins, but we don’t know how much of that is due to them growing up in the same environment.

Adoption studies attempt to rule this out by looking at children who have been adopted and have therefore been raised by adopted parents where there is no genetic similarity.

Question 20

What key adoption study is used to support the role of inherited criminality?

Answer 20

Key Study: Crowe (1972)
This study involved a control and experimental group of all adopted children.
The experimental group had bio mothers who had a criminal record while the control group’s bio mothers did not.
The experiment looked at what portion of these children had a criminal record by age 18. in each group

They found 5% of control group had criminal record by 18.
While 50% of experimental group had criminal record by 18.

Question 21

What are two strengths of Inherited Criminality approach of explaining criminality?

Answer 21

1) Method of modification

This explanation suggest that some people commit crime due to a genetic predisposition e.g., a variant of the MAO-A gene has been linked to aggression which may lead to violent crime.
Therefore, a method of modification for criminal behaviour should involve altering a person’s genetic composition so that undesirable traits (such as aggression) are eradicated. For example, by using genetic engineering, a defective MAO-A gene could be replaced with a ‘normal’ one in a fertilised ovum. This would then reduce the likelihood of aggression and violent criminal behaviour.

2) Research Evidence

Research evidence in the form of Crowe et al supports the view that criminality is inherited, Crowe is an adoption study meaning there is no element of nurture from the criminal parent and the only link is purely genetic. Therefore the results showing that those with criminal biological mothers were 10x more likely to have a criminal record by 18 shows a clear link between genetics and criminality.

Question 22

What are two weaknesses of Inherited Criminality approach of explaining criminality?

Answer 22

1) Reductionist

With our modern understanding of genetic influence on criminal behaviour, research no longer suggests that our behaviour is determined by one or a few genes.
A Diathesis-Stress explanation considers how the environment interacts with a genetic predisposition. suggesting criminal behaviour may be the result of a combination of nature and nurture

Epigenetics, refers to the idea that genes we inherit from our parents can be ‘switched on or off’ through our experiences / environment.
For instance, someone has a criminal gene, but this gene is only activated due to a negative experience like a poor upbringing. This is supported in Capsi et al (2002).

This study looked at males from birth until 26 years old and studied their engagement in Criminal Behaviour.
It looked at the involvement of both the MOA-A gene as well as maltreatment during childhood.
Found that those who experienced the low MOA-A gene and maltreatment were far more likely to engage in criminal behaviour than the low MOA-A gene without childhood maltreatment.

2) Ethical Implications and Determinism

Determinism – lack of responsibility.
If criminal behaviour is caused by biological factors, it would suggest we cannot hold people responsible for their own actions and that it would be unethical to punish criminals as their behaviour was caused by physiological forces beyond their control.

Ethical implication - Racism
Another Ethical concern that could come as a result of this is racism, as some ethnic groups are more likely to be arrested than others, it could lead to a belief that those ethnic groups are ‘inferior’.

Ethical Implication – Gene eradication.
Lastly, on an extreme level it could result in attempted eradication of these genes deemed to be ‘criminal’ this has happened in the past where criminals were sterilised to prevent them from passing down the ‘criminal genes’ to their children

Question 23

Give an extra evaluation point on inherited criminality

Answer 23

Much of the research into inherited criminality focuses on violent crimes. Therefore, this research isn’t necessarily generalisable to non-violent crimes such fraud, theft, and illegal drug use.

Additionally, most research focuses on men and there has been little attempt to investigate inherited criminality in women. It may not be appropriate to assume that the reasons men become criminals are the same for women. This is an example of beta bias.

Question 24

Evaluation of Christensen et al

Question 25

Evaluation of Brunner et al

Answer 25

One Strength of Brunner et al is the utilizing of Case Studies which allows for in-depth analysis of specific individuals with a rare genetic condition of MAOA deficiency. This is a strength as it means the study can be used by researchers to thoroughly examine insights into the link between the MAOA gene and aggressive behaviour in a high level of detail.

One weakness of both Brunner et al as well as Christiansen et al is that they do not rule out the extraneous variable of nurture, while their results do suggest some level of genetic criminality, they don’t rule out the impact of theenvironment. The results could be due tosocial learningsince the twin sets and families concerned are all occupying the same environment.

Question 26

Evaluation of Crowe et al

Answer 26

One Strength of Crowe (1972) Is that is has high control over extraneous variables, this is done by using adopted children rather than a group that shares a criminal environment to assess the role of genetics in criminality. This is a strength of the study as it removes the aspect of Criminal Nature as the children are separated from their Criminal Mother to an adopted family.

One Weakness of Crowe is that the study lacks generalisability as well as Population validity as the study only uses 52 adoptees. This is a weakness as 52 is too small of a number to apply to an entire population, on top of this, it means that someone who is an anomaly will heavily skew the results if they are in the sample making the results less reliable.