Criminal - What makes a criminal?

Question 1

Lombroso (Background)

Answer 1

There is such thing as a ‘criminal look’:
- Big ears
- Square jaw
- Big forehead
- Big nose (oftentimes)

Question 2

Sheldon (Background)

Answer 2

Proposed 3 body types:
- Ectomorph - tall and skinny
- Endomorph - fatter
- Mesomorph - muscly; more likely to turn to crime potentially due to high levels of testosterone/being more capable of self-defence

Question 3

Regions of the brain associated w. criminals (Background)

Answer 3

• Amygdala - high activity = impulsive aggression, reduced grey matter = more psychopathic + lack empathy
• Corpus callosum - less activity = less communication between brain hemispheres, possibly meaning less comprehension of why crime is bad
• Limbic system - damage to this area linked to aggression + memory, learning and attentional problems; could be reason to support high reoffending rates
• Prefrontal cortex - less activity = commit crime; damage to area leads to less self-control, more aggression and harder time processing emotions

Question 4

Brunner et al. (Background)

Answer 4

• Study into Dutch family which had males with mutated MAO-A gene
• All reacted aggressively when angry, fearful or frustrated
• Suggests abnormal MAO-A activity is associated with criminality

Question 5

Dunedin Study (Background)

Answer 5

• Dunedin, NZ
• People with difficult childhoods went on to commit violent crimes and had lowered MAO-A and were more susceptible to developing APD

Question 6

Farringdon & West (Background)

Answer 6

• Longitudinal study; 411 8-year-old boys
• Factors which determined criminality:
  poor parenting, poverty, history of crime in family, low school attainment, risk taking

Question 7

Farringdon & West (Background)

Answer 7

• Longitudinal study; 411 8-year-old boys
• Factors which determined criminality:
  
  • Poor parenting
  • Poverty
  • History of crime in family
  • Low school attainment
  • Risk taking

Question 8

Jahoda (Background)

Answer 8

• Ghanian tribe believing that the day you were born affected personality
• Boys born on Wednesday thought to be more violent and aggressive
• Found that over a 5 year period Wednesday boys accounted for ~22% of violent offences
• Self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 9

Raine - Hypotheses

Answer 9

1. Seriously violent individuals pleading NGRI have brain activity in areas of the brain previously linked to violence e.g. prefrontal cortex, amygdala
2. Seriously violent individuals pleading NGRI will show no dysfunction in areas of the brain not related to violence

Question 10

Raine - Method

Answer 10

• Quasi experiment w matched pairs
• IV - murderer pleading NGRI or a control
• DV - whether ps showed evidence of brain dysfunction in areas previously associated with violence

Question 11

Raine - Sample

Answer 11

• Murderers (41) - 39 men, 2 women, all charged w murder/manslaughter and pleaded NGRI, 6 w history of schizophrenia
• Control group (41) - matched by gender and 6 also w history of schizophrenia

Question 12

Raine - Procedure

Answer 12

• All kept medication free from 2 weeks before the brain scan
• Ps were allowed to practice the Continuous Performance Task (CPT) before the scan
• Ps injected w FDG to highlight brain metabolism
• During scan thermosetting plastic head holder used to hold head still
• CPT completed while being scanned and 10 pictures were taken in both cortical and sub-cortical areas

Question 13

Raine - Results

Answer 13

• Reduced activity found in areas previously linked to violence e.g. prefrontal cortex + corpus callosum
• ## Greater brain activity on RHS, esp in areas previously linked to violence e.g. amygdala, hippocampus

Question 14

Raine - Conclusions

Answer 14

• Murderers pleading NGRI have significant differences in metabolism in a number of brain areas compared to non-murderers
• There are some physiological processes within the brain which may predispose some criminals to violent crimes (e.g. less activity in prefrontal cortex)
• Neural processes which underlie violent behaviour can’t simply be reduced to one area in the brain

Question 15

Omega 3 supplements (Application)

Answer 15

• Nutritional supplement given to help boost IQ in hopes that criminals will be more aware of their crimes
• Mothers that are pregnant are more likely to benefit from this nutrition - makes sure babies brains are developing with good nutrition
• Offer omega 3 fish oils for young children trhough schools to ensure children’s brain continues to develop with good nutrition
• Omega 3 given to children reduces likelihood of delinquency, lowers aggression levels and attention problems (Raine)

Question 16

Plastic Surgery (Application)

Answer 16

• Violent criminals may be treated differently due to their face and might lead to higher recidivism rates - plastic surgery could lead to them being viewed differently
• Freedman (1988) - innmates at Texas State Prison were offered plastic surgery, recidivism rates were lower in plastic surgery group even 3 years after first offence
• Lewinsohn - 450 facial reconstructions of criminals, saw psychological improvements e.g. learning a trade raised morale and reduced hostility, re-offence rate dropped from 75% to 42%