Criminology 1039

Question 1

Biopsychologists

Answer 1

Psychologists who study the biological aspects of behaviour.

Question 2

Behaviour Genetics

Answer 2

• focus on examining the role genes play in the formation and development if human or animal behaviour.
• investigates the relationship between genes and the environment in determining individual differences in behaviour.

Question 3

Molecular Genetics

Answer 3

• studies the structure and function of genes at the molecular level.
• focused on specific genes as foundations for certain patterns of behaviour.
• study how the genes are transferred from generation to generation.

Question 4

Dizygotic twins

Answer 4

fraternal twins

Question 5

Monozygotic twins

Answer 5

identical twins

-share 100% of their genes

Question 6

3 genetic or environmental sources of behavioural differences

Answer 6

1. Influences attributable to genetic effects.
2. Environmental influences shared by siblings.
3. Influences that arise from unshared environmental experiences that makes siblings differ from one another.

Question 7

Shared environments

Answer 7

Prenatal and life experiences affecting both twins in the same way.
-contribute 15-20% of the variation in antisocial behaviour.

Question 8

Nonshared environments

Answer 8

Living experiences that are different for each twin, such as being raised in a different home environment, participating in different activities, or even attending different schools.
-contribute about 30% of the variation in antisocial behaviour.

Question 9

Does the magnitude of genetic and nonshared environmental influences increase or decrease as the person gets older?

Answer 9

Increases

Question 10

Does the magnitude of shared environmental influences increase or decrease as the person gets older?

Answer 10

Decreases

Question 11

Concordance

Answer 11

The genetics term for the degree to which related pairs of subjects both show a particular behaviour or condition.
-usually expressed in percentages.

Question 12

Twins’ Early Development Study (TEDS)

Answer 12

• England and Wales
• explores behaviour problems as well as problematic development in language, cognition, and academic abilities from childhood through adolescence.

Question 13

The adoption study

Answer 13

Helps identify environments most conducive to criminality.

First study was done in 1972 in Denmark by Schulsinger.

Question 14

Adoption Study by Crowe

Answer 14

-found a positive correlation between the tendency of the index group to be antisocial and two other variables: the child’s age at the time of adoptive placement and the length of time the child had spent in temporary care prior to the placement.

Question 15

Adoption Study by Hutchings and Mednick

Answer 15

Concluded that genetic factors continue to exert strong influences in the tendency towards criminality, even though environmental factors also play important roles.

Question 16

The warrior gene

Answer 16

MAOA-L

• carried by roughly one-third of the population in Western societies.
• commonly linked to aggression and violence.

Question 17

Psychophysiology

Answer 17

The study of the dynamic interactions between behaviour and the autonomic nervous system.

Question 18

Autonomic Nervous System

Answer 18

The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions, such as heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion, and is closely related to the genetic makeup of the individual.

Question 19

Autonomic arousal theory of crime

Answer 19

persistent, chronic offenders compared with those with no or little offending history, will exhibit levels of autonomic arousal across a wide variety of situations and conditions.

Question 20

Amygdala

Answer 20

A brain structure that is particularly important to consider in light of its role in regulating fear and other emotional responses.
It is crucially related to psychopathy and to the callous-unemotional traits that are often associated with persons who engage in chronic antisocial activity.