Diathesis stress model Flashcards
What does the diathesis stress model suggest ?
- suggests that a tendency towards criminal behaviour stems from a combination of a genetic predisposition and a biological or psychological trigger
what does epigenetics suggest ?
- suggests that genes are switched on or off by epigenomes
- which in turn have been affected by environmental factors
Research to support diathesis stress model
Caspi et al
- longitudinal study on 1000 people
- assessed them at age 26 for antisocial behaviour
findings of Caspi et al ?
- found that 12% with abnormalities on MAOA genes were maltreated as children and were responsible for 44% of violent crimes
what factors are included in the neural explanation ?
- prefrontal cortex
- assymetric lymbic system
- neurotransmitters
what is the prefrontal cortex responsible for ?
- emotions and morals
what kind of individuals show reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex ?
- people with antisocial personality disorder
neural explanations
Raine study findings
- found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people with APD compared to control groups
what is the assymetric lymbic system responsible for ? and what is it regarded as and where is it found ?
- emotions and motivation
- central part of the brain and regarded as the primitive area centre where emotions are modulated
what can be argued abut the assymetric lymbic system ?
- can be argued to be implicated in offending behaviour
- this is the case for criminal psychopaths and APD
what is psychopathy ?
- a personality disorder with no clear cause
what do psychopaths seem to have problems with ?
- problems processing emotions and empathy
what is the neural explanation regarding neurotransmitters ?
- neurotransmitter levels may be different in criminals compared to non-criminals
what are the levels of the neurotransmitters in criminals ?
- low seretonin
- high dopamine
- high + low noradrenaline
low seretonin link to criminal behaviour ?
- regulates mood + impulse control
- means that in low levels there will be more impulsivity
- so a person with low levels can impulsively react and not hold back in a situation
high dopamine link to criminal behaviour ?
- link to addiction + substance abuse which makes crimes more likely
- dopaminergic activity in the limbic system means that pleasure is experienced so a crime may trigger feelings of pleasure
noradrenaline high + low link to criminal behaviour ?
- part of the flight or fight response and helps to respond in a threatening situation
- research shows that high levels are linked to violence and aggression so some crimes may be due to the chemical imbalance
mirror neurones
- keysers study
- only when criminals were asked to empathise with others did their empathy reactions activate
what does keysers study suggest about mirror neurones ?
- suggests criminals do experience empathy, although it is not an automatic response
- so these mirror neurones fire in response to the actions of others
