Genetic and neural explanations Flashcards
What is the overall idea of the genetic explanation of crime?
It suggests that would-be offenders inherit a gene, or combination of genes, that predisposes them to commit crime.
Who studied the Genetic explanations for crime?
Lange (1930)
Lange (1930) Method
Investigated 13 monozygotic and 17 dizygotic twins with at least one serving time in prison.
Lange (1930) results
10/30 pairs of monozygotic twins both went to prison but only 2/17 dizygotic had both
Polygenic
There is no single gene is responsible for offending
What is it called when genes may be responsible for criminal behaviour?
Candidate genes
What study did Tilhonen et al (2014) conduct?
a genetic analysis of over 900 Finnish offenders which revealed abnormalities on two genes that may be associated with violent crime.
What genes did Tilhonen (2014) find that were responsible for causing criminal behaviour?
MAOA and CDH13
What was MAOA found to be responsible for?
controls dopamine and serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour.
What was CDH13 found to be responsible for?
linked to substance abuse and attention deficit disorder.
What was found about people with the combination of MAOA and CDH13 genes in the Tilhonen (2014) study?
were 13 times more likely to have a history of violent behaviour compared to a control group.
What does the diathesis-stress model suggest about genetic explanations for crime?
genetics influence criminal behaviour but this is at moderated by the effects of the environment. A tendency towards criminal behaviour may come through a combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological triggers.
What has evidence of neural differences in the brains of criminals showed overall?
Anti-Social personal disorder is associated with reduced emotional responses and a lack of empathy
What have brain imaging studies shown about individuals with antisocial personality?
They have reduced activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. This is the brain area that regulates emotional behaviour.
What did Raine et al (2000) find about the brains of people with APD?
An 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people with APD compared to a control group.
What has recent research showed about criminals with APD?
criminals with APD can experience empathy but that they do so more sporadically than the rest of us.
Keysters (2011)
found that only when criminals were asked to empathise (with a person on a film experiencing pain) did their empathy reaction (controlled by mirror neurons in the brain) activate.
What did Keysters (2011) research suggest?
suggests that APD individuals are not totally without empathy but may have a neural switch that needs to be turned on in order to experience it. In a normal brain the empathy switch is permanently switched on.
What are the disadvantages of Genetic and Neural explanations of criminal behaviour?
- Low concordance rates - genetics or early abuse? - ‘Offending behaviour’ is too vague - Biological reductionism - Biological determinism
Why is it a disadvantage that concordance rates in MZ twins are low?
Because it leaves plenty of room for non-genetic environmental factors. Concordance rates may be due to shared learning experiences rather than genetics.
How is it an issue of not knowing how to differentiate between abnormalities being due to genetics or signs of early abuse?
Brain scanning studies (such as Raine et al., 2000) show pathology in brains of criminal psychopaths, but cannot conclude whether these abnormalities are genetic or signs of early abuse.
How is the term ‘offending behaviour’ too vague?
Some specific forms of crime may be more biological than others e.g. physical aggression.
How is criminal behaviour biologically reductionist?
Criminality is complex and explanations that reduce offending behaviour to a gene or imbalanced neurotransmitter may be inappropriate and overly simplistic.
How is criminal behaviour being seen as biologically determinist problematic?
This presents us with a dilemma for our legal system. If someone has a criminal gene they cannot have personal and moral responsibility for their crime. If this is the case it would be unethical to punish someone who does not have free will.
