genetic + neural explanations of offender behaviour

Question 1

explain the genetic explanation of offending behaviour ?

Answer 1

• individuals inherit a gene or combination of genes
• one or more genes pre-dispose individuals to criminal behaviour

Question 2

where does evidence for genetics come from ?

Answer 2

• twin studies

Question 3

What did Raine do ?

Answer 3

• reviewed research on delinquent behaviour of twins
• found 52% concordance for MZ twins and 21% concordance for DZ twins

Question 4

why does Raine’s research support the genetic explanation ?

Answer 4

• because there is a higher concordance in MZ twins, it must mean that delinquent behaviour has some kind of genetic factors

Question 5

limitations of Raines evidence ?

Answer 5

• there is not that much of a difference between MZ and DZ twins so it cannot explain that it is solely due to genetics
• can be due to being brought up in the same environment

Question 6

who conducted the first criminal twin study ?

Answer 6

Lange (1930)

Question 7

describe Lange’s research

Answer 7

• investigated 13 MZ and 17 DZ twins where one of the twins in each pair had served time in prison
• he found that 10 of the MZ twins but only 2 of the DX twins had a co-twin who was also in prison
• Lange concluded that genetic factors must play a predominant part in offending behaviour

Question 8

AO3
supporting evidence
Christiansen

Answer 8

• studied 87 MZ and 147 DZ pairs and found a concordance of 33% for MZ and 12% for DZ for offending
• support the view that offending may have a genetic component

Question 9

which 2 candidate genes are responsible for criminal behaviour ?

Answer 9

• MAOA - linked to aggressive behaviours
• CDH13 - linked to substance abuse and attention deficit disorder

Question 10

what did Tiihonen do ?

Answer 10

• carried out a genetic analysis on 900 offenders in Finland
• found genetic abnormalities on MAOA + CDH13 gene
• individuals with this genetic combination were 13x more likely to have a history of violence