Lecture 2-Theories of Criminal Behaviour Flashcards
What are the 3 Levels of Analysis?
1-Mechanism
2-Development
3-Evolution
What one gene is significantly linked to criminal behaviour more than chance?
the SRY, which is the sex-determining gene of the Y
What is the concordance of twins being criminal if their twin is?
MZ; .81
DZ; 61
Heritability
41% of the differences in the criminal behaviour accounted for by differences in the genes
Limitations of behavioural genetics
-shared environments
-parents tend to treat MZ more similar
-they can only say that genes are involved, not which ones or how much
What area of the brain is associated with antisocial acts?
The amygdala
Genome-wide association studies
(GWAS)
-examines ppl who show signs of antisocial traits vs those who do not
-they found 3 genes, sex dis-concordant ones, 1 in females and 2 in males
Limitations of genome-wide association
studies
-only deal with 1% of genes that vary across humans
-cant account for gene expression
Psychophysiology
-can use this to measure heart rate and emotions
-if someone has low heart rate and low skin conductance they might be psychopathic
Parental factors for crime
-criminality
-uninvolved father
-younger mother
-substance use
-poor supervision
Social Control
bonds are used to make us more social, and not selfish
What are the 4 bonds to conventional norms?
-Attachment, commitment, involvement, belief
Self-Control
pressing a break on crime, so that they are less likely to happen
What will happen if there is no self-control?
it will lead to selfish criminal tendencies
Social learning Theory
-how criminal behaviour is actually learned, not just emerged
-the 2 main conditioning they look at here is operant conditioning and vicarious (learning through others) conditioning
