Lecture 5:Evolutionary and biological explanations of deviance and crime

Question 1

What is the main argument presented by Thornhill & Palmer regarding rape?

Answer 1

Rape is a natural evolutionary strategy that developed to help some men to spread their genes.

Question 2

According to Thornhill & Palmer, which group of men is most likely to commit rape?

Answer 2

Men of lower status who cannot ensure the dissemination of their gene pool in more legitimate ways.

Question 3

What do Thornhill & Palmer argue about the motivation behind rape?

Answer 3

Rape is mostly about sexual desire, not about power relations.

Question 4

True or False: Thornhill & Palmer support the feminist perspective on rape.

Answer 4

False

Question 5

What empirical support do Thornhill & Palmer use to back their claims?

Answer 5

Studies in non-humans, specifically scorpion flies.

Question 6

Who are the most common victims of rape according to Thornhill & Palmer?

Answer 6

Young women of reproductive age.

Question 7

What is one reason provided for why most rape victims are not murdered after the act?

Answer 7

The idea that they will become pregnant and then reproduce.

Question 8

Fill in the blank: Thornhill & Palmer suggest that women should be more _______.

Answer 8

careful

Question 9

List some policy recommendations made by Thornhill & Palmer for women to avoid rape.

Answer 9

• Dress more modestly
• Avoid walking alone
• Avoid dating in cars and private homes

Question 10

What do Thornhill & Palmer recommend for men’s education regarding rape?

Answer 10

Men should learn that rape is natural and then learn to control it.

Question 11

What critique do Thornhill & Palmer face regarding their depiction of feminist theories?

Answer 11

They provide a distorted depiction and oversimplify feminist theories.

Question 12

What is one of the main critiques of the evolutionary explanation for rape?

Answer 12

There is no evidence for an actual genetic/psychological mechanism for men’s tendency to rape.

Question 13

True or False: Thornhill & Palmer address rape by women in their argument.

Answer 13

False

Question 14

What is a significant flaw identified in Thornhill & Palmer’s argument regarding the universality of rape?

Answer 14

Statistics of rape vary a lot nationally and different societies may have different definitions.

Question 15

Fill in the blank: Thornhill & Palmer’s argument is critiqued for intentional _______ of data.

Answer 15

misrepresentation

Question 16

What does research show about the age of a significant portion of rape victims?

Answer 16

1/3 of the victims are under reproductive age (younger than 11).

Question 17

What do Thornhill & Palmer suggest about women’s dress codes in relation to rape prevention?

Answer 17

They suggest that women should have better dress codes, but there is no evidence that this works.

Question 18

What is a common misconception about the perpetrators of rape according to the critiques?

Answer 18

Most rape victims know their perpetrators; it is not necessarily a random evolutionary mechanism.

Question 19

What are the main arguments of Thornhill and Palmer’s paper: why men rape?

Answer 19

• Rape is a natural evolutionary strategy that developed to help some men to spread their genes
• Rape would be most common among men of lower status, who cannot ensure the dissemination of their gene pool in more legitimate ways
• Rape is mostly about sexual desire, not about power relations (as argued by feminist scholars) → they reject the feminist perspective.

Question 20

What empirical support do Thornhill & Palmer use?

Answer 20

• Studies in non-humans → scorpion flies studies extrapolated the results to humans
• Most rape victims are young women → “reproductive age”
• Most rape victims are not murdered after the act → the idea that they will become pregnant then reproduce
• Young women suffer more as a result of rape → women are failing to choose the best father, they are suffering
• Married women suffer more → rape is seen as a setback for reproduction

Question 21

What are Palmer and Thornhill’s Policy Recommendations?

Answer 21

• Women should be more careful:
  - Dress more modestly
  - Avoid walking alone
  - Avoid dating in cars and private homes
• Men should be educated about the fact that rape is natural and then learn to control it

Question 22

What are critiques about Palmer and Thornhill’s Paper?

Answer 22

1) Distorted depiction of feminist theories.
They critique feminist thinking but they have explained the feminist theories in an oversimplified manner → it is easy to refute a simple hypothesis. There are many feminist voices and they ignore this variety of voices. Not entirely sure that feminist are actually arguing that rape is not about sexuality and only about power.
Does not touch on rape by women, political rape, children rape, non-vaginal rape (which has no evolutionary function) yet this all happen in society.

2) No evidence for an actual genetic/psychological mechanism for men’s tendency to rape.

3) Extrapolation from lower species
Can these creatures actually tell us something about humans (biological reductionism: scorpion fly → human
How can we determine if there was consent in animals?

4) Is rape really universal?
“Rape must be natural because it is universal” but the statistics of rape vary a lot nationally. Different societies may have different definitions.
What is natural? What makes something natural?

5) Alternative explanations for the “findings”
We could come up with various explanations for rape; ie, younger women might simply be more exposed to situations where they could be raped.
Shifts in cultural definition in what rape is.

6) Intentional misrepresentation of data
Research shows that ⅓ of the victims are under reproductive age (younger than 11) → this goes against their whole argument
They distorted findings: level of suffering following rape.
Additionally, it is very difficult to measure “suffering”
7) Dubious political recommendations
They suggest recommendations that are not supported by evidence (ie: have women dress better - there is no evidence for this working)
Rape is most often by acquaintances, including BF and husbands so this strict code on how we dress won’t do much.
These take away the responsibility from men
8) Most of rape victims know their perpetrators - not necessarily random evolutionary mechanism

Question 23

What was William Sheldon’s consitutional theory (Positivist School)?

Answer 23

4 basic body types:
* Endomorph – overweight with a large stomach. Tolerant and likes people
* Mesomorph – Athletic and muscular. Aggressive, competitive, fearless and risk-taking
* Ectomorph – Thin and fragile, Long, slender, and delicate. Artistic and introverted. Low testosterone levels
* Balanced type – average build, without any special traits

Question 24

Which body type correlated to the most crime?

Answer 24

• Each of these body types have a certain propensity for social behaviours

Which has the most tendency for crime? He took photos of male ivy league students and compared them with criminal records → found that the mesomorph had the most criminal records.
* This could simply have to do with age. Your body type changes with age. Later adolescence to 35/40 is more typical in crime. This could be what we are seeing.
* Cultural stereotypes and law enforcement. People that look like this; stronger + muscular are more often profiled.

Question 25

Biosocial criminology and modern crime prevention
By Michael Rocque, Brandon C. Welsh Adrian Raine
What were the 4 types of prevention for crime?

Answer 25

1) Developmental prevention - Interventions to prevent the development of criminal potential in individuals.
* Biological perspectives and neuroethical concerts become significant here.
* Genetic intervention and removal of genes that lead to criminals in young children…not ethical.

2) Community prevention
Interventions to change the social conditions and institutions (e.g., families, peers, social norms, clubs, organizations)

3) Situational prevention
Interventions to prevent the occurrence of crimes by reducing opportunities and increasing the risk and difficulty of offending

4) Criminal justice
Traditional deterrent, incapacitative, and rehabilitative strategies operated by law enforcement and criminal justice system agencies

Question 26

According to the article what are the risk factors of crime?

Answer 26

Risk factors: prior factors that increase the probability of criminal or deviant behaviour
* Neuropsychological or cognitive deficits in childhood
* Impulsivity
* Conduct Disorder/Aggression
* Mental/Physical Health
* Schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and depression are risk factors

Question 27

What are causes of these risk factors?

Answer 27

• Genetics
• Brain impairment/brain structure
• Chemical processes in the brain: ie - Reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex

Question 28

What are the modern biological explanations for genetics and crime?

Answer 28

• Criminal family trees → does this really show that there is a biological explanation, could be due to socialization, nature vs nurture debate…
• XYY Chromosome (The “Supermale Syndrome”) → Creating a genotype for a criminal (ie: extra Y chromosome): Prisons have a higher number of men with the extra Y chromosome. The extra Y chromosome → more testosterone → more aggressive
  Lawyers would use this as a form of defence
• Twin and Adoption Studies
  Parents are criminals, more likely for child to be a criminal

Question 29

What is the theory about Monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) and crime?

Answer 29

MAO A (Monoamine oxidase A)
* Regulates the level of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine
* Congenital MAOA deficiency -> a higher risk for antisocial behavior (ASB) and violence
* This fails to be the major causation factor

Understanding that the relationship between genetic background and Anti Social Behaviour is complex and multidimensional

Adverse environmental outcomes - Males with a history of child maltreatment

Question 30

What are the neuropsychological factors influencing criminal behaviour?

Answer 30

1) Brainwave activity
Slower brave waves → more criminal

2) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Children with this syndrome are more likely to show poor judgement and are more likely to be criminals or victims

3) Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)
Possible risk factor for aggression.