Paper 3 - criminal 1 - what makes a criminal ?

Question 1

What is the aim of Raines study on murderers

Answer 1

They wanted to research brain dysfunction in violent offenders who committed murdr and plead not guilts by reason of insanity.
Raine and his colleagues hypothesised that seriously violent individuals have localised brain dysfunction in the following areas of the brain: the prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus and corpus callosum. These are all areas of the brain which have previously been linked with violence.

Question 2

what is the design of Raine’s study

Answer 2

a quasi experiment as the Iv was murderer or not murderer.
The Dv was activity in specified brain regions as assessed by the PET scans.
Matched pairs design

Question 3

what is the sample of Raine’s study

Answer 3

The sample compromised 41 murderers, 39 men and 2 women with a mean age of 34.3 years. They had all been charged with murder or manslaughter and had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. To prove their insanity they were sent to univesity of califorua brain imaging centre for examination.
schitzofrenia - 6
history of head injury or brain damage - 23
history of drug abuse - 3
affective disorders - 2
epilepsy - 2
history of learning disability - 3
personality disorder - 2
A control group of people with no history of mental illness was matched to the murderes by age and sex. the 6 schizofrenic murderers were matched with 6 people with schitzorenia
Pps were instructed to be medication free for 2 weeks prior to the brain scanning and was varidied by a urine test

Question 4

what is the procedure of Raine’s study

Answer 4

pps were required fo 32 mins on a continuous performance task that was based arounf target recognition.
The continuous performance task was deisgned to work the areas of the brain that Raine and his colleagues wanted to study so they could monitor the level of function in each area.
Pps were able to practise the continuous performance task 10 mins before the tracer injection
pps started the task 30 seconds before glucose tracer was injected so that the novelty of the task would not be labelled by the tracer
32 minutes after the injection a PET scan was carried out on each pp and 10 slices at 10mm intervals were taken of the cortical and subcortical regions of the brain.

Question 5

what are the materials of Raine’s study

Answer 5

they used a thermoplastic head holder that was moldelled to each pps to hold their head still during the scan
the task that was used involved pps seaching for targets on a screen and pushing a button when they were detected. The task was designed to stimulate the prefrontal cortex as it requires concentration on the target.
A PET scan was used to study the active brain, all pps were injected with a glucose tracer that is taken up by 5 areas of the brain.

Question 6

what were the results for brain differences on Raine’s study

Answer 6

murderers had reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, left angular gyrus, amygdala, corpus callosum and the left hemisphere of the hippocampus.
Murderers showed higher activity in the right hemisphere

Question 7

what are the conclusions of Raine’s study on murderers

Answer 7

the study provides evidence that murderers pleading insanity have different brain functioning from normal individuals.
However, neural processes underlying violence are complex and cannot be reduced to a single brain mechanism. Violent behaviour can be best explained by the disruption of brain mechanisms rather than a single stricture
The result does not show that violent behaviour is determined by biology alone. Social, psychologicall, cultural and situational factors play important roles in likely hood of violence
the results do not show that brain dysfunction causes violence - violence might cause brain dysfunction

Question 8

evaluate validity in this topic

Answer 8

1. the research by Raine used a PET scanner which provide detailed images of areas of the body which are highly accurate, this increases internal validity as they are accurately tracing brain activity.
2. Research by Farrington used interviews on parents regarding details such as family income, discipline and separation from their child. The parents may lie about the details of their parenting to avoid punishment and judgement. Therefore this lacks internal validity as the results may not be true to what is being asked.
3. Brunner’s research has high internal validity as urine test and blood teste were used which are highly scientific and therefore provide accurate results

Question 9

evaluate the reliability in this topic

Answer 9

1. In raine’s research the PET scan of the brain should show high external reliability as the PET scanner has a standardised procedure in taking scans. This would suggest high levels of consistency for the brain scans of all pps. However the PET scans may be interpreted differently reducing reliability
2. Brunner’s study used the same urine tests and blood tests, these are repeatable standardised procedures, giving the study high reliability.
3. Farrington’s research interviews done with parents were done by different psychiatric workers which means the interviews were not the same for every pps, this shows low reliability.

Question 10

evaluate the sampling bias in this topic

Answer 10

1. in Raine’s research murderers who pleaded not guiltly are not representitive of all murderers.
2. Brunner’s research used Dutch males which is not representative of other cultures and genders.
3. Farrington’s research used boys only, girls may react differently to factors like absent parents and discipline.

Question 11

evaluate the ethnocentrism of criminal psychology topic 1

Answer 11

1.Brunner’s research only used Dutch males
2. Farrington’s research used working class pps from London.
3. Raine’s sudy was ethnocentric because they were all Californian Americans, data can only be applied to an American target population because other cultures may have criminals that have different brain activity due to cultural factors.

Question 12

how does this topic relate to the nature/nurture debate

Answer 12

1. Raine’s study uses a nature argument that the innate characteristics of the murderers such as brain abnormalities like reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex causes their violent crimes. However experience may have caused these abnormalities (nurture).
   2.Farrington’s study uses a nurture argument - the childhood environment such as absent parents causes criminal behaviour in later stages of life.
2. Brunner’s study uses a nature explanation as the biological, un- changeable mutation in the MAOA gene causes criminal behaviour

Question 13

how does this topic relate to the freewill/determinism debate

Answer 13

1. Raine’s study - biological determinism states that all behaviours are caused by factors out of out control like low activity in the prefrontal cortex causing violent behaviour.
2. Bruner’s study - Biological makeup determines criminal behaviour
3. Farrington’s research - 40-50% became violent youth. not all children became criminals which shows freewill as people can show self control over their behaviour for example people who grow up in a criminal family do not always become criminals.

Question 14

how does this topic relate to the reductionism/holism debate

Answer 14

1. Raine’s study - holism suggests that behaviour is caused by a series of complex explanations which cannot be simplified by a single brain mechanism, violent behaviour is caused by the disrupted interaction of brain networks rather than one dysfunctional region of the brain.
2. Farrington’s research - criminal behaviour is reduced to factors related to family life.
3. Brunner’s research - criminal behaviour is reduced to a mutation in the MAOA gene.

Question 15

evaluate the ethical considerations in this topic

Answer 15

1. in Raine’s study the murderers may experience stress from the results of the PET scan if it was found that they had brain dysfunctions.
2. Farrington’s research involved children as young as 8 - no informed consent.
3. Farrington’s study is socially sensitive as results may be used to label children with an absent mother as violent.

Question 16

evaluate psychology as a science in this topic

Answer 16

1. In Raine’s study the collection of data is free from bias as the PET scans provided objective slices of the brains that allowed comparison of brain activity with the control group.
2. In Brunner’s study the same urine and blood tests were used which are highly accurate and reliable
3. In Farrington’s study interviews were done with parents however this data is subjective and is not comparable so is less scientific.

Question 17

How is this topic useful

Answer 17

1. Raines study - drug treatments and nutritional supplements
2. Farrington’s study - shows families to avoid separation from children and could develop intervention for children who have bee separated.
3. Brunner’s study - MAOA mutations could be identified in early age and interventions could be done to prevent criminal behaviour

Question 18

how is topic 1 socially sensitive

Answer 18

1. Raine’s results could be misinterpreted by society who may think people are driven to kill by brain activity and violence is out of their control. Leading to the labelling of people with brain dysfunctions as murderers.
2. Farrington’s results can lead to labelling of people with absent mothers as criminals and may stop them from getting opportunities
3. Brunner’s results can lead to labelling of people with any gene mutation as aggressive

Question 19

explain the background study on family life by Farrington

Answer 19

they suggested that criminal behaviour is influenced by factors related to family life such as parental criminality or abuse.
A sample included 411 males in working class London were first from 8 to 48 years old.
they were asked questions about living circumstances and leisure time.
interviews with parents were done by social workers to discover factors like family income, attitudes to discipline and separations from their son.
data was collected by their teachers on their aggressive behaviour.
40-50% of children with multiple risk factors became violent youth.
results showed that the most important childhood (age 8-10) risk factors for later offending were measures of family criminality, loss of mother, poverty and poor parenting.
He concluded that disruption in families can play a very strong role in the development of criminal behaviour especially when the mother is absent.

Question 20

explain the background study on genetics done by Brunner

Answer 20

focuses on 5 members of a Dutch family who were diagnosed with borderline mental retardation and had previously shown criminal, violent behaviour.
The same Urine and blood samples were taken from each member and a mutation was identified in the MAOA gene sometimes called the warrior gene as it is associated with violent behaviour.
Brunner concluded that this gene mutation results in MAOA enzyme deficiency which would be linked to aggressive behaviour.

Question 21

what are the 2 applications for the biological criminal psychology topic

Answer 21

drug treatment
nutritional supplements

Question 22

for drug treatments, what is psychopharmacology

Answer 22

the study of the effect that drugs have, for example mental disorders. These drugs may originate from natural sources like plants and animals, or from artificial sources such as chemicals made in a lab. these drugs interact with receptors in the nervous system to induce changes in behaviour. Because mental ilness is associated with malfunctions in the nervous system this means they may be helpful in preventing criminal behaviour associated with mental illness for example antipsychotic drugs to treat schizofrenia.

Question 23

how do antipsychotic drugs work

Answer 23

they work by altering the effects of chemicals in the brain for example dopamine. These drugs are refferred to as dopamine antagonists because they block dopamine. They do this by occupying postsynaptic receptor sites, particularly D2 receptors. This reduces the activity in the postsynaptic neurone. Reduced dopamine activity means less activity in the mesolimbic pathway and consequently a decrease in positive symptoms of schizofrenia.

Question 24

what is clozapine

Answer 24

a second generation, atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat severe shchizofrenia. it works by blocking D2 receptors as well as serotonin receptor. It is believed that this combined an acction treats both the positive and negative symptoms of schizofrenia.
Patients should keep clozapine in its blister pack until they are ready to take it, either with or without food and with a full glass of water.

Question 25

explain the usefulness of drug treatments

Answer 25

they can address criminal and violent behaviour across a range of mental health issues such as schizofrenia and attention deficit disorder.
they can be perscribed to adults and juveniles however there is a risk of over-prescription especially to young people who may not qualify for a true diagnosis.
however, the medication usage is high among populations associated with the criminal justice system, but there are likely to be a problem of ensuring adherence to the medication

Question 26

explain the effectiveness of drug treatments

Answer 26

antipsychotic drugs have been found to reduce violent crimes in prison populations, for example Fazel found that there was a 45% reduction in violent crime when patients were prescribed drugs.
However the research only looks at violent crime amoungst the mentally ill and other types of crime such as theft are not considered.

Question 27

explain the practicalities of drug treatments

Answer 27

there are concerns over the severity of side effects associated with medication which may lead to individuals resisting to take the drug. Lamberti reports up to 74% discontinuation rates in taking medication amoungst offenders.

Question 28

why can nutritional supplements improve criminal behaviour

Answer 28

diet is an important factor on aggression and criminal behaviour. this is because deficiencies in omega 3 may result in limited regulation of the limbic system and the frontal lobes - resulting in self control problems and aggressive behaviour.
Supplements of omega 3 may lead to improvements as it has been suggested thats supplementing offenders with vitimans and minerals and essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6 reduces antisocial behaviour.
for example DHA is an omega 3 fatty acid that is required for maintenance of normal brain function in adults. it is found in olive oil, fatty fish and avocado.

Question 29

what is Gesch’s example of a nutritional supplement regime for prisoners

Answer 29

nutritional supplements are packed into bliser packs containing mineral/ vitamin capsules and four essential fatty acid capsules.
every day a pack with the prisoners name and number is given and consumed under supervision
the omega 3 capsule should be taken 4 times a daya dn the mineral/vitamin capsule is taken at lunch time.
the nutritional supplements are given every day for a month.

Question 30

describe the usefull ness of nutritional supplements

Answer 30

nutritional intake in prisons is likely to be poor and it is likely that inatke of omega 3 fatty acids is low. supplements can be used to improve the diet of prisoners to provide a solution for violent behaviour. this could reduce disruption in prisons and may prevent re offending if combines with a educational programme after release.

Question 31

explain the effectiveness of nutritional supplements

Answer 31

Gesch reported a 26% improvement in the discliplinary record of young males who took supplements.
The effectiveness also depends on the concentration of omega 3 given to offenders.

Question 32

explain the practicalities of nutritional supplements

Answer 32

the use of nutritional supplements may be easier to enforce in prison as there is a network of support and rehabilitation. however, once released they may have problems with adherence. additionally the cost implications may be problematic for the individual, increasing practical difficulties of this stratedy outside of prison