PAPER 3 - FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY - biological explanations of offending behaviour Flashcards
what are the biological approaches/explanations to offending behaviour?
- atavistic form theory (historical explanation)
- genetic & neural explanations
what is atavistic form?
- a biological approach suggesting criminals are a genetic throwback (primitive subspecies) unable to conform to modern society
- suggests crime is innate and behaviour is genetically determined
- individuals are distinguished appearance with specific facial and cranial characteristics
what physical features are associated with criminal behaviour according to atavistic form?
prominent jaw
large ears
high cheekbones
extra toes and nipples
what research evidence is there to support atavistic form?
in one of Lombroso’s studies of 383 convicted criminals, 21% had one atavistic trait and 43% had at least 5
how did Lombroso carry out his research?
- systematically examined facial and cranial characteristics of convicted criminals
- features considered to be key into study of criminality
- found statistical significance, 40% of crimes committed were by those with atavistic traits
what did Lombroso say about environmental influences?
suggested that atavistic form interacted with a persons physical and social environment
what is meant by the term ‘somatotypes’
body type
how did Lombrosis later distinguish between different types of criminals (1897)?
- born criminals (atavistic type)
- insane criminals (suffering from mental health issues)
- criminaloids (innate characteristics predisposed them to criminal behaviour under certain circumstances)
how can Lombroso considered to have contributed to the science of criminology? (evaluation)
- shifted emphasis away from moralistic discourse
- made it more scientific
- laid foundation of offender profiling
- research was evidence based
HOWEVER didn’t compare to a control group which would have controlled confounding variables e.g. poverty
why might Lombroso’s work be accused of scientific racism and linked to the eugenics movement? (evaulation)
- eugenics movement suggested desirable traits are inherited e.g. intelligence, morality
- these groups were at a genetic advantage and should therefore breed for society while others should not
what contradictory evidence was there against Lombroso’s research? (evaulation)
- Goring - conducted comparison between 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals
- concluded no evidence of distinct group with unusual facial characteristics
- though did find criminals have slightly lower IQ
what are the issues of gender bias within Lombroso’s research? (evaulation)
- didnt study females so unable to generalise findings
what research support is there for somatotoypes? (evaulation)
- Ktetschmer studied 4000 criminals and suggested criminals fall into 4 somatotypes
- leptosome - tall & thin - associated with petty thieves
- athletic - tall & muscular - associated with crimes of violence
- pyknic - short & fat - crimes of deception & violence
- dysplastic - mixed - more than one type of crime
however no control group was used
what are the overall strengths of the historical explanation to offending behaviour?
- beginning of scientific criminology
- research support for somatotypes
- genetics research suggests our genes carry criminal predisposition
what are the overall limitations of the historical explanation to offending behaviour?
- criticisms of Lombroso’s methods
- links with eugenics movement
- evidence to challenge Lombroso’s findingd (Goring)
- gender bias in research
what is the genetic explanation to offending behaviour?
criminality is inherited and genetic and neural mechanisms may underlie inheritence of criminal traits
- is possible that GENETIC abnormalities MAY cause structural and functional differences in the brain
how do twin studies (Raine) support the genetic explanation to criminal behaviour? (genetic explanation)
- research on delinquent behaviour of twins found 52% concordance for MZ twins, compared with 21% for DZ
- suggets that there is a large biological component to behaviour
- delinquent behaviour has genetic component as MZ twins are more likely to exhibit the same delinquent behaviour as DZ twins
how do candidate genes contribute to offending behaviour? (genetic explanation)
- researchers analysed DNA of a family with a history of violent behaviour and found they shared a gene that caused abnormally low levels of MAOA
- could suggest that low levels of MAOA (Monoamine oxidase A) is associated with criminal behaviour
how does diathesis-stress contribute to offending behaviour? (genetic explanation)
- Epigenetic’s suggest that gene expression con also be caused by environmental factors
- Caspi (2002) studied 1000 people from when they were babies to 26 yrs old
- found 12% of men with low nada genes had experienced maltreatment when they were babies, suggests criminal behaviour is not purely down to biological factors
What research support is there for offending behaviour? (Evaluation)
- Crowe (1972) found that adopted children who had a biological parent with a criminal record had a >50% greater risk of having a criminal record by 18, whereas adopted colder is mothers that didn’t have criminal record only had a 5% chance
- supports genetic explanation as it shows inherited genes are a more significant factor than environmental factors influencing behaviour
- however, twin studies experience similar environments so can’t establish C & E
Explain the limitation “it can be questioned genetic and neural explanations can explain non-violent crimes as most research seems to look at certain crimes involving violence and psychopathy”
- Blonigen (2005) found support for a genetic basis looking at over 600 male and female twins, found evidence that personality traits are inherited
- biological exploration only accounts for certain types of crimes
- suggests it’s hard to explain such a range on behaviours simply in terms of genetics and their interaction with the environment
What issues are there with such deterministic explanations like genetics as an explanation for offending behaviour?
- Can be argued that genes a person is bomb with determine later behaviour
- Evidence shows that criminality cannot 100% be explained in terms of genetics
- Tiihonen found nose with a defective give were 13x more likely to have a history of repeated violent behaviour, but not everyone with specific gene will offend
- delinquent behaviour questions whether its down to biology/environment key grew up in, suggesting deterministic view of criminal behaviour can’t be completely ruled out
What is the neural explanation to offending behaviour?
Suggests that structures of the brain and levels of neurotransmitters in the brain may be different in criminals compared to non-criminals
What is the prefrontal cortex?
- Regulates emotion and moral behaviour
- studied by Raine (2004)
How is the prefrontal cortex associated with offending behaviour?
- Reduced function found in violent offenders
- Lowered activity associated with impulsive behaviour and loss of control
- Raine found murderers, psychopaths and violent individuals had reduced functioning in PFC
What is the limbic system?
- Involved in motivation, emotion, learning & memory
- Studied by Raine (1977)
How is the lambic system associated with offending behaviour?
- Raine studied murderers found not guilty by reason of insanity
- found abnormal symmetries in Limbic system: reduced left amygdala activity, increased right amygdala activity
What is serotonin and how it does explain criminal behaviour?
- is a neurotransmitter
- Plays major role in mood, anxiety & happiness (regulating emotions)
- it is likely low levels of serotonin may cause individuals to exhibit more impulsivity, aggression and lead to criminal behaviour
what is noradrenaline and how does it explain criminal behaviour?
- plays major role in stress response
- increases arousal, enhances formation and retrieval of memory, focuses attention, increases restlessness and anxiety
- suggested that high levels = fight or flight response and increases aggression
- suggested that low levels = inability to appropriately react to violent threats
how is the difficulty to infer cause and effect a limitation of neural explanations of offending behaviour? (evaluation)
- hard to establish whether brain/neurotransmitter abnormalities are the cause of offending behaviour or just an interfering variable
- correlational, only highlight link rather than cause
how is real world application a strength of neural explanations of offending behaviour? (evaulation)
- if low levels of serotonin are related to increased aggression in criminals, people in prison could go on diets to enhance serotonin levels
- leads to new methods of treatments
how is it a limitation that neural explanations is a theory based on aggression rather than offending?
- Curran and Renzetti
- said data cannot be used to predict who becomes an offender, research also not generalisable to non-violent crimes
- criminality not studies but aggression is so may lack validity
