Problem 2: Biological explanations Flashcards
How do personal capabilities and predispositions influence a person?
They affect how the environment influences the shaping of behavior and, reciprocally, how the behavior can modify biological tendencies.
Describe two general trajectories of criminality in youth
The first trajectory is the adolescent-limited, which represents the majority of youths who will engage in delinquent activities at
some point during adolescence but desist in early adulthood.
The second trajectory is called the life-course-persistent. These are the offenders, mostly males, who start behaving antisocially early and continue through to adulthood, often escalating in the seriousness of their acts.
What is heredity?
Heredity is the transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next.
Is there evidence of intergenerational criminality?
There is a high correlation between the fathers criminality and the sons criminality. This applies equally to boys and girls.
What is also of influence in the transmission of crime from parent to child?
Other factors such as parental monitoring and disciplining practices, having a father with a poor work record, and living in poor housing are also important. Official police and court processing may also be of influence.
How can ‘assertive mating’ explain the transmission of crime from parent to child?
83% of boys grew up and married women who also had criminal records.
Family criminality was the best predictor of anti-social behavior for any family member.
When the mother was arrested,the chance of the father having been arrested was five times more likely.
What does a higher concordance rate in monozygotic (MZ) twins compared to dizygotic (DZ) twins suggest?
It suggests that heredity has a stronger influence on the trait being studied.
What were the concordance rates for criminality found by Lange (1929) for MZ and DZ twins?
MZ twins: 77% concordance
DZ twins: 12% concordance
What concordance rates for criminality were found by Christiansen (1970) and Dalgaard?
- Christiansen (1970): 35% for MZ twins, 12% for DZ twins.
- Dalgaard: 26% for MZ twins.
What is the equal environments assumption in twin studies?
The assumption that identical twins (MZ) and fraternal twins (DZ) experience similar environments, so differences in concordance rates are primarily due to genetics.
What did Grove et al. (1990) find about MZ twins raised apart and antisocial personality disorder?
They found a 29% concordance rate for antisocial personality disorder, consistent with other twin studies on crime.
What is the discordant MZ-twin method, and what does it aim to uncover?
It assumes MZ twins raised together do not share exactly the same environments. This method helps identify potential specific environmental causes, holding genetics constant.
In Caspi et al. (2004), what did researchers conclude about the role of maternal treatment in child aggression?
Negative maternal emotions strongly predicted child aggression, suggesting that maternal treatment, not genetics, explained child aggressiveness.
What factors are analyzed in adoption studies on criminal behavior?
Adoption studies analyze:
(a) The criminal history of biological parents.
(b) The criminal history of adoptive parents.
(c) Combinations of criminality in biological and adoptive parents.
What did a study of over 14,000 adoptees in Denmark (1924-1947) reveal about genetic influences on criminality?
- Adoptees with criminal biological parents raised by noncriminal adoptive parents had a conviction rate of 20%, compared to 13.5% for those with noncriminal biological and adoptive parents.
- This suggests a modest genetic influence on criminal behavior (effect size: 0.03).
What genetic correlations did Barnes et al. (2014a) estimate for criminological traits?
Barnes et al. (2014a) estimated genetic correlations between criminological traits to range from 0.30 to 0.60.
How does heritability of behavioral issues vary with severity?
- Severe behavioral problems (e.g., major depression, antisocial behavior) have a stronger genetic component.
- Life-course-persistent offenders show heritability of up to 70%, compared to 35% for adolescence-limited offenders.
What differences in heritability were observed between genders in severe antisocial behavior?
Females with life-course-persistent offending showed stronger genetic influences compared to males.
What did Harden et al. (2008) and Armour and Haynie (2007) find about early sexual activity and delinquency?
Contrary to prior research, Harden et al. found that early sexual activity was associated with lower delinquency, highlighting the complexity of the relationship.
Armour and Haynie (2007) noted that early sexual debut increased the risk of delinquency by 20%, though causation remains unclear.
What are the 2 levels in which the nature-nurture interaction can proceed?
- There is the molecular genetic level
- There is a higher level of the behavioral markers representing the biological systems that underlie criminal conduct.
What does the MAOA gene do?
School attachment and repeating a grade, both risk factors for delinquency, interact with the MAOA gene.The MAOA gene is widely regarded to influence aggression via serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission.
Give 5 biological markers indicative of biological system processes that may interact with environmental factors:
- Sensation seeking
- High energy
- Low self-control
- Emotionality
- Callousness
What did Lombroso conclude about criminals after observing a convict’s brain?
- Criminals biologically resemble lower-order animals.
- They behave like animals with few inhibitions, as “biological throwbacks” to an earlier evolutionary stage.
- Some criminals are “born bad.”
What is the limbic system, and why is it called the “old brain”?
The limbic system is a brain circuit controlling basic emotions and motivations. It is called the “old brain” because it developed early in evolution and is similar to structures in lower-level animals.
What did Charles Goring’s (1913) and Hooten (1939) study reveal about the physical differences between convicts and non-convicts?
Goring found no significant physical differences between 3,000 English convicts and groups of university students, hospital patients, and soldiers.
Hooten found differences in 19 of 33 physical characteristics, with criminals having low foreheads, protruding ears, and being generally physically inferior.
What is plasticity, and how does it affect the brain?
Plasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt, with neurons assuming the functions of damaged areas. The brain is more plastic during youth than adulthood.
What are William Sheldon’s three body types, and how do they relate to delinquency?
- Ectomorph: Thin and fragile.
- Endomorph: Overweight and round.
- Mesomorph: Muscular and athletic.
The Gluecks (1950) found that delinquents were more likely to be mesomorphs.
How do the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex interact in violent behavior?
Violent behavior depends on processes in both the limbic system (emotions and motivations) and the prefrontal cortex (impulse control and executive functioning).
What racial differences did Rushton and Jensen propose regarding intelligence and behavior?
They argued that:
1. Asians are the most advanced in intelligence, temperament, and social organization.
2. Caucasians are intermediate.
3. Blacks are the least advanced.
Note: This theory is highly controversial and criticized for its lack of scientific validity and its racial bias
What is the role of the frontal lobes in behavior?
The frontal lobes are responsible for attention, planning, impulse control, and executive functioning. Development continues until around age 25, influencing the “age-crime curve.”
What is the “cad” strategy in evolutionary criminology?
The “cad” strategy refers to men using deceitful or aggressive tactics to reproduce while avoiding paternal responsibilities, in contrast to “dads” who commit to monogamy and child-rearing.
How are frontal lobes different in white-collar criminals compared to other criminals?
White-collar criminals tend to have greater gray matter thickness in their frontal lobes compared to average criminals.
What are the two main types of life-course-persistent offenders?
- Moffitt’s neuropsychological type: Individuals with neuropsychological problems, difficult temperaments, and poor socialization experiences.
- Psychopaths: Individuals pursuing a strategic “life history” to maximize mating success without significant neuropsychological deficits.
What are the traits of a difficult temperament in a child?
- Intense reactions to stimuli.
- Generally negative mood.
- Slowness to adapt to change.
- Irregularity in sleep, hunger, and other bodily functions.
What is passive avoidance learning, and how does it teach self-control?
Passive avoidance learning teaches self-control through fear reduction:
1. Antisocial behavior is punished, producing fear.
2. Fear discourages the behavior, and its reduction reinforces inhibition.
What is the “age-crime curve”, and how is it linked to brain development?
The age-crime curve shows that antisocial behaviors peak in late adolescence and decline in early adulthood. This pattern is linked to delayed development of the frontal lobes.
How do criminals differ from noncriminals in reproductive behavior?
Criminals tend to:
* Begin sexual activity earlier.
* Have children earlier.
* Have more sexual partners.
What did the Dunedin Study reveal about neuropsychological tests and delinquency?
Poor neuropsychological test performance, especially in verbal abilities, predicted delinquency at age 18.
This was most strongly associated with life-course-persistent male delinquents but not with adolescent-limited delinquents.
What is the outcome of criminals mating with partners with similar temperaments and social backgrounds?
They experience higher levels of failed intimate partnerships, poorer health, and higher mortality rates.
What does Moffitt’s biosocial model suggest about chronic criminality?
Chronic criminality arises from a combination of:
* Biological factors: Neuropsychological deficits (poor verbal skills, impulsiveness).
* Psychosocial factors: Negative environments that amplify these biological risks.
