Raine - Classic study. Flashcards
outline the aims of Raine’s study
Investigate whether the structure of the brain of a murder was different to that of a non murder.
Give details of his sample.
41 NGRIs, 41 controls, 39 men and 2 women, charged with manslaughter, in California USA, free from medication 2 weeks prior to exp (confirmed from urine tests), 6 controls had SZ, they were matched on age, sex, ethnicity.
outline Raine et als procedure.
injected ppts with glucose tracer FDG which was metabolised in the brain releasing gamma rays which are picked up on a computer scanner. after injection they completed a 32 minute continuous performance task.
what is a strength and weakness of PET scans.
they lack ecological validity - don’t show how brains function were carrying out violent, criminal acts.
high reliability - standardised procedure that can easily be replicated to test consistency of Raines findings.
what did Raine find?
Lower activity in the PFC then controls (decision making and judgement)
higher activity of the amygdala (aggression centre in the limbic system) in the RHS then the LHS in murderers.
what is a weakness of his study?
He used a male dominated sample which is androcentric. NGRIs are a very unique sample of criminals (a small minority) so they are unrepresentative of how brains function in normal criminals. sample lacks diversity, doesn’t show differences between cultures.
what is the application
We can screen for underactive PFC at an early age, so have early intervention and AM programmes to implement strategies to prevent crime.
give a strength of Raines study.
high internal validity, controlled for noise, distractions, effects of medication (urine was tested). can establish a cause and effect.
give a comparison
Limited as he doesn’t consider other cause of criminal behaviour such as social environment. This may be a better explanation as it accounts for crimes in normal criminals (not pleading insanity) which are the majority population in prisons.
