Raine et al

Question 1

Hypothesis

Answer 1

Seriously violent individuals will have localised brain damage in a variety of regions:
Prefrontal cortex
Angular gyrus
Hippocampus
Thalamus
Corpus callosum

Question 2

Methodology

Answer 2

Quasi-experiment
Matched pairs design
IV – NGRI or not
DV – brain differences
Opportunity sampling

Question 3

Murderers

Answer 3

41 murderers
39 men and 2 women Mean age of 34.3
They had all been charged with murder or manslaughter.
They all pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI).
Or incompetence to stand trial.
The participants had been referred to the University of California.
This was to obtain proof of their diminished capacity.

Question 4

Mental disorders of murderers

Answer 4

Schizophrenia - 6
History of head injury or organic brain damage - 23
History of psychoactive drug abuse - 3
Affective disorder - 2
Epilepsy - 2
History of hyperactivity and learning disability - 3
Personality disorder - 2

Question 5

Control group

Answer 5

Formed by matching each murderer with a “normal” individual.
Matched based on sex and age.
The 6 schizophrenics were matched with six schizophrenics from a mental hospital.
Everyone else from the control group had no history of psychiatric illness from any close relatives.
And no significant physical illness.
None were taking medication.

Question 6

Procedures

Answer 6

PET scans were used to study the active brain.
10 minutes before the injection participants were given the chance to practice the continuous performance task (CPT).
30 seconds before the injection participants started the CPT.
The radioactive tracer (fluorodeoxyglucose) was injected into the participant.
After 32 minutes participants were given a PET scan.
Ten horizontal slices (pictures) of the brain were taken. Cortical peel and box technique.

Question 7

Increased activity

Answer 7

Increased activity in the brain of NGRI participants in areas not previously linked to violence:
Cerebellum
Right hemisphere: Amygdala
Thalamus
Hippocampus

Question 8

Reduced activity

Answer 8

Reduced activity in the brain of NGRI participants in areas previously linked to violence:
Prefrontal cortex
Left angular gyrus
Corpus callosum
Left hemisphere:
Amygdala
Thalamus
Hippocampus

Question 9

No difference

Answer 9

No difference between NGRI and control group in areas not previously linked to violence:
Caudate
Putamen
Globus pallidus
Midbrain

Question 10

Findings summarised

Answer 10

Reduced activity:
In some areas, notably the areas previously linked to violence.
Abnormal asymmetries: Reduced activity on the left side of the brain.
Greater activity on the right.
No differences:
Notably areas associated with mental illness but not violence.

Question 11

Left VS right-handed

Answer 11

6 six of the murderers were left-handed. They had less amygdala asymmetry and higher medial prefrontal activity than right-handed murderers

Question 12

Race

Answer 12

14 of the murderers weren’t white. No significant difference in brain activity between them and white murderers.

Question 13

Head injury VS no head injury

Answer 13

23 of the murderers had a history of head injury.
They didn’t differ from murderers with no history of brain injury.

Question 14

Performance on CPT

Answer 14

Both groups performed similarly on the CPT.
Any observed brain differences weren’t related to task performance.

Question 15

Conclusions

Answer 15

Past research (animal and human studies) has identified links between areas of the brain and aggression.
These findings are supported by Raine et al’s study.
Combining all these findings together, there is preliminary evidence that murderers pleading NGRI have different brain functioning to normal individuals.
However, neural processes underlying violence are complex and can’t be reduced to a single brain mechanism.
Violent behaviour can best be explained by the disruption of a network of interacting brain mechanisms rather than any single structure.
Such disruption wouldn’t cause violent behaviour but would predispose an individual to violent behaviour.

Question 16

Quasi-experiment

Answer 16

The independent variable was an existing condition of the individual – not something that was manipulated by the researcher.
Casual conclusions therefore aren’t justified.
Readers may misinterpret the findings and assume that criminal behaviour is predetermined and inescapable.

Question 17

Confounding variables

Answer 17

Head injury
IQ

Question 18

Sample

Answer 18

The murderers weren’t typical of all violent individuals.
The study can only draw conclusions about this kind of violent offender.
An individual with a recognised form of mental impairment.
The crime studied is also a murder and many violent crimes don’t involve murder.
The conclusions are restricted to a specific group of people.

Question 19

Research technique

Answer 19

Data was collected using PET scans.
PET scans have permitted researchers to study the brain in a way not possible until recently.
In the past, researchers relied on post-mortem examinations.
PET scans allow researchers to study detailed regions of the brain .
PET scans allow the brain in action to be examined. This meant that Raine et al could see how the brains of different individuals differed in the way they processed information.

Question 20

What don’t the results demonstrate?

Answer 20

Violent behaviour is determined by biology alone.
Social, psychological, cultural and situational factors play important roles in predisposition to violence.
Murderers pleading NGRI are not responsible for their actions.
PET scans can be used as a means of diagnosing violent individuals.
Brain dysfunction causes violent.
Brain dysfunction may be an effect of violence.
Violence can be explained by the results.
Results relate only to criminal behaviour.

Question 21

Valid consent

Answer 21

Participants may not have been mentally competent to provide valid consent.
Participants may not have fully understood what they were required to do.
They may have found the performance task difficult.
This may have lowered their self-esteem – psychological harm.
They may have not understood what would be involved in a PET scan.
May have found this a distressing experience.

Question 22

Right to withdraw

Answer 22

May not have understood their right to withdraw – especially as they were prisoners.
They may have felt they couldn’t say they no longer wanted to take part.

Question 23

Socially sensitive research definition

Answer 23

Any research that has consequences for the larger group the participants are part of.

Question 24

Socially sensitive research

Answer 24

If the research indicates that murderers are born rather than made this may have consequences that would be disadvantageous for people with similar brain abnormalities.
They might be imprisoned without any trial or any reference to their social circumstances.

Question 25

Alternative evidence

Answer 25

James Fallon analysed his own genes.
He found that he had the genetics and brain characteristics of a violent offender.
He suggested that his positive experiences during childhood meant that his potentially criminal tendencies weren’t triggered.
This is a diathesis-stress explanation.
A diathesis is a genetic predisposition which is only manifested if certain stressors trigger it.