The Criminal Mind

Question 1

What individual factors influence crime?

Answer 1

Personality

Upbringing

Emotional maturity

Age

Gender

Family background

Mental health

Personal morality/values

Intelligence

Cultural background

Employment status

Education

Race/ethnicity

Past trauma

Sense of personal responsibility

Marital status

Genetics

Emotional state

Substance use/abuse

Personal attitudes towards crime/violence

Question 2

What constituted crime control pre-enlightenment?

Answer 2

Crime was constructed in religious and spiritual terms, with corporal punishment (torture) and capital punishment being used widespread

Question 3

What scholars were involved with classical criminology?

Answer 3

Cesare Beccaria & Jeremy Bentham

Question 4

What assumptions are made with classical criminology?

Answer 4

Humans are motivated by self-interest

Humans are rational and calculating of pleasure and pain

Individuals have responsibility for their own actions

Question 5

What does classical criminology form?

Answer 5

The basis for most modern criminal justice systems

Question 6

What is the logical expression for hedonistic calculus?

Answer 6

pleasure > pain = crime

Question 7

What is Beccaria’s perspective on punishment?

Answer 7

Punishment should serve to protect the social order and deter criminality – focus on crime prevention

Question 8

What are the key assumptions on rational choice theory?

Answer 8

Criminal behaviour is purposive

Criminal behaviour is rational

Criminal decision-making is crime-specific

Question 9

What does rational choice theory provide?

Answer 9

A theoretical justification to increase likelihood and severity of criminal sanctions

Question 10

Why is crime not simple?

Answer 10

People are clearly not always rational

Question 11

Who were the key theorists involved with developing Homo Criminalis?

Answer 11

Cesare Lomborso & Enrico Ferri

Question 12

What does Homo Criminalis suggest?

Answer 12

Criminality is either partially or completely pre-determined

Question 13

What is Social Darwinism?

Answer 13

A discredited pseudo-science influenced by the work of Charles Darwin that believes behaviour & criminality are pre-determined

Question 14

What does evolutionary psychology say about human behaviour?

Answer 14

Only those behaviours that are useful in a reproductive sense are those that survive and are passed on to subsequent generations

Question 15

What is the standard narrative of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 15

Human males have an evolved predisposition towards aggressive “competing for mating rights”

Question 16

What does male aggression result in?

Answer 16

Violent competition with other males

Sexual possessiveness (domestic violence)

Sexual aggressiveness (rape)

Indifference/aggression towards non-offspring

Question 17

What are the flaws of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 17

Overly reductionist – complexities and contemporary environmental factors not adequately taken into account

Lacking in generalisability – does not explain why some people offend rather than others

Question 18

What is the problem with the standard narrative of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 18

Ignores historical and contemporary hunter-gather, nomadic and other societies based on shared parentage

Question 19

What behaviors are associated with inadequate nutrition?

Answer 19

Irritability

Impulsivity

Aggression

Question 20

What does a Boston study say on the link between sugar and aggression?

Answer 20

5 cans or more of soft drink led to a 9-15% increase in violence and weapon carrying

Question 21

What is hypoglycemia?

Answer 21

Blood sugar levels in the brain drop too low

Question 22

What chemical contaminants are said to affect human behaviour?

Answer 22

Copper, mercury, manganese, and particularly, lead exposure have consistently been identified as aggravating environmental factors

Question 23

What is neuropsychology?

Answer 23

Investigation of the interaction between physical properties of the brain and behaviour

Question 24

What is the link between neurological impairment and crime?

Answer 24

Damage to the brain, whether through traumatic injury, genetic deficiency or exposure to environmental toxins can influence behavioural tendencies that are linked to crime

Question 25

What is ADHD?

Answer 25

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a neurological condition related to impairment of the brain that manifests in impulsivity (acting without considering consequences), hyperactivity (excessive activity), and inattentiveness (inability to concentrate)

Question 26

What is the link between hormones and crime?

Answer 26

Links to higher levels of aggression and sexual assertiveness and linked to ‘pro-social’ behaviours, such as heroic altruism and vigilance

Question 27

What links neurotransmitters to crime?

Answer 27

Changes in serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine levels influence behaviour in ways that are linked to crime

Question 28

What are genotypes?

Answer 28

The set of genes in our DNA that are responsible for different traits

Question 29

What are phenotypes?

Answer 29

The manifestation of observable traits and behaviours

Question 30

What is the supermale (XYY) syndrome associated with?

Answer 30

Serious mental disturbances

Low IQ

Increased aggression and crime

Question 31

What are phenotypes possibly the result of?

Answer 31

Genetic expression (nature)

Our environment (nurture)

Or a combination of the two (nature and nurture)

Question 32

What constitutes the bio-social explanations of crime?

Answer 32

The combination of nature and nurture

Question 33

What is the most complicated biological study in relation to crime?

Answer 33

Studies into twins and adopted children

Question 34

What is the concept of epigenetics?

Answer 34

Our environment – and even that of our parents – affect how different genes are turned ‘on’ or ‘off’

Question 35

What is the problem with biological positivism?

Answer 35

A major failure is the lack of generalisability – there is significant variability in how individuals manifest criminal behaviour leading to a minimal impact on our understanding of crime and the discipline of criminology

Question 36

How have biological theories contributed to policy changes?

Answer 36

They have contributed to changes regarding:
. We treat offenders in court
. How offenders are treated and rehabilitated
. Early childhood interventions and screening
. Highlighting the need for good nutrition, as well as
toxin-free and stimulating environments