Topic 2: Biological Theories of Crime Flashcards
Define physiological
Physical form- this can be the body or the brain
What was the main principle within Lombroso’s theory?
The physical form being an indicator of criminality
Who did Lombroso carry out his studies on?
Convicted criminals in hospitals for the mentally insane.
Define what Lombroso meant by the term ‘atavism’
He claimed that criminality was heritable and that those who committed crime had atavistic features
Lombroso believed that criminality was __________ and that criminals could be identified by ________ __________ that confirmed them as being a savage.
inherited, physical defects
Lombroso suggested that criminality is not a matter of sin or free will but instead…?
A medical problem that needs to be examined
What did Lombroso suggest that atavistic people were like?
Pre social, unable to control impulses and have a reduced sensitivity to pain
Give 3 common features of ‘atavistic’ prisoners
Excessively long jaws, long arms, abnormal teeth
What part of the body did Lombroso particularly measure in dead prisoners?
The skull
Lombroso saw criminality as atavistic to remind him of…?
Earlier primitive stage of evolution
Define ‘somatotype’
Somatotype theory relates body types to personality characteristics and relates criminal behaviour to body type.
Define ‘endomorph’
Bigger (fat) and soft people
Endomorphs tend to be…?
Sociable and relaxed
Define ‘ectomorph’
Thin and fragile people
Ectomorphs tend to be…?
Introverted and restrained
Define ‘mesomorph’
Muscular and hard people
Mesomorphs tend to be…?
Aggressive and adventurous
According to Sheldon, which body type is most likely to be criminal and why?
Mesomorphs– because they have a more adventurous and energetic nature
Did Glueck and Glueck support Sheldon’s theory? What did they find?
Yes, however they found a fourth somatotype, a middle ground essentially which they called a balance
True or False: Lombroso believed that crime is innate.
True
What genes have been associated with crime and violence?
MAOA gene and a variant of Cadherin 13 (CDH13)
Those with these genes are how many more times more likely to have a history of criminal behaviour?
13 times
How can twin studies be used to examine the genetic basis of crime?
Looks at MZ twins who grew up in different environments, therefore eliminating environmental factors
What did Joseph research in 2001 and what were his findings?
Conducted research on 32 pairs of MZ twins who lived apart and found that both childhood and and adult anti-social behaviour had high heritability involved
What is the correlation between crime and depression?
Patients with depression suffer with low levels of seratonin which plays a huge role in levels of mood and depression which is hereditary so if theres a link between depression and criminality then criminality can be inherited.
Monozygotic twins (MZ) are ____________ twins
Identical
Dizygotic twins (DZ) are ____________ twins
Non-identical
Monozygotic twins share ___% of their genes, whilst dizygotic twins share _____% of their genes.
100%, 50%
Which type of twin is the best participant for investigating whether crime is genetic and why?
Identical (MZ) because it is highly likely that their behaviour will be similar due to the fact that they have the same DNA
Define ‘concordance’
Concordance means how much agreement there is between two factors – how similar they are. This can be used when talking about the similarity between twins - in terms of crime.
What is meant by ‘high concordance’
They are both similar, i.e. both twins are criminal
What is meant by ‘low concordance’
They are different, e.g. one twin is criminal, one is not
Which twin is concordance higher in?
Identical (MZ)
Christiensen examined 3,586 pairs of twins, what were the results?
Concordance rates were low even for MZ twins (35%) which indicates that the environment still plays a big role in criminal behaviour
What is meant by ‘nature’
Means behaviour is due to genes
What is meant by ‘nurture’
Means behaviour is due to environmental influences
What does an adoption study look at?
The impact of nurture on children who are raised by parents who are not their biological parents
What difference are they trying to establish between birth and adoptive parents?
How much the child has picked up from their adoptive parents (nurture) vs their biological parents (nature)
Hutchings & Mednick (1975) studied 14000 adoptees, what were the results?
A high proportion of boys with criminal convictions had biological parents with criminal convictions
Mednick et al. (1994) studied adoptees and their adoptive parents, what were the results?
No relationship between adoptees and their adoptive parents
What is XYY syndrome?
A rare chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of an extra Y chromosome in males
People with XYY syndrome are referred to as ‘super males’ suggesting…?
They are more aggressive and violent than typical men
Give 3 characteristics of people with XYY syndrome
Taller than average, cystic acne during adolensce, muscle weakness
Jacob et al studied 1000 men in prison and 1000 men in the general population, what were the results?
15 men with XYY per 1000 in prisons compared with 1 man XYY per 1000 men in general population
What does Jacob et al’s study suggest about the relationship between criminality and XYY syndrome
Suggests that some criminals could have the XYY syndrome and this could be a reason why they commit criminal acts
What can happen if the pre-frontal cortex of the brain is damaged?
Someone may not be able to think through consequences and resist temptations which could result in impulsive behaviour including crime
Raine conducted PET scans on murderers in prison to see if there was a difference between them as opposed to the general population, what did he find?
Murderers had lower levels of activity in their pre-frontal cortex suggesting that they have irrational thoughts and behave impulsively
Which case supported the brain abnormality theory? What happened?
Phones Gage had an accident where an iron rod went through his left frontal lobe, he survived but suffered extreme personality changes
Explain the correlation between serotonin and criminality
Low levels of serotonin can be linked to irritability, rage, high levels of anger, and general violent behaviour
Explain the correlation between steroids and criminality
Steroids have also been linked to high levels of aggression and increase levels of testosterone
Explain the correlation between the overproduction of testosterone and criminality
Leads to increased aggressive and irritable behaviour as well as increased muscle mass– more violent behaviour= more criminal behaviour
Give one biological theory that can be applied to Fred and Rose West
Brain abnormality– Fred West had 2 brain injuries that he suffered from a motorbike accident and being pushed off a fire escape, leading to personality changes
Give one biological theory that can be applied to Richard Speck
Lombroso- atavistic features
