Turning To Crime - Biological Findings/Conclusions

Question 1

Raine conclusions

Answer 1

• if amygdala malfunctioning people will have powerful mood swings and won’t experience fear
• faulty hippocampus might prevent people learning from their mistakes
• less activity in corpus callosum ties in with difficulty planning ahead
• prefrontal cortex deals with rational thought and moral judgment

Question 2

Raine findings

Answer 2

• NGRI much less activity in prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex, more in occipital cortex. Temporal = same.
• NGRI less activity in corpus callosum.
• The activity in the 2 hemispheres was not evenly balanced. More activity RHS amygdala and hippocampus.

Question 3

Serotonin findings before Brunner

Answer 3

Previous reviews of biochemical studies suggests low serotonin levels related to the emergence of criminal behaviour.

Question 4

What is serotonin?

Answer 4

• Neurotransmitter
• Involved in modulation of impulsivity
• Interference in normal biology of serotonin may result in decreased ability to prevent certain behaviours

Question 5

Findings Brunner

Answer 5

1: there was a consistent association between reported violent behaviour and mutation on X chromosome.
2: mutation = complete deficiency in activity of enzyme MAO.
MAO responsible for regulating serotonin. This was not working normally in affected men therefore demonstrates the disturbed regulation of impulsive aggression. (Urine samples tested this.)
3: Although an absence of MAO should increase serotonin levels, therefore leading to better behaviour, the life long effect of defective gene led to constantly elevated levels of serotonin and affected either number of receptors or brain and serves which normally respond to serotonin.

Question 6

Daly and Wilson General

Answer 6

Correlational study on life expectancy and homicide rates in Chicago.
Chicago has 77 distinct communities… Clear boundaries on economic and social factors.
Procedure:
- compared recent population census data with police and school records on crime, delinquency and truancy.
- focused on communities with low life expectancy (54-77years)

Question 7

Daly and Wilson Findings

Answer 7

• Life expectancy is a good predictor of neighbourhood homicide rates.
  negative correlation
  Lower the LE, higher the homicide rate
  -0.88 = very strong
  “Short time horizon” - instant gratification over delayed pleasure. Expect short lives and therefore discount the future, therefore engaging in riskier behaviour for short term rewards.
• Negative correlation between life expectancy and truancy rates.
  Primary school -0.5
  High school -0.3
  Boys see little point working hard at school as they do not imagine a long term future for themselves and parents operate on same “short time horizon” therefore do not force attendance.
  Young males who skip school and break rules have more potential mates, which genetically speaking compensates for them dying younger.

Question 8

Raine - explanation

Answer 8

Some biopsychologists argue that special structures in our brain control our social behaviour - giving us empathy for other people, a sense of conscience and a concern for the consequences of our actions. People without these brain structures might be heartless and impulsive with no sense of right and wrong.
Gage - hints that moral decisions might be based on the biology of the brain due to evidence found on damage to prefrontal cortex causing personality transformation from a well-balanced mind to aggressive. Similar studies confirm that prefrontal cortex plays an important role in moral-decision making.