Unit 2 - Ch. 2

Question 1

What is ancestral environment?

Answer 1

An evolutionary term that refers to the hunter-and-gatherer era, from which most of our current-day adaptations are hypothesized to have evolved.

Question 2

Cesare Lombroso

Answer 2

1835-1909 - Commonly known as the father of criminology. Argued that criminals possessed distinctive physical features that were often observed in his “normal” subjects. These features were referred to as “atavisms”. He suggested that criminals were evolutionary throwbacks who had more in common with Neanderthals than modern-day humans.

Question 3

Charles Darwin

Answer 3

1859 - Natural Selection - Primary mechanism through which evolution created all species. Natural selection works by allowing the “trait” that bestowed a reproductive fitness advantage to be “selected” for in the sense that those with the trait lived long enough to procreate and pass it on to the next generation.

Question 4

Francis Galton

Answer 4

Darwin’s cousin - misused Darwin’s natural selection theory - he founded Eugenics which is the theory that was responsible for forced sterilization of individuals deemed “unfit” to procreate in the United States during the 20th century and Hitler’s regime (forced abortion, sterilization, concentration camps).

Question 5

Eugenics

Answer 5

Francis Galton - The belief that the evolution of the human species can be artificially improved by preventing individuals considered genetically “defective” from reproducing by methods such as forced sterilization.

Question 6

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

Answer 6

Official diagnosis defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), referring to a constellation of antisocial behaviours occurring during adulthood that have persisted for at least six months. Sometimes ASPD is used interchangeably with psychopathy, albeit incorrectly.

Question 7

Conduct Disorder

Answer 7

Official diagnosis defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It refers to a constellation of antisocial behaviours (e.g., stealing, getting into fights, using a weapon during a fight) occurring during childhood that have persisted for at least six months.

Question 8

Psychopathy

Answer 8

Typified by a constellation of affective, interpersonal, and behavioural characteristics such as superficial charm, grandiosity, manipulation and lying, absence of remorse, inability to feel empathy, impulsivity, risk-taking, irresponsibility, and living a parasitic lifestyle.

Question 9

Antisocial Behaviour

Answer 9

Generic term that encompasses a wide range of behaviours (e.g., hitting, slapping, punching, lying, cheating, stealing, running away, breaking and entering, homicide, and so forth).

Question 10

Define theory (strong theory)

Answer 10

In sum, a theory is simply an explanation of a particular phenomenon, in this case antisocial behaviour. A strong theory:
1) is parsimonious (without excess - simple and straight-forward);

2) clearly identifies the causal mechanisms and corresponding mediators and moderators underlying the phenomenon of interest;

3) is testable and hence falsifiable via hypotheses and predictions;

4) is based on empirical data and is modified in response to new data;

5) possesses interdisciplinary compatibility; and

6) respects gender, ethnicity, and culture. Throughout this chapter, it may be helpful to ask, “Does this perspective provide a good theory of crime?” For example, are certain explanations stronger in the sense that the corresponding evidence is stronger?

Question 11

Causal Mechanisms

Answer 11

Processes that directly cause a behaviour (i.e., factor X causes factor Y). In order to confirm the existence of a causal mechanism, a research design is needed that allows for the independent variable to be manipulated by the experimenter. Ethically, however, we are unable to do this most of the time. For example, if we wanted to know beyond a doubt whether child abuse causes crime, we would have to randomly assign children to one of two conditions—an abuse and a non-abuse situation, and clearly this is not an option. There are reasonable proxy designs that get us closer to causality, such as treatment studies that use random assignment or comparison groups as well as longitudinal designs that examine whether naturally occurring changes in variable X are related to changes in variable Y.

Question 12

Moderators

Answer 12

Variables that cause the relationship between variable A and B to vary as a function of a third variable—the moderator.

Question 12

Mediators

Answer 12

Variables that explain the relationship between variable X and Y. It might be concluded that variable X exerts its influence on variable Y through a third intervening variable—the mediator.

Question 13

Neurotransmitters

Answer 13

The chemical messengers of the brain. They are stored in synaptic vesicles

Question 14

Computer Tomography (CT)

Answer 14

Brain-imaging technique - Some researchers may use CT scans to assess whether the functions of the brain are somehow impaired in antisocial individuals.

Question 15

How would behavioural genetics researchers conduct research?

Answer 15

Behavioural genetics researchers might employ twin methodology to ask whether identical twins are more likely to commit crime than non-identical twins.

Question 16

How would molecular biologists conduct research?

Answer 16

Molecular biologists might compare the genetic makeup of a group of “criminals” to one of “non-criminals” to look for distinct genetic differences between the two.

Question 17

How would researchers using neurochemical approaches conduct research?

Answer 17

Neurochemical approaches might examine how genes actually express themselves in terms of the brain’s neurotransmitter systems.

Question 18

To examine the role that genetics play in criminal conduct, it is necessary to employ methodologies that….

Answer 18

…allow researchers to separate genetic and environmental influences.

Example:

A researcher asks 500 pairs of biologically related fathers and sons to complete a self-report criminal behaviour survey. The researcher then correlates the answers between fathers and sons and finds that the average correlation is .30. The question remains: Is the observed correlation due to fathers passing on “criminal genes,” or is it due to fathers passing on criminal attitudes and criminal life skills through years of living together? Unfortunately, this research design does not permit a clear answer. However, the field of behavioural genetics, which relies heavily on the study of twins and adoptions, can help separate genetic from environmental influences, at least to some degree.

Question 19

Behavioural genetics

Answer 19

A sub-discipline of biology that studies how genes in humans and animals influence behaviour.

Question 20

Every human shares about ____percent of his or her DNA sequence with the rest of the human species. The ____percent that we have in common is _____, accounting for our basic similarities. Behavioural genetics focuses on the remaining _____percent of the variance that is free to vary.

Answer 20

Every human being shares about 99 percent of his or her DNA sequence with the rest of the human species. The 99 percent that we have in common is fixed (not free to vary). Behavioural genetics focuses on the remaining 1 percent of the variance that is free to vary.

Question 21

Monozygotic (MZ) or identical twins

Answer 21

They share 100 percent of their genes. The 1% of DNA that is free to vary from human to human is 100% identical for MZ twins.

Question 22

Dizygotic Twins (DZ) or fraternal twins

Answer 22

No more alike than non-twin siblings, sharing about 50% of that 1% that is free to vary.

Question 23

Concordance rate

Answer 23

Formally, the concordance rate is the percent of cases in which both members of a pair have a particular attribute.

Concordance rate is a statistical measure that describes the proportion of pairs of individuals that share an attribute, given that one already possesses this trait. A pair is considered concordant if they both possess an attribute of interest, and discordant if they differ. In psychology and other health-related sciences, the concordance rate is used to estimate the influence of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) on a particular trait, disorder, or disease.

Question 24

Concordance rates are typically converted into ______ - a descriptive statistic that represents the proportion of _______ variance in a given behaviour in a sample and/or population that can be attributed to genetic variation among individuals.

Answer 24

Concordance rates are typically converted into a heritability coefficient—a descriptive statistic that represents the proportion of phenotypic variance in a given behaviour (e.g., criminal) in a sample and/or population that can be attributed to genetic variation among individuals

Question 25

Phenotypic

Answer 25

An individual’s observed properties or how one’s genotype is actually expressed. For example, a genotype may have a recessive gene for blue eyes but a phenotype may be for brown eyes.

Question 26

Heritability coefficient

Answer 26

A descriptive statistic that represents the proportion of phenotypic variance in a given behaviour (e.g., criminal) in a sample and/or population that can be attributed to genetic variation among individuals

Question 27

Biometric modelling

Answer 27

A more complex statistical approach to estimate heritability coefficients.

Question 28

Statistical Modelling methods permit the estimation of two types of environmental factors:

Answer 28

1. Shared environmental factors (aspects of the environment shared by all family members, such as living in poverty);
2. Non-shared environmental factors (aspects of the environment not shared by all family members, such as exposure to different peer groups or different treatment by parents).

Question 29

Genetic studies are just as much about _____ as they are about __________

Answer 29

1. Genes
2. Environment

Question 30

Common criticisms levied against twin-studies?

Answer 30

It may overestimate (or underestimate) the genetic contribution for several reasons.

First, parents are more likely to provide similar environments for MZ twins than DZ twins.

Second, heritability estimates for MZ twins may be confounded by prenatal factors that by definition aren’t necessarily genetic. Example: MZ twins usually share one placenta and DZ twins usually have two separate placentas, thereby introducing a potential biological difference that is not necessarily genetic.

Also criticized for having small sample sizes and political influences (such as studies conducted in Nazi Germany).

Question 31

Adoption research has taken one of two forms:

Answer 31

1. Parent-Offspring adoption studies: In the parent– offspring paradigm, concordance rates (or correlations) between adoptive parents and adoptees’ antisocial behaviour are compared to concordance rates (or correlations) between biological parents and adoptees. If the concordance rates/correlations are higher for the biological parents and the adopted offspring than the adoptive parents and the adopted offspring, genetic contributions to antisocial behaviour are inferred
2. Sibling-Offspring adoption studies: In the sibling–offspring paradigm, concordance rates between adoptive siblings are compared with concordance rates between biological siblings.

Question 32

Mednick et al. (1984) performed a study on adoptions of 14427 non-familial adoptions between 1924-1947. What were the results?

Answer 32

1. If both biological and adoptive parents had no criminal record, only 13.5% of adoptee sons had criminal records
2. If the adopted parent had a criminal record and the biological parent did not, only 14.7% adoptee sons had a criminal record
3. If biological parent had a criminal record but not the adopted parent, 20% of adoptee sons had a criminal record.
4. If both adopted and biological parent had a criminal record, 24.5% of adoptee sons had a criminal record.

Question 33

Rhee and Waldman (2002) completely a meta-analysis review of twin and adoption studies. What were the findings?

Answer 33

In sum, across all studies (involving a staggering 55 525 pairs of participants!), the variance in antisocial behaviour could be divided as follows:

-heritability (41 percent),
-shared environment (16 percent),
-and non-shared environment (43 percent).

Notably, the removal of potential outliers (e.g., eight studies involving psychopathy) did not alter the findings.

Question 34

What does research increasingly show about the gene-crime link?

Answer 34

That it is not likely a direct conduit but rather a function of mediational effects of inherited characteristics that predispose an individual to antisocial behaviour (ie lower intelligence, impulsivity, ADHD).

Question 35

Mediational effect?

Answer 35

In the parlance of researchers working on this problem, an indirect effect, also known as a mediation effect, refers to a situation where two variables of interest are associated via a third variable.

Question 36

Antisocial behaviour often results from…

Answer 36

…a series of complex interactions between numerous factors that may seem benign on their own but in combination produce devastating consequences.

Question 37

What is the exciting new avenue in the field of behaviour genetics?

Answer 37

Instead of simply studying the additive effects of “genes” plus “environment,” a new generation of behavioural geneticists are increasingly asking if there are interactive effects between genes and the environment: Is there a “gene” by “environment” effect?I

Question 38

Interactive Effects

Answer 38

Effects that are known to be multiplicative, exponential, or synergistic rather than merely additive. Thus while psychopathy and sexual deviance may elevate the risk of sexual recidivism by two points, in combination, the risk of sexual recidivism may increase by six points. Or, alternately, the noise level generated by two young toddlers is interactive in that “one boy” plus “one boy” doesn’t equal two boys playing but seems more like six toddlers!

Question 39

What were the findings in Jaffee et al. research about childhood maltreatment?

Answer 39

The evidence unequivocally demonstrates that childhood maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect) contributes to the development of antisocial and criminal behaviour. What is less clear is why 50 percent of maltreated children do not engage in delinquency, aggressive behaviour, or criminality

In a prospective follow-up study of 1116 five-year-old British twin pairs, children were classified along a genetic risk continuum (e.g., from low to high risk). In sum, the authors reported that the experience of maltreatment increased the probability of receiving a conduct disorder diagnosis by 1.6 percent among children deemed “lowest genetic risk”. However, the probability of receiving a conduct disorder diagnosis increased to 23.5 percent among children deemed “highest genetic risk.”

Question 40

Twin and adoption studies illustrate that there is a _________ between _________ and ________. However, the actual functional gene(s) involved has __________.

Answer 40

1. clear link
2. genetics
3. antisocial
4. not been identified

Question 41

What is the main function of a gene?

Answer 41

To produce proteins comprised of amino acids - the basic building blocks of life.

Question 42

Amino acids?

Answer 42

The basic proteins of life that are essentially the precursors to neurotransmitters. Amino acids are converted into neurotransmitters via enzymes.

Question 43

What are proteins ultimately responsible for?

Answer 43

The phenotypic expression of our genotype.

Question 44

Genotype

Answer 44

An individual’s complete genetic makeup regardless of whether a particular gene has a visible influence on an individual’s functioning or behaviour; what’s on the “inside” versus the “outside.”

Question 45

Faulty genes typically do one of two things:

Answer 45

Produce too much or too little of a particular protein.

Question 46

Human genes are stored in ____ chromosomes (____pairs)

Answer 46

1. 46
2. 23

Question 47

Males have _____ chromosomes and females have _______ chromosomes.

Answer 47

1. XY
2. XX

Question 48

Capsi et al. (2002) published the first groundbreaking study demonstrating an interaction between specific gene and a wall known risk factor - Childhood maltreatment. They were specifically interested in know how which gene affected the effects of childhood mistreatment?

Answer 48

Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA). They were interested in seeing if a low-activity MAOA gene may or may not intensify the effects of childhood mistreatment.

Go to page 39 of the textbook and really drill in their study

Question 49

What is the Monoamine Oxidase A gene? (MAOA)

Answer 49

The MAOA gene is located on the X chromosome; hence it is sex-linked. The MAOA gene is responsible for encoding the MAOA enzyme, which in turn is responsible for metabolizing or breaking down key brain neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-Ht), and dopamine (DA), all of which have been implicated in aggression and various forms of antisocial behaviour. The two existing versions of the MAOA gene—low activity and high activity—are the result of a polymorphism.

Question 50

Polymorphism

Answer 50

Biological term that refers to a situation where alternative versions of a discrete trait exist naturally in a given species. For example, a polymorphism exists for eye colour (e.g., blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes) and blood type—A, B, AB, O). The contrasting forms are called morphs.

Question 51

What is the Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) gene responsible for?

Answer 51

Encoding the MAOA enzyme which in turn is responsible for metabolizing or breaking down neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-Ht), and dopamine (DA). All of these neurotransmitters have been implicated in aggression and various forms of antisocial behaviour.

Question 52

What are the two versions of the MAOA (Monoamine Oxidase A) gene?

Answer 52

Low-Activity
High-Activity

These two versions are the result of a polymorphism.

Question 53

Epidemiological

Answer 53

Refers to research designs that utilize large representative samples of the general population (or, in some cases, the entire population) in order to study the incidence, prevalence, and/or nature of a disease or a particular behaviour (e.g., crime).

Question 54

Capsi et al.’s study found that….

Answer 54

80% of youth classified as having low MAOA activity and being several maltreated were classified as conduct disordered

40% of youth with high MAOA + severe maltreatment were classified with conduct disorders

While maltreatment by itself had deleterious effects, its effects were exacerbated by the presence of a low-activity MAOA gene. Furthermore, merely having the low-activity MAOA gene type did not elevate risk of antisocial behaviour.

Question 55

Hormones regulate ______, _____, and ______. They also impact _______.

Answer 55

1. Metabolism, growth, and development
2. behaviour

Question 56

Two meta-analyses found that testosterone and aggression….

Answer 56

have a positive correlation relationship. However, the average effect is relatively small.

It is also important to note that other researchers have cogently argued that the relationship between testosterone levels and aggression is complex (and far from causal), most likely playing an indirect role in the expression of aggression and antisocial behaviour

Question 57

Hormones

Answer 57

Messengers of the endocrine system

Question 58

What are the two types of neurons? What are synapses? Which type of synapses are of interest in the psych of crim behaviour?

Answer 58

Pre-Synaptic and Post-synaptic

The presynaptic cell is the sender and uses its axon’s synaptic terminals to transmit the message to the receiver—the postsynaptic cell.

The postsynaptic cell receives the message using its dendrites.

Narrow gaps, called synapses, exist between the presynaptic and postsynaptic cells. Some of these synapses are electrical and some are chemical.

Chemical synapses are of interest - An electrical impulse or signal travels along the presynaptic cell but cannot cross the synaptic cleft to the postsynaptic cell without being temporarily converted into a chemical signal. The converter, or chemical messenger, is the neurotransmitter

Question 59

What three neurotransmitters in particular have been studied in relation to criminal behaviour? What are they responsible for? Which one do we focus on given that it has been researched most extensively?

Answer 59

Serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine

Information processing, mood regulation, and communication

Serotonin

Question 60

The neurotransmitter, serotonin, plays an important role in _______ _______ and ________. It is produced from an essential ________ _______ called _______.

Answer 60

1. Behavioural inhibition
2. Mood Regulation
3. amino acid
4. tryptophan

Question 61

Tryptophan?

Answer 61

Produces the neurotransmitter serotonin. Tryptophan is not produced naturally within the body and must be obtained through diet. Most notable sources include protein-based foods such as turkey and chocolate.

Question 62

Since 1959, research has shown that there is a link between malfunctioning serotonin system and ______, _______, and _________.

Answer 62

1. Impulsivity
2. irritability
3. aggression (self or others)

Question 63

Metabolites

Answer 63

Once neurotransmitters perform its job it breaks down into metabolites.

Question 64

How does serotonin systems malfunction?

Answer 64

-Low levels of serotonin
-Low levels of its precursors such as Tryptophan
-Low levels of its metabolites
-Faulty serotonin receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CFS) studies are considered the most reliable method of measuring serotonin levels.

Question 65

Moore, Scarpa, and Raine’s (2002) meta-analytic review of 16 studies illustrated that, on average, serotonin levels….

Answer 65

(as measured by CSF serotonin metabolites) were substantially lower among antisocial individuals than non-antisocial individuals.

Taken together, this research clearly suggests that there is, at the very least, a correlational link between a malfunctioning serotonin system and aggression. However, the extent to which serotonin is predictive or causally related to violence and/or aggression requires further study.

Question 66

What is the psychophysiology theory?

Answer 66

A psychophysiological theory uses physiology (e.g., low resting heart rate) to explain psychological constructs (e.g., emotions, motivation, learning). Various psychophysiological theories have tried to link measures of autonomic response such as heart rate and electrodermal activity (sometimes known as galvanic skin response or skin conductance) to various measures of antisocial conduct

Question 67

Electrodermal Activity (EDA)

Answer 67

Electrodermal activity (EDA) measures the amount of electrical current between two points on the skin. Typically, electrodes are placed on two fingers, and changes (even minor ones) in electrical activity brought on by sweating are recorded by a polygraph (Raine 1993). Increases in heart rate and EDA are related to general emotional responses such as fear, anger, or anxiety (Lange 1994).

Question 68

In what 3 paradigms have psychophysiological studies measured heart rate (HR) or electrodermal activity (EDA)?

Answer 68

(1) rest: HR/EDA is measured in the absence of a stimuli;

(2) task: HR/EDA is measured in the presence of a stimuli, usually stressful (e.g., performing some form of arithmetic in public); and

(3) reactivity: HR/EDA is measured before and after a stimuli.

Question 69

Two meta-analytic reviews (Lorber 2004; Ortiz and Raine 2004) concluded that there is a _______ to ________ correlation between various indices of antisociality and low levels of ______ ______. Thus, individuals who engage in _________ _______ also have a tendency to exhibit ____ ______ _____ and ____ _____ ____ (essentially, they don’t ______ much).

What two theories have emerged to explain these findings?

Answer 69

Two meta-analytic reviews (Lorber 2004; Ortiz and Raine 2004) concluded that there is a 1. small to 2. moderate correlation between various indices of antisociality and low levels of 3. autonomic 4. arousal (i.e., low heart rate, low electrodermal activity). Thus, individuals who engage in 5. antisocial 6. behaviours also have a tendency to exhibit 7. low 8. heart 9. rates and 9.low 10. electrodermal 11. activity (essentially, they don’t 12. sweat much).

Fearlessness theory and stimulation-seeking theory

Question 70

Fearlessness theory

Answer 70

Fearlessness theory argues that some individuals do not experience much fear (i.e., elevated heart rate, sweaty palms) when stressed. Thus, it is argued that these individuals possess the requisite level of fearlessness to engage in crime. Research conducted by Choy, Raine, Portnoy, Rudo-Hutt, Gao, and Soyfer (2015) suggests that children who have experienced chronic childhood stressors (the same life stressors known to elevate one’s risk for engaging in antisocial behaviour) have learned to habituate to life stress. Consequently, they are predisposed to fearlessness and a proclivity to antisocial conduct.

Question 71

Stimulation-Seeking Theory

Answer 71

In contrast to the fearlessness theory, Portnoy, Raine, Chen, Pardini, Loeber, and Jennings (2014) found evidence in support of the stimulation-seeking perspective. They reported that the relationship between a low resting heart rate and aggression could be explained by the need for stimulation rather than fearlessness.

The simulation-seeking theory hypothesizes that being in a chronic state of low arousal (e.g., having a low resting heart rate) is unpleasant. Consequently, individuals seek to alleviate this unpleasant state by engaging in risky activities such as crime.

Question 72

Brain imaging (or neuroimaging) research examines the…

Answer 72

….structural (e.g., reduced grey matter size, tumours, lesions) and functional characteristics of the brain (e.g., blood flow, glucose metabolism).

Question 73

How is brain structure typically studied?

Answer 73

MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging and
CT - Computed Tomography

Question 74

How is brain function typically studied?

Answer 74

PET - Positron-emission tomography and
SPECT - Single photon emission computed tomography

Question 75

What is involved when conducting brain imaging studies in criminal behaviour?

Answer 75

They involve assessing a small number of “known” antisocial individuals (sex offenders, violent offenders, psychopaths) against a comparison group of prosocial individuals.

Former studies simply compared the brain structures and/or functions of the two groups.

Recent studies have compared brain function while the test subjects were engaged in some cognitive activity (such as while viewing emotionally negative pictures).

Question 76

Yange and Raine (2009) recently meta-analyzed 43 brain imaging studies. What did they conclude?

Answer 76

They concluded that functional and structural impairments to the prefrontal cortex are more common among antisocial populations than comparison groups. In particular, they implicate three specialized areas within the prefrontal cortex that are more likely to be impaired among antisocial populations. Notably, these three areas regulate emotional processing, decision making, impulse control, and cognitive flexibility. Thus, it is no surprise that deficits in these domains could lead to an “antisocial tendency” as hypothesized by Raine and Yang (2006).

Question 77

Neuropsychology studies brain function_______. Give an example

Answer 77

Indirectly.

For example, if you are suspected of having a brain injury following an accident, a neuropsychologist may administer a battery of paper/pencil and/or motor tests designed to diagnose what part of the brain is malfunctioning.

Question 78

Experts in the field of neuropsychology have studied whether….

Answer 78

…deficits in executive functioning are related to antisocial behaviour. In brief, executive functioning refers to cognitive functioning involving future goal-oriented behaviour, purposive attention, organizational skills, and inhibitory control

Question 79

Morgan and Lilienfeld (2000) meta-analytically reviewed 39 studies comparing….

Answer 79

…antisocial groups with non-antisocial or “less antisocial” groups on six measures of executive functioning considered to have the highest validity in the field. Overall, they aggregated the results of 4589 participants. A robust effect (weighted Cohen’s d 5 0.62) was observed, indicating that poor executive functioning is related to antisocial behaviour. However, the authors noted that there was considerable variability from study to study, suggesting that further research is needed to enhance our confidence in this finding. The studies were also largely correlational in nature.

Question 80

What are the main biological study types to explain crime? What are the other considerations?

Answer 80

Main: Genetics (Twins, adoptions, and molecular genetics), neurochemistry (hormones and neurotransmitters), psychophysiology, neuropsychology, neuroimaging.

Other considerations: Pregnancy (inadequate prenatal care), birth complications (perinatal), toxins (lead), and diet

Question 81

There is some evidence linking hypoglycemia (low blood-sugar, known to result in panic, irritability, and nervousness) with _________ and _____ ______.

Answer 81

1. Aggression
2. Antisocial behaviour

Question 82

Schoenthaler (1983) conducted an analysis showing the effects of…

Answer 82

…low blood-sugar on incarcerated juvenile offenders for two years.

Using a double-blind study, Schoenthaler examined the effects of a healthy diet (designed to regulate blood sugar levels) on a sample of incarcerated juvenile offenders for two years. For half the sample, soft drinks and junk-food snacks were replaced with fruit juices and nutritious snacks. High-sugar desserts and cereals were eliminated. The other half of the sample received the usual meal plan. This study was double-blind because neither the researcher nor the participants were told which group they belonged to. Impressively, the program reduced antisocial behaviour by 48 percent.

Question 83

Researchers have investigated the impact of neurotoxins, particularly ______, on brain development. Needleman, Riess, Tobin, Biesecker, and Greenhouse (1996) conducted a study of 212 boys in the Pittsburgh school system aged 7 to 11. What was this study and the findings?

Answer 83

1. Lead
2. During the course of the study, the researchers assessed lead concentration levels and antisocial behaviour in the children. While no effect was observed at age 7, there seemed to be a cumulative effect of lead so that by age 11, children with elevated lead levels exhibited significantly more antisocial behaviour than their peers with normal lead levels, as rated by themselves, their parents, and their teachers, even after controlling for other factors such as socioeconomic status and parental quality. This study demonstrated that even small amounts of lead can have deleterious effects.

Question 84

What factors cause abnormal fetal development?

Can these cause a predisposition to antisocial behaviour? Give an example.

Research has also shown two things about the predisposition of antisocial behaviour due to abnormal fetal development. What are they?

Answer 84

Maternal smoking, drinking, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, poor nutrition, and birth complications.

Yes, these factors may predispose an individual to antisocial behaviour.

For example, it is well known that hypoxia or lack of oxygen to the brain at birth can have a profound impact on development, increasing the probability of learning disabilities, impaired cognitive functioning, and intelligence.

First, the environment (e.g., positive parenting) can reverse the potentially deleterious effects associated with pregnancy and birth-related insults and thus serve to protect individuals from their “biology” (Mednick and Kandel 1988). Second, the environment (e.g., poor parenting) can aggravate biological risk, such as children born with subtle neurological impairments (Anderson 2007).

Question 85

Autonomic Arousal

Answer 85

Especially during anger or fear, the autonomic nervous system produces a dramatic group of changes in bodily activity. The heart beats more rapidly and intensely, and respiration increases, whereas the activity of the digestive system is reduced.

Question 86

Proximate Explanations

Answer 86

Proximate explanations identify which factors in a person’s immediate environment cause certain behaviours. Proximate explanations also ask how the behaviour develops over an organism’s lifespan, questioning causation and development at the individual level.

Biological Explanations such as genetics, the brain, hormones, autonomic arousal, etc.

Question 87

Ultimate or distal explanations

Answer 87

Ultimate or more distal explanations ask questions about function and adaptation for an entire species. This level of analysis asks questions such as, “Why did humans develop the capacity for speech, emotion, or aggression?”

Question 88

What two critical points did Darwin make in his book “On the Origin of Species”?

Answer 88

1) species did not always exist in their current form but evolved or transformed from ancestral species; and

2) the evolutionary mechanism for this transformation was natural selection

Question 89

What is evolutionary psychology?

Answer 89

Evolutionary psychology is a relatively new yet thriving discipline that seeks to understand human psychology from a Darwinian perspective. In essence, evolutionary psychologists are trying to “map a universal human nature”.

Evolutionary psychology posits that the human mind comes equipped with numerous psychological mechanisms that have been designed and maintained through selection over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.

Question 90

Selection Pressures/Adaptive Problems

Answer 90

Recurring conditions in the ancestral environment that favoured certain traits (in a reproductive fitness sense) and thus promoted their eventual conversion into adaptations.

Example: Finding a mate, hunting, gathering, protecting children, avoiding predators, and finding shelter.

Question 91

Adaptation

Answer 91

Evolutionary concept that refers to traits or characteristics that eventually become commonplace in a given species because they somehow enhanced reproductive success in an ancestral environment.

Question 92

Psychological mechanisms

Answer 92

Evolutionary psychology posits that the human mind comes equipped with numerous psychological mechanisms that have been designed and maintained through selection over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. These psychological mechanisms are sometimes conceptualized as a series of mini computer programs that have been designed by one master programmer. The master programmer is not a person but rather the environment that our hunter-gatherer ancestors inhabited many years ago.

Question 93

What are nongenetic mechanisms of inheritance?

Epigenetic?

Phenotypic?

Answer 93

Durrant and Ward (2015) nicely summarize the role of epigenetic (when the expression of genes are modified during development and these phenotypic variations are inherited by the next generation), ecological, and cultural methods of transmission. However, the field of evolutionary forensic psychology remains firmly rooted in genetic mechanisms of evolutionary change.

Epigenetic: “Epi-“means on or above in Greek,and “epigenetic” describes factors beyond the genetic code. Epigenetic changes are modifications to DNA that regulate whether genes are turned on or off

Phenotypic: relating to the observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

Question 94

Is the field of evolutionary forensic psychology firmly rooted in nongenetic inheritance or genetic mechanisms of evolutionary change?

Answer 94

Genetic Mechanisms

Question 95

Genetic Mechanisms

Question 96

What are Hot Topics top three criticisms and misconceptions about evolutionary psychology? What is evo. psych’s defence?

Answer 96

Critique: Determinism
Critics argue that evolution (and biology) is not useful because of its determinist nature - we can’t change what happened in our ancestral environment, so how can we use a theory about the past to solve current problems?

Critique: Naturalistic Fallacy
Evolutionary theory is flawed because it legitimizes aggression and violence along with a myriad of social injustices. For example, in reference to evolutionary explanations of female crime, Belknap (2001) states “. . . this perspective is . . . insulting to girls and women, viewing them as pathetic, needy competitors for male attention . . .” (p. 57).

Critique: Natural selection is a conscious process
Evolutionary psychology assumes that individuals consciously decide to act in a certain way, which ultimately results in our present-day adaptations.

For evo. pysch’s defence to these critiques, see page 49-50 of textbook.

Question 97

How is evolutionary research conducted?

Answer 97

-Use of an array of methods including: historical, anthropological, and cross-cultural methods;
-Researchers use methods that are routine among psychologists such as paper/pencil questionnaires, interviews, computer simulation studies (with the key difference being in how evolutionary psychologists might frame questions and interpret results).

Question 98

What are the differences between social learning psychologist and evolutionary psychologists when interpreting results or framing questions?

Answer 98

While a social learning psychologist might interpret aggressive behaviour between two males as pathological, stemming from each individual’s interpretation of the rewards outweighing the costs for such behaviour, an evolutionary psychologist would look for an ultimate explanation and explore whether the behaviour served some adaptive function in an ancestral environment such that the reward/cost ratio favours the species. If it is not an adaptation, evolutionary psychologists would test whether it is a byproduct of another adaptation or the result of a malfunctioning adaptation.

Question 99

Application of evolutionary psychology to criminal behaviour? What do they posit?

Answer 99

The application of evolutionary principles to criminal behaviour is a growing yet novice field. Evolutionists posit that recurring conflict (over resources, mates, or offspring, for example) drove the selection pressures that shaped evolutionary adaptations, manifesting in a wide range of antisocial behaviours including violent (rape, homicide) and non-violent offenses (sexual harassment, theft)

Question 100

Parental investment

Answer 100

Allotting time to an activity such as nourishing and protecting offspring. This would lead to a reproductive benefit (increasing the probability that the offspring would live long enough to mate and transfer his/her (and ultimately your) genetic material to the next generation).

The cost would be that it takes time away from siring other children, or, for females, would reduce survival or fertility.

Question 101

Life History Theory

Answer 101

Life history theory argues that natural selection favours allocation strategies that, on average, optimize reproductive fitness.

There is always a trade-off between the costs and benefits associated with the various activities that defined our ancestor’s lives.

Question 102

Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity

Answer 102

The phenomena that our psychological mechanisms that regulate how we spend our time have evolved to be highly flexible and responsive to environmental cues.

Thus, if the environmental cues suggest that life is likely to end at any time (e.g., constant food scarcity and/or predatory threats) or that the future is bleak and unpredictable, our evolved psychology will direct a life strategy characterized by riskier activities that are more likely to attract and retain a mate, for example by demonstrating mate worthiness by physically attacking competing male suitors in front of a prospective mate.

Benefit: Gene gets passed on quicker and before it is too late (ie starve to death)
Cost: Ancestrally, less time was spent protecting current offspring. In present day, these riskier activities are more likely to results in criminal justice involvement.

Question 103

Simpson, Griskevicius, Kuo, Sung, and Collins (2012) tested life history theory empirically. The researchers followed 165 individuals from birth into their early 20s. What did the study find?

Answer 103

The study found that early childhoods characterized by chaos and unpredictability (parents who were sporadically employed, multiple changes in residences, changes in cohabitation status) also had more sexual partners and engaged in more aggression, delinquency, and crime later in life.

Question 104

What are the characteristics of psychopathy?

Answer 104

Psychopathy is typified by a constellation of affective, interpersonal, and behavioural characteristics, such as superficial charm, grandiosity, manipulation and lying, absence of remorse, inability to feel empathy, impulsivity, risk-taking behaviour, irresponsibility, and living a parasitic lifestyle.

Question 105

Paraphilias

Answer 105

Paraphilias are persistent and recurrent sexual interests, urges, fantasies, or behaviors of marked intensity involving objects, activities, or even situations that are atypical in nature.

Question 106

A group of evolutionary forensic theorists (Harris, Lalumière, Mishra, and Quinsey) have hypothesized that the pathway to psychopathy can also be explained using an evolutionary framework—specifically __________?

Answer 106

The principle of frequency dependent selection.

Think back to the “sneaker” salmon p. 54-55 of textbook

Question 107

What is the principle of frequency dependent selection?

Answer 107

Before defining frequency dependent selection, it is necessary to understand polymorphisms. In biological terms, when two or more forms of a discrete character exist (e.g., eye colour—blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes; blood types—A, B, AB, O), the contrasting forms are called morphs.

One way that natural selection maintains diversity in a population is through frequency dependent selection, which states that the reproductive success of a particular morph relative to another morph (hence its ultimate survival) depends on its frequency (or, more accurately, its phenotypic expression) in a given population (Campbell et al. 1999). If it becomes too common, its phenotypic expression will no longer be adaptive because its success is dependent on its rarity in comparison to its sister morph(s). The Theory in the Real World feature explores an illustrative example involving the “sneaker” salmon (p. 54-55).

Question 108

Who presented one of the first seminal accounts of homicide from an evolutionary perspective?

What does seminal mean?

Answer 108

Daly and Wilson (1988) - They used evolution to understand various forms of homicide—spousal, blood-relative, casual acquaintance, revenge killings, and so forth.

Strongly influencing later developments

Question 109

Despite the media reports, most homicides occur as the results of _______ arising from _____, _______, _______ between ______ _______. Usually, the ______ involved are _______ and ________.

Answer 109

Despite media reports, most homicides occur as the result of altercations arising from arguments, insults, or rivalries between male acquaintances. Usually, the men involved are unmarried and unemployed.

Question 110

Daly and Wilson argue that a man’s reputation depends largely on his ability to….

Answer 110

…maintain a credible threat of violence.

Question 111

Daly and Wilson claim that the apparent “trivial” nature of homicide motives may not be trivial after all, suggesting that homicide perpetrators are actually responding to perceived reputational or status threats. The researches argue that failure to restore one’s reputation in an ancestral environment would have resulted in fire consequences from a reproductive fitness standpoint for two reasons. What are those two reasons?

Answer 111

First, responding with violence would prevent current and future exploitations of one’s resources—territory, shelter, food, and so forth. Second, it would also signal prospective mates to a strong provider for herself and her future children, thereby enhancing her reproductive fitness.

Question 112

What is reproductive fitness?

Answer 112

Reproductive fitness reflects the ability of an individual to pass on its genes to the subsequent generations

Question 113

Daly and Wilson do not argue that the act of killing has been naturally selected for, but rather that the broader spectrum of violence and aggression has been selected for, which at times can “go too far” and result in death. Their argument posits that….

Answer 113

…homicide is an evolutionary byproduct of the more encompassing, evolved mechanism of violence and aggression that occurs in response to environmental cues or threats to status/reputation. This position stands in stark contrast to an alternative evolutionary account of homicide that argues that natural selection has selected for the act of homicide in and of itself (see Duntley and Buss 2008). In sum, it is therefore argued that violence, aggression, and homicide exist today because in an ancestral environment they enhanced reproductive fitness, particularly among men.

Question 114

Men commit more crime than women, particularly violent and serious crimes. The explanations put forth by Anne Campbell have been the most influential. What are her explanations?

Answer 114

Anne Campbell and other evolutionary theorists posit that risky behaviours were naturally selected for in the environment of evolutionary adaptation because they enhanced survival and consequently reproductive success under certain environmental pressures: specifically, resource scarcity.

They argue that resource scarcity drives both property and violent offending in women. Property offenses reflect women’s attempts to provision themselves (direct source) while violence reflect female-female competition for provisioning males (indirect source).

This adaptation inhibits women’s involvement in crime, makes them more likely to be involved in property rather than violent crimes and, when direct confrontation is inevitable, causes them to use low-risk or indirect tactics [e.g., verbal aggression].

Question 115

Anne Campbell argues that ______ is a necessary precursor to female crime.

Answer 115

Poverty (the immediate cause of resource scarcity). However, it is not necessarily sufficient. It is a necessary precursor. Individual differences in fear thresholds among women explain why some poverty-stricken females resort to crime while others do not.

Question 116

Reproductive Fitness Variance

Answer 116

The range of possible offspring an organism can produce. In short, women’s fitness variance is restricted in comparison to men’s. Over the course of her life, it is impossible for a woman to produce more offspring than a man could. In other words, the number of offspring a woman can actually produce and take care of during her lifespan is relatively small compared to her male counterparts.

Question 117

A reason that men commit more crime than women in ancestral environments is because the cost/benefit ratio favoured high….

Answer 117

…mating effort over parental investment (on average) for men, whereas it favoured high parental investment for women. On average, men who focused more of their energy on finding and maintaining sexual partners versus parental investment were more successful in propagating their genetic material. Conversely, women who were more selective about mates (pairing up with someone who would keep them and their children alive) and devoted more time to protecting their offspring were, on average, more successful in propagating their genetic material. Natural selection favoured evolved psychological mechanisms that supported high mating in men and high parental investment in women.