Unit 2: criminal behaviour Flashcards
what is a criminal act?
an behvoiur that breaks the alw. some say it has so be intentional
what affects what counts as crimina behaviour?
time- things become mre acceptable over time ( homesexuality)
cultue- some thngs are acceptable in some plaves but not in others (euthanasia in netherlands is okay but not in the uk)
what are 3 problems with crime satistics?
they only count the number of crimal acts not the no. of criminals
peope may not be aware a crime has been commited so wont report it
victims dont always want to come forward
whats is meant by the term criminal personality?
a collection of traits that makes a person differnet to normal law abiding people
what are the characteristcs of a persons behaviour/personality if they are a criminal?
impulsiveness lack of gulit pleasure seeking over optimistic self importaince
how can you rember the criminal personality traits?
Imps’ gulity pleasure is pouring milk over themselfves
impulisive, no guilt, pleasure seeking, over optimisic, self importiance
whats the core theory?
the biological theory?
what side of the nature nurture debate was the biological theory on?
nature
define the term heritabilty
the proportion of behaviour that is due to genetics
what does the biological theory argue?
that criminal behavoiur is inherited and is preprogramed into dna. they say criminals run in famiies due to genetics/dna
what does the biological theory say about criminal behavoir in families/
if someones parents are covicted criminal they their child has a higher chance of being one too.
whats brian dysfuction linked to criminal behavour/ the theory?
the idea that the brain is not operating as normal brains do. criminal behavoiur is seen as abnormal, the bio theory suggests criminal braisn are dysfuctional
what are the 4 types of the brain which are said to be affected/ dysfuctional in criminals?
pre frontal cortex
limbic system
corpus callosum
temporal lobe
in criminals is the prefrontal cortex under or over active?
under active
what does the prefrontal cortex control in the brain?
the association between fear and antisocial behaviour
is the limbic system over or under active in criminals?
over
wha does the limbic system control in the brain?
aggressive and sexual behavoiur
the amygdala is in the limbic syetem too and it is not working properyly in criminals
is the corpus callusum over or over active in criminlas
its less active thus the irrational side can take over
what does the corpus callosum do in the brain?
the bridge between the tow hemispheres. allows the artional and irrational sides of the brain to communicate
is the temporal lobe over or under active in criminals?
slower, under active thus criminlas are agressiveand missunderstood
what does the temporal lobe do in the brain?
language, learning, emotion, memory
define facial features?
features which make up the face, such as forhead, eyes, mouth, nose and chin
what facial features have been associated with criminals?
asymmetrical faces low sloping forhead glassy eyes high cheekbones large handle ears fleshy lips srtong jaws prominet jaws lots of hair
whats the theory behind facial features of criminals?
if there is a gene for criminal benhaviour then it could affect appearance also.
what are the 3 criticisms of the boilogical thoery?
there cannot be only one gene for all criminals
brian dysfuction not evident in all
facial features of criminals not supported well
ignored social envoronment infulence
explain the core theory criticism that says there is only one gene for all criminals
crtics argue there cannot be only one criminal geen that account for all criinas. there is so mnay diverse crimes, how can the same geen be responsibe for vielone, interlectual and sexual crime? its the same with cukture crime isues just becuame they ahve dotn something thats illegal in the uk but not elsewhere does not mean their genetics have changed
expand on the core theory crisisicm that says brain dysfuction is not present in all
as the brain dysfuctions are not present in all criminals it is not very reliable . these brains dysfuctions could also be caused by birth issues, illnes or other enronmental issues
expand on the core theor criticsm that says facial features of criminals not supported
the idea of criminla having differnt features is not well supported and even if they do look differnet this could be due to things other than genetics.
society may prejustic against certain looks and this is why these people turn to crime get arrested or sent to prison
expland on the core theory crisicism that sayd the biolgical theory ignores social infulence
crime running in families could be explained by the theory that children learn form parents and others and thus continues through generations
whats the name of the altenative theory
social learning theory
what does the social learning theory say about criminal beahvoir?
behavoiurs are learnt from observing and imitating others
how does the slt explain criminal behaviour?
if a child observes/sees an older brother who they look up to (role model) they may be motivated to copy them. we dont always copy but but if we see them get rewarded are more likey to copy.
defien the term vicarious reinforcement
when someone behaviour is reinforced because they observe how annother person is rewarded for theiry same behaviour
you are not directly reinforced but you see it happen to someone else
if is do that then i will be rewarded too!
who did the core study?
mednick
what was the aim of the core study/ mednick?
too see if a persons behaviour is more to do with naure or nurture by comaring children with biological and adoptive parents
what was mednicks prediction for the core study?
an adpoted person behaviour should be similar to their biolgical parens due to inherited genes
if its nurture then a person behaviour should be similar to their adoptive parents who have brought them up.
what was the procedure of the core study/medicks?
done in denmark
accesed criminal records of over 14000 males and compared them with their biological and adoptive parents
what did the result show in terms of biological parents being convicted of crimes and children too.
they were nearly twice as likey to commit crimes them selves than adoptees whos biological parents had not been conviced of a crime. similary even when an adoptive parent had not been this had less influece on the adopte children than the bio parents commiting a crime did 14.7% versus 20%
core study
biological parents conviced of crime and adoptive parenst convicted too = …%
24.5%
core study
biological parents conviced of a crime but adoptive parents not=….%
20%
core study
biological parents no crimes and adoptive parents conviced of crimes=…%
14.7%
core study
biological parents not criminals and adoptive parents not criminals too= ….%
13.5%
core study
what did the results show about parents with 3 or more conviction?
if a biological parent had more than three convictions they were more likely to produce a son who also commited a crime compared to biological parents with no convictions
core study
what did the results say about the role of genetic factors and siblings?
if unrelated siblings were raised in the same adoptive family only 8% of them both commited a crime. this shwed the effect of the adoptive family was weak because if related siblings were raised in differnet adoptive families then 20% of them both commited crimes
core study
what does the results show/say about gentics and siblings and crimes?
if siblings were raised in different environments but had a biological father conviced of a crime, then 30% of them would bothh commit a crime . this shows their gentic pre-disposition towards crime was unafected by the adoptive families/parents they were brought up by
core study
what did mednick conclude?
that there is a strong gentic component in criminal behaviour. they did not rule out the environment. this is why adoptees with both criminal biologial and adoptive parents had the highest chance of being criminals them selves. the effect of genes was added to the effect of genes
