what makes a criminal? Flashcards
Raine’s background, aim and sample
Background- damage or dysfunction to prefrontal cortex can result in impulsivity, immaturity, altered emotionally, loss of self control and inability to modify behaviour, increasing in chance of aggressive acts.
Aim- identify brain regions specific to offenders charged with murder or manslaughter and pleaded NGRI.
Sample- 41 murderers (39m and 2f) charged with murder/manslaughter and pleaded NGRI. All from America.
Raine’s procedure
Quasi experiment, matched pairs on age and gender and if had SZ they were matched with people with same diagnosis but no murder.
All offenders kept in custody and medication free for 2 weeks.
All pps given glucose tracer, working continiously at a target recognition task for 32 mins, then given a PET scan,
Compared on level of activity in right and left hemispheres in 14 selected areas, 6 were cortical areas and 8 were subcortical areas.
Raine’s results and conclusions
Results-
PET scan showed reduced activity in prefrontal cortex for NGRI.
NGRI had abnormal asymmetries, reduced activity on left and greater activity on right, applies to some areas linked to violence such as amygdala.
Conclusion- murderers pleading NGRI have significant differences in metabolism of glucose in a number of brain areas.
Reduced activity in prefrontal areas may explain impulsive behaviour, loss of self control, immaturity, making it easier to carry out aggressive behaviour because normal constraints on behaviour are reduced.
Raine’s practical applications
May lead to a fairer sentence on NGRI people, it highlights the importance of brain areas. Can lead to people receiving treatment due to biological cause, stops them committing crimes.
Part C application
p1- programmes for pregnant women
Raine’s research that testosterone increases aggressive behaviours as it actives subcortical areas
programmes encourage women to stop smoking as it exposes baby to increased testosterone
p2- give omega 3
nutritional supplements as diet has important bearing on aggresion on criminal behaviour and aggression, deficiences in omega 3 result in limited regulation of limbic system by frontal lobes, causes self control problems and aggressive behaviour.
when where how
because Gesch reported 26% improvement in disciplinary record of young male offenders who took supplements.
discuss ethnocentrism of research into what makes a criminal (15)
P1- some research is ethnocentric
define ethnocentrism
Bandura- sample from stanford university nursey school 36 t0 96 months, unrepresentative
practical apps like 9pm watershed
not successful in collectivist cultures may not react to social learning theory in the same way, means immoral behaviours may continue to occur
however, allows control over indiidaul differences, specifically culture,
this means more control over evs which is strength as infer cause and effect
improves rep of psych as a science, increase funding etc,
p2- crime is universal
debates of raine
nature,
determinsim
reductionist
individual
had consent but no protection of pps- had to stop their meds for 2 week
SSR- stigmatise those with brain dysfunction
method of raine pros and cons
hihg control-scietnfic
low generalisability- crime specific, ethnocentric but no gender bias
high internal due to high control
low ecologoical because of task-lacks mundane realism
high ecological because of real life criminals
quantitative data
Bandura debates
nature- internal mental processes observing the agg model
nurture- influenced by agg model or non aggressve
reductionist
determinism
psych as a science- high control, quantitative, standardised, control over EV’s
ethics- no informed consent, no protection from harm not ethical
Bandura’s method
72 stanford university nursery school kids, 36 to 69 monts old
3 groups, observed aggressive etc
aggressive model group displayed aggressive behaviour
adults legitimise behaviour
gender socialisation
most likely to imitate men,
boys in male agg condition had highest agg behabviours displayed with 25.8
due to social learning theory
pros and cons of banduras methodology
hihg internal- high control, quantitative, standardised, controlled environment
low pop validity- ethnocentric
low ecological validtiy- unrealistic task and setting
nature/nurture debate
nature is bioligcal, nurture is environment
in the area due to focusing on brain regions, for example Raine. Investigated brain regions in NGRI through use of a glucose tracker and a PET scan which showed reduced activity in preforontal cortex and asymettrical imbalances.
nature cos brian regions
strength is determinism- psych as a science, pet scan has objective measures, increases rep, chance of funding
weakness- determinism, takes away accountability, removes blaqme, makes people feel as they never get justice for crimes commited against them etc.
focuses on evnironmental reasons, for exampke Bandura on social learning theory, explains it through the influences environment which causes aggressive behaviour. Found mere observation of agg model caused children to imitate agg behavours in presence and absence of model. Explained due to adults legitimising behaviour, gender socialisation etc.
Strength-practical applications, 9pm watershed etc
weakness- reductionist, low internal validity, does not include all reasons for behaviour for example childhood, living conditions
