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Criminal Behaviour Evaluation (Biological Explanations (Amygdala…
Criminal Behaviour Evaluation
Biological Explanations
Amygdala
STRENGTHS
Supporting Evidence (Over)
Ev: Coccaro et al (2007) - carried out fMRI scans on people with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) and a control group of normal people whilst they viewed images of faces. The IED group had high levels of amygdala activity when viewing angry faces compared to the control group
Ex: This demonstrates that people who react to mild everyday threat (a stranger looking angry) with extreme rage and aggression do have an overactive amygdala
Supporting Evidence (Under)
Ev: Yu Gao et al (2010) conducted a longitudinal study on 1795 ppts - tested for their fear response (indicated by sweat levels) to a threatening noise at age 3. 20 years later the researchers found that the ppts who had committed crime by the age of 23 were those who had shown no fear in response to a threatening noise when they were 3.
Ex: Suggests there may be a causal relationship between an underactive amygdala (and the subsequent lack of fear when faced with a threat) and antisocial/criminal behaviour
WEAKNESSES
Reductionist
Ev: Raine et al (1997) found aggressive murderers had an overactive amygdala (measured by high glucose metabolism) but also low activity in the prefrontal cortex (measured by low glucose metabolism)
Ex: The PFC acts as our ‘wise owl’ and acts to regulate our impulsive urges such as lashing out with aggression. Raine’s research suggests that it is the interaction between an overactive amygdala (guard dog) and the lack of a wise owl to calm us down (underactive amygdala) that fully explains serious aggression. Just considering the role of the amygdala alone does not offer a complete explanation of the role of the brain on criminal behaviour
Contradicting Other Explanations
Ev: For example, social psychological ex suggest we should consider the way people are socialised, the influence of role models and other environmental factors rather than focussing on physical, internal ex for criminal behaviour. Further supported by the fact that sometimes people have the biological brain of criminal yet don’t engage in criminal or aggressive acts - Adrian Raine a good example of this
Ex: Suggests we should not overlook the important role of the environment in explaining crim behaviour. Taking a biological determinism stance could have negative implications by causing us to neglect the need to address social issues such as unemployment and poverty that may well contribute to criminal behaviour
Genes
STRENGTHS
Supporting Evidence of Defective MAOA Gene
Ev: Hans Brunner = Studied 28 males from a dutch family due to their aggressive nature and violent crime (rape/murder) - found 14/28 had a defected MAOA gene - did not work at all
Ex: Supports idea that genes play a central, but indirect, role in the regulation of our moods and ability to control our behaviour
WEAKNESSES
Deterministic
Ev: Implies genes like MAOA defect determine our behaviour - weakness as fails to acknowledge humans have free will to choose not to engage in criminal behaviour and removes personal responsibility
Ev: Could be used to justify crimes - Stephen Mobley (murderer) history of family violence prompted defence lawyers to request an MAOA gene test to prove he is not responsible
Ex: Judge denied this test - shows legal system acknowledges we have free will
Individual Differences Explanations
Personality
STRENGTHS
Supporting Evidence
Ev: Dunlop - assessed a sample of students/friends, found both extraversion, psychoticism and lie scales were good predictors of delinquency
Ex: Gives support and validity to Eysenck’s claims of a link between personality traits and crim behaviour
C: Findings treated with caution - sample were students and crimes limited to minor offences - restricts how far this research can support personality as an ex of all crim behaviour such as murder
Interactionist
Ev: Eysenck argued personality and criminality is the result of an interaction between innate biologically determined personality and socialisation (conditioning etc)
Ex: Strength as this ex accounts for both nature and nurture, arguably less reductionist than a purely biological ex
WEAKNESSES
Contradicting Research Evidence
Ev: Coleta van Dam - found only a small number of male offenders in juvenile detention centres scored highly on all 3 of Eysenck’s personality traits
Ex: Suggests personality is not sole factor in explaining criminality, other factors (social factors - genes, condition, social influences) need to be taken into consideration
Inconsistent Personality
Ev: Some argue personality changes dependent on situation - may only be consistent when faced with similar situations but not every situation
Ev: Recent research = personality changes over lifespan with people having different personalities by 77 than at 14
Ex: Idea of crim personality is flawed as people don’t just have 1 personality - behave differently in different situations
Cognitive Distortions
STRENGTHS
Useful Applications
Ev: Anger management uses principles of CBT to teach offenders behavioural skills and cognitive strategies to control their anger
Ev: Hostile attribution bias - can use strategies to control anger and reduce chance of aggression
Ex: Cog ex have proved valuable in helping to reduce aggression in violent offenders - positive effect on decreasing aggression with prisons and recidivism
WEAKNESSES
Everyone Shows Cognitive Biases
Ev: Maruna and Mann - cog distortions such as minimalisation are used by everyone - natural to blame events of external sources and minimise our involvement in negative situations
Ex: Cog distortions are not particularly deviant, if most people use them cannot be used to explain why some people commit crimes and others don’t - questions validity of this ex
Social Psychological Explanations
DAT
STRENGTHS
Research Evidence
Supports that we learn crim behaviour through observing others
Ev: Bandura’s Bobo doll study:
Children aged 3-6 observed adult role model aggressively/non aggressively playing with Bobo and toys
Children left to play with toys - aggressive condition showed physical and verbal aggression towards Bobo
Non aggressive condition showed little tendency towards aggressive play
Aggressive group - more likely to play with toy guns although not modelled by role model
Ex: Suggests people have little natural inclination towards aggression (disputing bio ex) - supports DAT, demonstrates we learn aggressive/crim behaviour through interactions with people who engage in such behaviour
Research Evidence
Supports DAT, we learn from people we are close to
Ev: Osborn & West - 40% of the sons of criminal dads had committed crime by 18, 13% of sons of non criminal dads
Ex: Suggests Dad was a powerful influence on boys attitudes towards crime - however could be explained by inherited criminality
WEAKNESSES
Correlation Not Cause
Ev: Cox et al - not possible to measure strength and number of associates and the effect this has on development of attitudes towards crime
Ex: Difficult to conduct experimental research into DAT - reliance on correlational data means the direction of the relationship between who we associate with and our crim behaviour is difficult to establish
Ex - DAT would argue our pro-crime associates cause our crim behaviour, could be that existing inclination towards crim behaviour = seeking crim associates
Can't Explain All AB
Ev: Rape & murder = often impulsive and fuelled by rage/passion rather than developing over time through observing others and then imitating
Ex: DAT may only explain CB that develops over time (learning motives/techniques to commit robbery)
Ex: Alt ex (bio influences - overactive amygdala/variants of MAOA gene) may need to be considered in order to explain sudden impulsive crim behaviour
Gender Socialisation
STRENGTHS
Useful Applications
Modifying CB in males
Ev: The Man Up Project - used in prison/community settings, aims to challenge some of the negative outcomes experienced by men as a result of wanting/needing to fulfil stereotypes and expectations
Ev: Programme designed to support young men to explore the ways in which the concept of masculinity contributes to shaping individual identity
Ex: Adds validity to GS as an ex of CB in males - shows theory can be implemented in the real world - useful implications for society/economy in reducing CB
WEAKNESSES
Males May Not Commit More Crime
Females may just be less likely to face prosecution and be imprisoned
Ev: Polak - men working in CJS (judges/POs) tend to have more chivalrous attitudes towards females - more protective and less severe with female criminals, more likely to let off/give less harsh sentences
Ev: Carlen - women are less likely to be imprisoned if viewed as a ‘good mother’
Ex: Suggests official stats which report males commit more crime than females may be distorted - could be that females commit as much or more crime but are treated more leniently by males in CJS