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Explanations of criminal and anti-social behaviour - Coggle Diagram
Explanations of criminal and anti-social behaviour
BIOLOGICAL
BRAIN INJURY
ABIs, causes developing brain to misfire. brain not fully developed till mid-20s.
cognitive abilities like impulse control forward planning last to develop, disrupt development, causing more reckless behaviour
injured brains also found to destabilise mood, concentration and decision-making, making offending behaviour more likely
AO3
Williams: 196 inmates from UK prison, 60% of sample recalled a history of one or more head injuries in youth -- recorded higher rates of reoffending
Fazel et al. analysed data from Swedish population, found those with ABI 8.8% committed violent crime than 3% in matched control group
counter: not necessarily casual, other variables may have an influence
AMYGDALA
in temporal lobe, abnomormalities in size, structure and activity correlates with increased aggression, making criminal behaviour more likely
AO3
Raine: reduced metabolic activity found in left amygdala in NGRI murderers
Gao: fear response in 1,795 three-year-olds, fear response detected through playing unpleasant sounds, those who didn't show a fear response found to commit crime (also had abnormal amygdala functioning)
Pardini et al. neuroimaging scans on 26yo men, reduced amygdala volume group more likely to be aggressive violent and psychopathic 3 years later
WEAKNESS: other brain areas implicated, amygdala does not operate alone but influenced by OFC (regulates self-control and reduced functioning associated with increased aggression
XYY
1 in 1000 males have extra Y chromosome. makes then genetically taller, lower IQ, impulsive, behavioural difficulties
AO3
Jacobs: chromosome survey in state hospital, XYY chromosomal pattern over-represented in prison population (9/315) than general population (1/315)
WEAKNESS: lack of evidence, Re and Brikhoff -- considered 50 years of evidence, concluded no link, social factors in XYY makes it harder for men to integrate into society (not casual)
APPLICATION
increased awareness, screening of young people, taking this into account when sentencing to lessen sentences
PERSONALITY
dimensions of personality
EXTRAVERSION: crave excitment and stimulation, more prone to dangerous and risk-taking behaviour, don't leearn from mistakes
NEUROTICISM: neurotic individuals are nervy and anxious, instability makes difficult to predict
PSYCHOTICISM: individuals who are self-centred, cold and lack empahty
measured using EPQ, Esyenck Personality Questionnaire
Biological basis
personality traits we develop are part of our nervous system.
socialisation process
socialisation process in childhood determines whether person is law abiding or not
exrtraverts leses receptive by operant conditioning, neurotics interferes with efficient learning
AO3
Strength
Boduszek: EPQ on 133 violent and 179 non-violent male prisoners. found correlation to high levels of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism
counter: criminal personality is not conclusive, Farrington found little evidence in EPQ that it was an adequate measure
weakness
other types of criminal personality. Digman had a five-factor model, includes some of Eysenck's concepts, but includes other things such as low levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness
strength
support for biological basis: Raine, found 15yo with under-arousal nervous systems had later commited crime 24 years later
Application
help prevent crime, lack of response to conditioning can be stopped by intervention, to stop them from becoming offenders
SOCIAL
labelling + self fulfilling prophecies
labelling criminals or labelling them as deviant, this can lead to self-fulfilling prophecy
self-fulfilling prophecy is when those labelled may fulfill their label
AO3
strength
Jahoda: boys named after the day they are born, Monday boys thought to be more even-tempered compared to 'aggressive and volatile'. Wednesday boys found to be more likely to be involved in violent crime five years later
counter: Zebrowitz -- found that boys with a 'baby face' were more likely than their mature-faced peers to be delinquent and involved in crime. they may be overcompensating to this perception
weakness
partial explanation: implies that without labelling, crime would not exist, seems to suggest that those who have not been labelled but commit a crime are not criminals
lack of evidence: many studies of labelling and self-fulfilling prophecies in educational environment, difficult to relate to context of crime
Social learning theory
observational and imitating behaviour, being vicariously reinforced, then role models
AO3
supported by Bandura