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explanations of crime [biological] - Coggle Diagram
explanations of crime [biological]
Amygdala
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The amygdala is part of the limbic system, located within the midbrain. It is made up of two almond shaped structures, one located in the left hemisphere of the brain, and one located in the right hemisphere of the brain.
It is involved in emotional responses to stimuli within the environment and fear conditioning. This is due to the role the amygdala plays in the formation and storage of memories associated with emotional events.
Normal functioning of the amygdala helps the individual to respond to threatening situations with fear and avoidance. This will mean they are more likely to follow the rules and lead a non-criminal lifestyle.
High levels of activity in the amygdala can lead to a heightened sense of fear. This triggers an extreme reaction and a fight or flight response to other people and events as they are seen as threatening by the individual
Damage or poor development of the amygdala within childhood will mean the child has no fear of the consequences of being caught or punished for negative behaviour.
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(+) Raine - PET scans of murderers and non-murderers. Raine found reduced metabolic activity in several brain areas, including left amygdala.
(-) Theory can be seen as reductionist because it fails to consider other cognitive and social factors that may play a part in criminal behaviour.
(+) Pardini - size of the amygdala and aggression. 503 males participated in a study when they were 6/7 and 20 years later a subgroup of 50 showed aggressive behaviour. fMRI scans showed that they had high levels of aggression because they had low amygdala volumes.
(-) The amygdala explanation is socially sensitive for the victim or relatives of the victim. A victim/relatives may feel that they deserve to be punished more for their crimes instead of them being let off because of biological reasons.
Eysenck's Personality Theory
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Criminal behaviour is linked to the following personality traits - psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism. Each of these traits can be individually linked to criminal behaviour but a person with high scores in all 3 traits (psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism) is highly likely to display criminal behaviour. This is known as the PEN personality.
An extravert (E) has an underactive nervous system and seeks arousal from risk taking/antisocial behaviour to feel stimulated.
In particular, the ARAS (ascending reticular activating system) in the brain is less active and this leads to less cortical arousal. Risk taking/criminal behaviour provides external stimulation and increases arousal levels.
A neurotic (N) has an overactive nervous system and finds it hard to control their impulses/desires.
In particular, the limbic system is activated very quickly in stressful environments and the individual responds with fear and aggression, causing the fight or flight response.
A psychotic (P) has higher levels of testosterone and low levels of enzymes such as monoamine oxidase (MAO).
This is believed to be linked to a low level of empathy and low feelings of remorse
Extraverts are natural reward seekers, making it difficult for them to learn from punishments and guidance given by parents. If the reward gained from being anti-social/criminal is great, the punishment/guidance will not influence them to change their behaviour.
Neurotics are highly anxious and unpredictable making it difficult for them to learn from punishments and guidance issued by parents. If they are feeling highly anxious whilst being told off, they cannot effectively learn how or why they need to change their behaviour.
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(-) assumes personality is stable and consistent, Personality may change depending on the situation, who we are with. Suggesting we act differently on the daily. Our personality is not reducible to a score on a questionnaire
(+) Eysenck and Eysenck, Assessed 2070 male prisoners who were compared to 2422 control group. All prisoners scored highly on extroversion, neuroticism and psychotism. Therefore the theory is avoid predictor for criminality
(-) bio reductionist, Personality traits are a result of nervous system activity. This takes away the element of free will as it suggests people don't have a choice as to whether they offend or not
XYY Syndrome
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XYY syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality - male is born with an extra Y chromosome.
Every 1 in 1000 male babies develops an extra Y chromosome within the 23rd chromosome.
An inherited condition - occurs randomly at conception.
XYY males grow faster, XYY males are taller, 50% of XYY males will have some speech delay, XYY males find it harder to concentrate and more easily distracted.
XYY males are more impulsive and more likely to have behavioural problems in school/work, XYY males will have slightly lower intelligence than their siblings (about 10 to 15 IQ points below siblings).
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(+) Casey et al who found 24% of males at 2 UK max security hospitals has XYY syndrome. This supports the theory as the% is higher than the syndrome's natural occurrence in the general population so can infer a cause and effect relationship between extra Y chromosome causing criminal behaviour
(+) Stockholm who found a significant increase in the number of convictions of males with XYY compared to a control group. This supports the idea of XYY males being more likely to be convicted, adding credibility to the theory overall
(-) Stockholm CA- Low validity as a correlation was found between XYY and convictions but doesn't account for EVs e.g socio-economic factors. This means we cant establish a cause and effect relationship between XYY syndrome causing criminal behaviour, reducing validity of the theory
(+) We can genetically test the population to prescreen for any males with XYY and treat them with early intervention techniques e.g anger management to prevent criminal behaviour from arising
(-) Some males cant be held fully responsible for their criminal behaviour which needs to be taken into account when sentencing and treatment as traditional options may not rehabilitate them e.g anger management
( -) Males with similar features to XYY may be misidentified which could lead to SFP as they are being labelled as a criminal so will start to act criminally
Tramumatic Brain Injury
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(+)Williams et al - data analysis of inmates in a UK prison. 60%of sample (196 inmates) recalled a time in the past they had got a head injury particularly at a younger age.
(+) Raine et al (1997) - 23 of the murderers had head injuries - supporting possible link between brain injury and lower activity in pre-frontal cortex
(-) Raine CA- Link between brain injury and offending is not casual and other variables may influence. Individuals with head injury are more likely to experience mental illness or alcohol/ drug abuse.
(+) Practical application- Williams suggests that there should be more monitoring and screening in schools
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TBI is forceful blow to the head or an object entering the brain.
Common causes of TBI are accidents that involve the head being struck or hit (falls, car accidents), domestic violence where the head is struck by another person, contact sports or risk-taking activities where blows to the head are common (e.g. rugby, skate boarding, ice hockey).
Males are more likely to experience TBI because they are more likely to participate in sports and risk-taking activities, Alcohol/illegal drug users - accidents are more likely to occur whilst under the influence of drugs, children and young adults - as their brains are still developing (until 25) and disruption can cause new or emerging skills to be lost.
Effects of TBI are, changes to how a person thinks, remembers, understands, moves, and communicates. Poor impulse control - inability to resist impulses and make rational decisions about appropriate behaviour. Inability to learn appropriate behaviour. Inability to learn from mistakes as they don't remember the consequences of their behaviour.