Evaluation

• social implications: courts use biological evidence POINT


  the results of this research may mean the courts can solely use biological evidence against people who are convicted of murder or manslaughter
• social implications: courts use biological evidence EVIDENCE


  if the research concludes that violent behaviour is innate and not a learnt behaviour, people with similar brain abnormalities to Raine’s participants may be imprisoned without consideration for their social situation
• social implications: courts use biological evidence EXPLAIN


  this would have a knock on effect on society because it would mean that successful psychological treatments, such as restorative justice and anger management, would not be used to rehabilitate offenders, they may just receive forced drug treatment or psychosurgery with no chance to rehabilitate because if the cause of their crime is biological, then physical treatments are the only ones that would work
• social implications: courts use biological evidence LINK

  long term imprisonment with physical therapies would cost taxpayers a lot of money, not only for the treatments, but also for housing and feeding criminals who may otherwise be able to reform and be reintroduced into society to contribute to the workforce
• ethics: valid consent POINT

  there may have been a lack of consent
• ethics: valid consent EVIDENCE

  the murderers were playing NGRI, therefore they may not have understood exactly what the research was that they were taking part in, due to having mental health issues
• ethics: valid consent EXPLAIN

  • this is especially true of schizophrenic and brain injury participants who have significantly impaired cognitive functioning

  • it would not be fair to scan their brains without them knowing the reasons why and also the implications for those who are NGRI
• ethics: valid consent LINK


  in order to make the research ethical, it should have been fully explained to the participants, or there should have been a responsible adult/legal representative who agreed for them to take part
• ethics: psychological harm POINT

  there may have been a risk of psychological harm
• ethics: psychological harm EVIDENCE

  if participants found the performance task difficult, it could have made them anxious or lowered their self esteem
• ethics: psychological harm EXPLAIN

  this type of stress or embarrassment may been especially significant for those participants who suffered from epilepsy and those with personality disorders. psychologists should always aim to reduce harm and make their participants feel safe within the research
• ethics: psychological harm LINK

  • Raine should have debriefed his participants, explaining that their performance on the CPT was not a reflection of their ability, it was just a task to keep the brain active

  • the right to withdraw should also have been given if participants did not want to take part in the CPT
• social implications: judicial system POINT

  the results have an effect on the judicial system
• social implications: judicial system EVIDENCE


  • If the research concludes that murderers are born not made, it takes away the element of free will

  • if people are not to blame for their crimes it is seen as natural, therefore we cannot not imprison them
• social implications: judicial system EXPLAIN

  this means that society would be at risk because murderers would be able to carry on with their lives as normal which would leave people afraid to enjoy the freedoms they are used to with criminals being locked away and paying for their crimes
• social implications: judicial system LINK

  • however, Raine did warn that his results should not be taken at face value and that other factors, such as social environment, need to be taken into consideration

  • therefore, as long as his conclusions are acted upon, society should be safe from violent criminals who cannot use biology as an excuse for their actions
• methodology: PET scans POINT

  PET scans were used as a research method
• methodology: PET scans EVIDENCE

  • Raine injected participants with an FDG tracer and then used a PET scan to take 10mm horizontal slices of images of the brain

  • he found some significant differences in the NGRI and ‘normal’ controls, especially in brain areas such as the occipital lobe and amygdala
• methodology: PET scans EXPLAIN

  scans are scientific and provide solid, observable evidence of results so Raine could show some sort of a cause-and-effect relationship between brain areas and violent crime
• methodology: PET scans LINK

  therefore, with such a highly scientific methodology being used, Raine’s research has scientific status and can be trusted over other less scientific methods where results cannot be quantified, such as an open interview
• methodology: cause-and-effect relationship POINT

  with the method used, it is not possible to fully state a cause-and-effect relationship
• methodology: cause-and-effect relationship EVIDENCE

  • as Raine pointed out, findings don’t show that violence is due to biology alone

  • other factors such as upbringing must influence violence
• methodology: cause-and-effect relationship EXPLAIN

  for example, some of the NGRI participants may have had a home environment that accepted violence, or they could have been a part of a peer group that encouraged it; therefore, this would be a social influence and not a biological one
• methodology: cause-and-effect relationship LINK

  therefore, although the methodology does go some way to hinting at a relationship between murder and brain localisation, further research with the NGRI participants would need to be carried out to discover more about their home life and upbringing
• procedures: only murderers studied POINT

  Only murderers were studied as part of the procedures
• procedures: only murderers studied EVIDENCE

  • Raine did not scan the brains of other types of criminals, so even though his procedure is a good one for telling us more about murderers, it does not give much insight into criminals in general

  • crime is a problem for many societies so it would have been better to learn more about the biology of a range of criminals
• procedures: only murderers studied EXPLAIN

  • many violent crimes don’t involve murder, e.g. robbery

  • therefore, conclusions are restricted to a very specific group of criminals
• procedures: only murderers studied LINK

  • this makes the findings of the research somewhat generalisable to murderers and those who have committed manslaughter, but these are not the most common crimes in society

  • it may have been more beneficial to look at how the brains of non-violent criminals work, especially to see if there are differences between them and violent criminals
• procedures: strict procedures POINT

  Raine did have strict procedures in place for the research
• procedures: strict procedures EVIDENCE

  For example, all NGRIs were matched with a control, no participants were on medication, everyone completed the same CPT task and the same PET scanner was used
• procedures: strict procedures EXPLAIN

  such high levels of control make it easier to determine a cause-and-effect relationship between variables, and it means that the research can be easily replicated by others
• procedures: strict procedures LINK

  • therefore, if findings can be replicated and the reliability of Raine’s research can be checked for consistency, it makes for more valued and trusted research

  • it also means that validity can be considered, especially over time