Evaluation

• Research support


  One strength of the neural explanation is support for the link between crime and the frontal lobe:

  • Kandel and Freed reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage and antisocial behaviour
  • People with such damage tended to show impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and inability to learn from mistakes, as the frontal lobe is associated with planning behaviour
  • Therefore, brain damage may be a causal factor in offending behaviour
• Correlational nature


  One limitation of the neural explanation is that some of the research into neurochemistry is correlational:

  • There is no clear way to show cause and effect
  • Low levels of serotonin could be the cause of the offending behaviour or the effect
  • The brain abnormalities found by Raine could be the cause of offending behaviour or the result of environmental factors, which in turn makes them more likely to be a criminal
  • Therefore, this suggests that further investigation is required
• Overly simplistic


  One limitation of the neural explanation is that they have been criticised for being overly simplistic:

  • The links between abnormal levels of a certain neurotransmitter and offending behaviour, often centre around violent and aggressive behaviour, which doesn't explain all types of crime
  • It lacks the complexity needed to understand why individuals commit crimes like burglary and drug dealing, which aren't necessarily violent in nature
  • Therefore, the neural explanation can be considered incomplete or inadequate