Biological explanation

• Biological explanation - Genetics

  Candidate genes-

  • Warrior genes - faulty MAOA gene = desensitised to serotonin = higher aggression - violent crimes
  • animal studies = mice with a faulty MAOA gene were more aggressive
  • Brunner = 28 male family members that were violent/impulsive had the faulty MAOA gene
  • Tiihonen = CDH13 - substance abuse and ADHD — 5-10% of the 800 violent crimes in Finland had both genotypes
• Biological explanation - Genetic

  Twin studies-

  • Christiansen = 3500 Denmark twins
  • 35% identical and 13% non-identical male twins had correlations with offending behaviours
  • shows that candidate genes can be inherited
• Biological explanation - Genetics

  Adoption studies-

  • Crowe = birth mother with a criminal record gave their kids a 50% risk of having a criminal record by 18
  • control with a birth mother without a criminal record had a 5% risk
• Biological explanation - Neural

  Prefrontal cortex-

  • Responsible for emotions and moral behaviour
  • Raine = brain scans finding 11% reduction in volume of grey matter in PC in those with diagnosed psychopathy — had a control comparison
  • Raine = meta-analysis of 71 brain scans seeing that murders, diagnosed psychopaths and violent people had reduced PC grey matter
• Biological explanation - Neural

  Mirror neurones

  • allows empathy
  • criminals only empathises when asked too
  • ‘normal’ people empathise when reacting to a negative event
  • suggesting that diagnosed psychopaths have a switch to be ‘normal’ and empathetic
• Biological explanation - Genetic

  Evaluations-

  W- based on animal studies = not generalisable

  W- social factors can be seen to be components - child abuse, education

  W- psychopathy is linked with substance abuse, but not to offending specifically
• Biological explanation - Historical approach

  Lombroso’s Atavistic Form

  • Lacked evolutionary development = unable to conform to social rules causing crime — innate criminality from ancestors, not modern life
  • Atavistic markers = big nose/ears, extra toes, sloped forehead, small lips, tattoos, unemployed, insensitive to empathy
  • Lombroso’s process = looked at characteristics + linked to specific crimes — weedy = fraud, dark curly hair = murder
  • Used 400 dead + 4000 alive criminals — Italian males = judged for facial features — only 40% matched
• Biological explanation - Historical approach

  Lombroso’s Atavistic Form

  S- original criminal profiling study = basis of profiling

  S- moved profiling to be more scientific — from people being ‘demonic’ which cant be tested

  W- socially sensitive - racial undertones

  W- justice system - biologically deterministic = no free will + undermines justice system - EUGENICS

  W- biologically reductionist - external factors - Kaplan = poor treatment given for physical features

  W- Goring - 3000 non/criminals - found no distinct characteristics
• Biological explanation - neural

  Evaluations-

  S- Kandel + Freed — frontal lobe damage is seen to create antisocial behaviour = impulsive, emotional instability

  W- doesnt show cause + effect — offending may have caused the biological alteration

  W- better explanations seen through approaches — SLT + behaviouralist

  W- Farrington- psychopathy test + men with highest scores - childhood factors (convicted parents) = psychopathy has complex causation