Describe one biological explanation for criminal behaviour

• Point

  One biological explanation for criminal behaviour is dysfunction of the amygdala, a brain structure responsible for processing emotions, particularly for fear and aggression.
• Evidence

  Research by Emil Coccaro et Al (2007) found that individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED), a condition linked to aggressive outbursts, had increased amygdala activity when shown angry faces. Additionally, Yu Gao et Al (2010) conducted a longitudinal study showing that children with impaired fear conditioning - linked to amygdala dysfunction - were more likely to engage in criminal behaviour as adults
• Explain

  The amygdala plays a key role in fear conditioning, where individuals learn to associate aggression with punishment. If the amygdala is dysfunctional, a person may fail to recognise social cues indicating threats and fail to learn from punishment, leading to fearless, antisocial, and aggressive behaviour. This increases the likelihood of criminal behaviour
• Link

  This suggests that abnormalities in the amygdala can contribute to criminal behaviour by disrupting emotional processing and fear learning, making individuals more prone to aggression and antisocial actions