atavistic form: offenders are genetic throwbacks that do not conform to society through crime
genetics: dna that produces instructions for physical features of an organism
neural explanations: activity of the brain such as neurotransmitters, nervous system etc
what are the three parts to genetic explanations?
twin and adoption studies
candidate genes
diathesisstress model
what evidence is there for twin studies, as a genetic explanation?
christiansen - found concordance rates for offender behaviour of 35% for identical twins and 13 % for non-identical - this data indicates that it is not just the behaviour that might be inheritied but the underlying predisposing traits
what evidence is there for adoption studies, as a genetic explanation?
crowe - adopted children whos biological mother had a criminal record has a 50% risk of having a criminal record too, but those whose biological mother didnt have a criminal record only had a 5% risk
what are the two candidate genes for offending behaviour?
MAOA and CDH13
what evidence is there for candidate genes, as a genetic explanation?
tiihonen - a genetic analysis of finnish offenders suggested that these two genes were associated with violent crime
what is the role of the two candidate genes, as a genetic explanation?
MAOA: regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour
CDH13: linked to substance abuse and ADHD
outline the diathesis stress model, as a genetic explanation
a combination of having the candidate gene and a stress trigger (often childhood abuse) is what causes offending behaviour - essentially nature + nurture = crime
what are the two parts to neural explanations?
prefrontalcortex
mirrorneurons
outline the prefrontal cortex, including evidence, as a neural explanation
raine - found that brain imaging studies showed reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex for people with APD, which is the part of the brain which regulates emotional behaviour
outline mirror neurons, including evidence, as a neural explanation
keysers - those with APD have a neural switch than can turn mirror neurons on and off and choose when to empathise with people
who studied atavistic form, as a biological explanation?
lombroso
what research did lombros carry out to develop the theory of atavistic form?
examined facial and cranial features of italian convicts - 40% had atavistic characteristics
what are example characteristics of atavistic form?
big ears
facial asymmetry
strong prominent jaw
state and outline the three offender types lombro identified