Biological Explanations

Cards (17)

  • 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
    • diathesis stress 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?
    • prefrontal cortex
    • mirror neurons
  • 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
    born criminals: atavistic form
    insane criminals: mentally ill
    criminaloids: predispose to crime