Section one

Created by

Mabel smith

Cards (26)

What is section one of crime
What makes a criminal
What are the three physiological explanations for a criminal
Genes
testosterone
brain dysfunction
What are the three non physiological explanations for a criminal
Social/ upbringing
cognitive theories
differential association
What are the things studied in the gene explanation
Twin studies
family studies
adoption studies
Give evidence for twin studies
Christensen found that there was a 35% concordance rate between identical twins and a 13% rate between non identical twins
Evidence for adoption studies
Of children had biological and adoptive parents with no criminal record there was 13.5% who had criminal record
24.5% of sons who had biological parents with CR also had a CR
What is the evidence for the testosterone explanation
Dabbs used 692 male inmates and tested their saliva. Those with high testosterone had more violent crimes and broke more rules
What is the brain dysfunction explanation for criminals
The amygdala is related to fear and if reduced in volume the person can be cold and emotionless
the hippocampus is damaged causes people to ac impulsivly
what is the upbringing explanation for criminals
Social learning theory.
farrington interviewed 411 males from the ages of 8 to 42 and asked about life circumstances. He also monitored behaviour from records from school
he found disruptive families can lead to criminality
What is the cognitive theory
The idea that people have the free will and criminals make the choice to carry out a crime
What is the key research
Raine - brain dysfunction
Method of raine
Quasi experiment as the IV is murderer or not
DV is level of activity in the regions of brain
matched pairs
What is the sample of Raine
41 murderers 39 men and 2 women
all pleaded not guilty by reasons of insanity
matched with a control group with not history of mental illness
Explain the procedure of Raine
Allowed to practice a continuous performance task for 10 minutes. then then started the task 30seconds before being injected with a tracer called fluorodeoxyglucose. After the 32 minutes of task a pet scan was used. 10 slices 10mm apart were taken from the cortical and sub cortical areas of brain
What were the results of Raine  
Murderers were found to have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex and corpus callosum
higher activity in the amygdala which wasn’t linked to violence
What are the conclusions of Raine
Results don’t show that those pleading NGRI aren’t responsible for their actions
shows biology isn’t the only factor in determining violence
What are the two applications for crime prevention
Drugs
nutritional supplements
What is the drugs application
Drugs can be used to prevent violent behaviour by interacting with receptors in the nervous system to induce changes in behaviour. An example being antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia
How does the drugs application work
Alters the effect of chemicals in the brain like dopamine. reduced dopamine means less activity in the mesolimbic system so less hallucinations. They work by blocking dopamine by occupying receptors on the neurone.
How should the drugs be prescribed
12.5mg daily or twice a day with food and water
maximum dose is 900mg
How is the drugs application useful
Can be used to address violent and criminal behaviour in a range of mental health issues
Why is the drugs application practical
Can be prescribed to both juveniles and adults
What is the nutritional supplement application
Impact of diet is important in relation to aggression. If there is a lack of omega 3 in the limbic system there may be aggressive and impulsive behaviour. An example of omega theee is docosahexaenoic acid and it is found in fish oil
How would the nutritional supplements be administered
Every day at lunch time packed into blister pack. Labelled with name and cell number. Make sure they have the tablet
How is nutritional supplements useful
may decrease disruptional behaviour in the prisons
How is nutritional supplements practical
The tablets are easy to take