Describe

• Inherited criminality


  Criminal behaviour runs in families; children of parents who have criminal records are more likely to commit criminal offences
• Genetic basis for criminal behaviour

  • 20% of sons of criminal fathers also had records themselves in comparison to only 13% of sons with non-criminal fathers
  • Genes linked to characteristics found in criminal convicts: monoamine oxidase (MAOA) and Cadherin (CDH13)
• Research on genetic basis for criminal behaviour

  • Brunner et al. (1993) found men in a Dutch family with histories of impulsive and violent criminal behaviour shared a gene leading to abnormally low levels of MAOA
  • Tiihonen (2015) found criminals convicted of multiple violent crimes frequently possessed either MAOA-L or a version of CDH13
• Amygdala

  Neurobiological structure involved in assessing responses to threats and a key determining factor in aggressive behaviour
• Research on amygdala and aggression

  • Corraro et al. (2007) found participants with intermittent explosive disorder showed high levels of amygdala activity when viewing angry faces
  • Yu Gao et al. (2010) suggested a dysfunction of the amygdala means children cannot identify social cues that indicate threat and don't link punishment to aggressive behaviour
• There can be undoubtedly a biological cause for criminal behaviours