Bio explanations for crime
- Created by: solana da
- Created on: 23-12-20 18:01
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- Biological Explanations of crime
- Brain injury
- Damage to frontal lobes = loss in executive functioning
- Williams 2010 study found that 60% of the prisoners he investigated have suffered some sort of brain injury
- Diaz's study confirms that the frontal lobe is the most common area of brain damage
- = frontal lobe is responsible for anti-social behaviour, which encourages crime
- Phineas Gage became a very aggressive person after an iron rod was driven through his head
- Evidence
- Diaz's study confirms that the frontal lobe is the most common area of brain damage
- = frontal lobe is responsible for anti-social behaviour, which encourages crime
- Williams 2010 study found that 60% of the prisoners he investigated have suffered some sort of brain injury
- Phineas Gage became a very aggressive person after an iron rod was driven through his head
- Diaz's study confirms that the frontal lobe is the most common area of brain damage
- Weaknesses
- a brain injury does not always cause criminal behaviour e.g. K.C had a motorbike accident and he lost his episodic memory
- No cause and effect relationship between brain injury and violence
- It must be a combination of factors - more complex than a single factor e.g. child abuse + dugs
- Amygdala
- Amygdala is involved in fear, aggression+ moral reasoning
- small amygdalae have been found in people with high aggression + psychopaths
- = damage will lead to the heightening of their flight or flight reactions and they may be overly emotional
- Yang found that psychopaths had an amygdala with a smaller volume
- Glenn used FMRI scanning to find that psychopaths had reduced amygdala activity (same as Raine, with PET scans)
- Evidence
- small amygdalae have been found in people with high aggression + psychopaths
- Yang found that psychopaths had an amygdala with a smaller volume
- Glenn used FMRI scanning to find that psychopaths had reduced amygdala activity (same as Raine, with PET scans)
- Gender Differences
- Shirtcliff suggested that since girls tend to have more empathy, this may be due to the amygdala (which controls emotions)
- In general, no differences as there are no biological differences in amygdala functioning
- Weaknesses
- Reductionist - only reflects on biological causes
- have have a combination of explanations --> other areas of the brain affected or environment
- Reductionist - only reflects on biological causes
- Amygdala is involved in fear, aggression+ moral reasoning
- XYY syndrome
- chromosomal abnormality = extra Y chromosome in males
- tend to have bad acne and be very tall
- 88% go undiagnosed
- 1 in every 1000 people
- the labelling and the self fulfilling prophecy can lead these men to crime
- Weaknesses
- XXY highly discredited = dependence on labelling
- difficult to isolate nature + nurture to determine the influence of the extra chromosome
- characteristics for XYY (tall + acne) are not highly consistent
- XXY highly discredited = dependence on labelling
- A lot of research into this = prevention strategies can be made
- chromosomal abnormality = extra Y chromosome in males
- Eysenck's personality
- personality is determined by biology
- antisocial behaviour caused by:
- high extroversion (seek stimulation) = take more risks
- high neuroticism = more likely to trigger fight or flight
- people with high N often selected to become pilots
- high psychoticism = more aggressive
- antisocial behaviour caused by:
- reliable questionnaire to measure this
- Bodusek found those who committed violent crime had higher levels of extroversion
- determinist view challenges the justice system as it implies that there is no free will
- + means rehabilitation will not be effective
- Farrigton found extraversion was low in criminals
- reductionist - ignores environment
- Gender Differences
- females higher in neuroticism
- males higher in psycoticism
- but this may be because women have more subtle anti-social behaviour
- personality is determined by biology
- Brain injury
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