Biological explanations of crime

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  • Created by: ariches
  • Created on: 19-03-17 17:27
How does atavistic form explain criminality
criminals were genetic throwbacks - a primitive subspecies whose savage nature meant they would be unable to to deal with civilised society and would turn to crime
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describe the atavistic features of a murderer
bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears
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Describe the atavistic features of a sexual deviant
glinting eyes, swollen lips
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Describe the findings of one study that supports atavistic form
Lombroso examined skulls of over 4000 criminals and concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic features
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describe the findings of one study that challenges atavistic form
Goring(1913) compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non criminals and found no evidence that criminals were a distinct group with unusual facial features
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What contribution did Lombroso make to criminology
Brought a more scientific approach to the study of criminality
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How is Lombroso's research racist?
The characteristics he identified as criminal were more likely to be found in certain ethnic groups such as people from African descent
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What is eugenics
belief that those groups with inferior genes should be eliminated so that they do not contribute to the gene pool with the result that the species will improve
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What genes are thought to be linked to criminality
MAOA(warrior gene) CDH13(linked to substance abuse and attention deficit disorder)
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How is MAOA gene linked to criminality
It affects the activity of serotonin in the brain which in turn increases aggression causing the individual to behave violently and be more likely to commit crimes
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How does the diathesis -stress model explain criminality
It suggest it is caused by an interaction of genes and environment. You inherit a predisposition to become violent but you need to experience environmental stress such as child abuse for this predisposition to be triggered
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Describe the findings of one twin study
Lange(1930) investigated 13 identical and 17 non-identical twins and found 10 MZs had twins also in prison compared to just 2 of DZs.......Christiansen (1977) found concordance of 33% for MZs and 12% for DZs
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Identify one neural difference between murderers and non-murderers
murderers have lower activity in the prefrontal cortex
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Identify two problems with twin studies
1 small samples and can't generalise the findings 2 twins often share same environment and this acts as a confounding variable making it difficult to state cause and effect
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How is the prefrontal cortex linked to crime
It stops us acting on impulse and acts as a handbrake on our emotions
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How are biological explanations limited
Do not take into account other factors that have been linked to criminality for example poverty
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Card 2

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describe the atavistic features of a murderer

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bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears

Card 3

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Describe the atavistic features of a sexual deviant

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Card 4

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Describe the findings of one study that supports atavistic form

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Card 5

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describe the findings of one study that challenges atavistic form

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