Criminal approach – Explanations and applied studies
BIOLOGICAL EXPLAINATIONS
Brain injury
A01
o Caused by accident, drug abuse, illness or violence
o Acquired brain injury- occurs during brain development, may cause individual to fail to move
past risk taking behaviour
o Frontal lobe- regulating behaviour, judgement
o Temporal lobe- limbic system- emotional control, memory
A03
- Phineas Gage- damage to prefrontal lobe and complete behavioural change (damage to
white matter and neurones means no signals were passed), concluded that the PFC is
responsible for decision making and impulses
- Damasio 1994- 3D representation of Gage’s brain- no other area impacted- brain localisation
(shows PFC function), supported by 12 other patients
- Williams 2010- 60% of 196 prisoners investigated had TBI- more likely to be committed at
younger age and higher rates of recidivism (reoffending) due to risk taking
- Boys are more likely to participate in physical activities increasing chance of ABI- explains
why more men are represented in prison populations
- Fazel 2011- 8.8% of Swedish residents with ABI had been convicted of violent crime,
compared to 3% of control- physical trauma= violent crime
A03CA
- Only a correlation shown- no cause and effect- many participants in studies has substance
abuse as well as brain trauma
- Kreutzer 1991- 20% of 74 patients had been arrested pre injury and 10% post injury, most
occurred after alcohol/drugs- shows alcohol/drugs is more of a driving factor
Amygdala
A01
o Located in the temporal lobe
o Responsible for how we perceive emotions and controlling aggression
A03
- Charles Whitman- murdered his mother, wife and 14 students at campus, autopsy
performed found a tumour on his amygdala
- Pardini 2014- psychopaths and those with higher aggression had smaller amygdala
, - Raine- abnormal amounts of functioning in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and
hippocampus, shows correlation between amygdala and murderers NGRI, yet not just
amygdala is responsible for criminal activity
- Glenn 2009- fMRI scan of psychopaths showing reduced neural circuit in amygdala during
moral decision making- worry less about causing pain to others
- Sham Rage- severed neural connections to the cerebral cortex in cats, induced aggression
due to role of amygdala, when removed cats became more placid
- Narabayashi 1963- severed amygdala in humans and found mood stabilising results
A03CA
- Not everyone with smaller amygdala acts aggressively- brain structure cannot be the only
factor
- James Fallon neurologist- identified himself with psychopathic brain yet doesn’t show
tendencies ( also had ancestors who were murderers and MAOA gene)- may apply to
amygdala?
- Diathesis-stress- someone may have biological predispositions yet may not act on them due
to environment
- Psychopathic tendencies often are desirable in some jobs e.g. CEO positions, lawyer,
surgeons, 1% of general population are psychopaths yet 4% of CEOs are, 25% of offenders
- Sham rage- animal study and generalisability- not the same capacity to voice aggression
Genetic causes
XYY syndrome
A01
o Males with extra chromosome due to random genetic mutation- 1 in 1000 males
o Symptoms such as very tall, high aggression, lack of empathy, impulsivity, lower intelligence,
poor writing and speech ability, emotional problems (normal levels of testosterone)
o Due to these symptoms men may not be able to voice emotional issues, act on impulse and
have a lower intelligence possibly causing a lower paying job causing reliance on crime
A03
- Jacobs 1965- found XYY pattern to be overrepresented in Scottish prisons
- Witkin 1976- crime rates are higher in those with XYY= 42%, XY= 9%
A03CA
- Re and Birkhoff 2015- no statistical evidence that XYY is predisposed – may be due to social
factor e.g. harder to find work, rates are only marginally higher showing it cannot be the
only reason
- Stockholm- link between XYY and crime is more due to unfavourable living conditions
- Difficult to assess true extent as is time consuming, expensive and small correlation found so
far
- Women engage in crime as well as men- do not have XYY
- Traits caused by XYY may lead to aggression rather than a direct link
BIOLOGICAL EXPLAINATIONS
Brain injury
A01
o Caused by accident, drug abuse, illness or violence
o Acquired brain injury- occurs during brain development, may cause individual to fail to move
past risk taking behaviour
o Frontal lobe- regulating behaviour, judgement
o Temporal lobe- limbic system- emotional control, memory
A03
- Phineas Gage- damage to prefrontal lobe and complete behavioural change (damage to
white matter and neurones means no signals were passed), concluded that the PFC is
responsible for decision making and impulses
- Damasio 1994- 3D representation of Gage’s brain- no other area impacted- brain localisation
(shows PFC function), supported by 12 other patients
- Williams 2010- 60% of 196 prisoners investigated had TBI- more likely to be committed at
younger age and higher rates of recidivism (reoffending) due to risk taking
- Boys are more likely to participate in physical activities increasing chance of ABI- explains
why more men are represented in prison populations
- Fazel 2011- 8.8% of Swedish residents with ABI had been convicted of violent crime,
compared to 3% of control- physical trauma= violent crime
A03CA
- Only a correlation shown- no cause and effect- many participants in studies has substance
abuse as well as brain trauma
- Kreutzer 1991- 20% of 74 patients had been arrested pre injury and 10% post injury, most
occurred after alcohol/drugs- shows alcohol/drugs is more of a driving factor
Amygdala
A01
o Located in the temporal lobe
o Responsible for how we perceive emotions and controlling aggression
A03
- Charles Whitman- murdered his mother, wife and 14 students at campus, autopsy
performed found a tumour on his amygdala
- Pardini 2014- psychopaths and those with higher aggression had smaller amygdala
, - Raine- abnormal amounts of functioning in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and
hippocampus, shows correlation between amygdala and murderers NGRI, yet not just
amygdala is responsible for criminal activity
- Glenn 2009- fMRI scan of psychopaths showing reduced neural circuit in amygdala during
moral decision making- worry less about causing pain to others
- Sham Rage- severed neural connections to the cerebral cortex in cats, induced aggression
due to role of amygdala, when removed cats became more placid
- Narabayashi 1963- severed amygdala in humans and found mood stabilising results
A03CA
- Not everyone with smaller amygdala acts aggressively- brain structure cannot be the only
factor
- James Fallon neurologist- identified himself with psychopathic brain yet doesn’t show
tendencies ( also had ancestors who were murderers and MAOA gene)- may apply to
amygdala?
- Diathesis-stress- someone may have biological predispositions yet may not act on them due
to environment
- Psychopathic tendencies often are desirable in some jobs e.g. CEO positions, lawyer,
surgeons, 1% of general population are psychopaths yet 4% of CEOs are, 25% of offenders
- Sham rage- animal study and generalisability- not the same capacity to voice aggression
Genetic causes
XYY syndrome
A01
o Males with extra chromosome due to random genetic mutation- 1 in 1000 males
o Symptoms such as very tall, high aggression, lack of empathy, impulsivity, lower intelligence,
poor writing and speech ability, emotional problems (normal levels of testosterone)
o Due to these symptoms men may not be able to voice emotional issues, act on impulse and
have a lower intelligence possibly causing a lower paying job causing reliance on crime
A03
- Jacobs 1965- found XYY pattern to be overrepresented in Scottish prisons
- Witkin 1976- crime rates are higher in those with XYY= 42%, XY= 9%
A03CA
- Re and Birkhoff 2015- no statistical evidence that XYY is predisposed – may be due to social
factor e.g. harder to find work, rates are only marginally higher showing it cannot be the
only reason
- Stockholm- link between XYY and crime is more due to unfavourable living conditions
- Difficult to assess true extent as is time consuming, expensive and small correlation found so
far
- Women engage in crime as well as men- do not have XYY
- Traits caused by XYY may lead to aggression rather than a direct link
