Criminal behaviour
Criminal behaviour – any act that violates the law and results in
punishment from the state
- Blackburn (1993) – a crime is something that has negative
consequences for individuals or the community
- Crime is a social construct and is dependent upon the law in each
society and the social context in which the behaviour takes place
Characteristics
- Farr & Gibbons (1990):
1. Property predatory crime: persons are involved in attempting or
taking the personal property of others without permission e.g.
theft
2. Property fraudulent crime: persons are involved in deceit or
manipulation with the purpose of converting property or services
of others to their own use e.g. embezzlement
3. Interpersonal violence general: persons are involved in actions
that threaten or cause actual personal harm e.g. murder
4. Interpersonal violence sexual: persons are involved in actions
that threaten or cause actual personal harm and contain a sexual
element e.g. rape
5. Transactional vice: persons are involved in ‘victimless’ offences
where there is a willing exchange of goods and services e.g. drug
dealing
6. Order disruption: persons are involved in actions where there is
no direct victim, but concern is raised about potential victim e.g.
riots
7. Folk/mundane crime: this type of crime tends to foster public
ambivalence, and the public generally regard such acts as an
inconvenience or nuisance rather than a crime
- Office of National Statistics (ONS)
1. Victim-based crime
2. Crimes against society
Biological explanation
- Role of amygdala
o Structure and function of the amygdala
Located in the temporal lobe
Plays a role in how we assess and respond to
environmental threats
o Fear conditioning
The amygdala is involved in fear conditioning
, Fear conditioning takes place during childhood when we
learn to associate violent and aggressive behaviour with
punishment
Sometimes we all may want to have an aggressive
outburst, however most of us have been conditioned to
inhibit this behaviour due to the association with
potential punishment
When fear conditioning is disrupted, the individual may
become fearless and overly aggressive – they are
unable to identify social cues that indicate threat, cues
that the individual should fear punishment therefore not
act in an aggressive manner
This could help explain criminal behaviour as the
individual would not be deterred by potential
punishment
o Yu Gao et al (2010)
Longitudinal study – 1795 participants
Participants tested for fear conditioning at 3 years old
Fear conditioning was measured by physiological arousal
(sweating) in response to a painful noise
20 years later researchers found out who had
committed crime
Criminals had not shown fear conditioning when they
were 3 years old – effectively fearless
Shows relationship between amygdala dysfunction and
criminal behaviour
o Psychopathy
Psychopathy – a form of anti-social personality disorder,
they’re manipulative, impulsive and show a lack of
empathy
Research has shown that amygdala dysfunction is a
central deficit in psychopathy
Amygdala dysfunction has also been linked to
psychopathy – some psychopaths go on to commit
horrific crimes
o Glenn et al (2009)
Studied 17 participants with varying degrees of
psychopathy – participants had fMRI scans of their brain
whilst making judgments about moral dilemmas such as
‘Should you smother your crying baby to save yourself
and other people hiding from terrorists?’
, They found an association between psychopathy and
reduced amygdala activity during the decision-making
task
- Evaluation
o Supporting evidence
Yu Gao et al (2010)
Glenn et al (2009)
o Reductionist
The amygdala does not operate on its own – it’s part of
a complex system
Biological explanations ignore the role of society,
culture, socioeconomic background and education
All criminals are assessed equally regardless of
socioeconomic background or education
The real causes of crime are varied and compacted – it’s
better to take an interactionist approach
o Determinism & ethical implications
Biological theories place the blame for offending on the
offender – this absolves society and the government of
any responsibility
It has been argued that the main reason for crime is
social inequality and poverty – by placing the blame on
the criminal we are ignoring the real reasons for crime
o Methods of modification
Moderate effects of a dysfunctional amygdala through
diet
Vitamins, mineral, omega-3 and fatty acids is thought to
improve functioning of the amygdala – research done
found that prisoners receiving the intervention
committed fewer disciplinary offences than those who
received the placebo
- Inherited criminality
o MAO-A gene
Produces the enzyme monoamine oxidase-A which
metabolises neurotransmitters in the brain
A variant of the gene which affects the enzyme
production has been linked to aggressive criminal
behaviour
The variant produces lower levels of the enzyme –
leading to an excess of serotonin, dopamine and
noradrenaline
Criminal behaviour – any act that violates the law and results in
punishment from the state
- Blackburn (1993) – a crime is something that has negative
consequences for individuals or the community
- Crime is a social construct and is dependent upon the law in each
society and the social context in which the behaviour takes place
Characteristics
- Farr & Gibbons (1990):
1. Property predatory crime: persons are involved in attempting or
taking the personal property of others without permission e.g.
theft
2. Property fraudulent crime: persons are involved in deceit or
manipulation with the purpose of converting property or services
of others to their own use e.g. embezzlement
3. Interpersonal violence general: persons are involved in actions
that threaten or cause actual personal harm e.g. murder
4. Interpersonal violence sexual: persons are involved in actions
that threaten or cause actual personal harm and contain a sexual
element e.g. rape
5. Transactional vice: persons are involved in ‘victimless’ offences
where there is a willing exchange of goods and services e.g. drug
dealing
6. Order disruption: persons are involved in actions where there is
no direct victim, but concern is raised about potential victim e.g.
riots
7. Folk/mundane crime: this type of crime tends to foster public
ambivalence, and the public generally regard such acts as an
inconvenience or nuisance rather than a crime
- Office of National Statistics (ONS)
1. Victim-based crime
2. Crimes against society
Biological explanation
- Role of amygdala
o Structure and function of the amygdala
Located in the temporal lobe
Plays a role in how we assess and respond to
environmental threats
o Fear conditioning
The amygdala is involved in fear conditioning
, Fear conditioning takes place during childhood when we
learn to associate violent and aggressive behaviour with
punishment
Sometimes we all may want to have an aggressive
outburst, however most of us have been conditioned to
inhibit this behaviour due to the association with
potential punishment
When fear conditioning is disrupted, the individual may
become fearless and overly aggressive – they are
unable to identify social cues that indicate threat, cues
that the individual should fear punishment therefore not
act in an aggressive manner
This could help explain criminal behaviour as the
individual would not be deterred by potential
punishment
o Yu Gao et al (2010)
Longitudinal study – 1795 participants
Participants tested for fear conditioning at 3 years old
Fear conditioning was measured by physiological arousal
(sweating) in response to a painful noise
20 years later researchers found out who had
committed crime
Criminals had not shown fear conditioning when they
were 3 years old – effectively fearless
Shows relationship between amygdala dysfunction and
criminal behaviour
o Psychopathy
Psychopathy – a form of anti-social personality disorder,
they’re manipulative, impulsive and show a lack of
empathy
Research has shown that amygdala dysfunction is a
central deficit in psychopathy
Amygdala dysfunction has also been linked to
psychopathy – some psychopaths go on to commit
horrific crimes
o Glenn et al (2009)
Studied 17 participants with varying degrees of
psychopathy – participants had fMRI scans of their brain
whilst making judgments about moral dilemmas such as
‘Should you smother your crying baby to save yourself
and other people hiding from terrorists?’
, They found an association between psychopathy and
reduced amygdala activity during the decision-making
task
- Evaluation
o Supporting evidence
Yu Gao et al (2010)
Glenn et al (2009)
o Reductionist
The amygdala does not operate on its own – it’s part of
a complex system
Biological explanations ignore the role of society,
culture, socioeconomic background and education
All criminals are assessed equally regardless of
socioeconomic background or education
The real causes of crime are varied and compacted – it’s
better to take an interactionist approach
o Determinism & ethical implications
Biological theories place the blame for offending on the
offender – this absolves society and the government of
any responsibility
It has been argued that the main reason for crime is
social inequality and poverty – by placing the blame on
the criminal we are ignoring the real reasons for crime
o Methods of modification
Moderate effects of a dysfunctional amygdala through
diet
Vitamins, mineral, omega-3 and fatty acids is thought to
improve functioning of the amygdala – research done
found that prisoners receiving the intervention
committed fewer disciplinary offences than those who
received the placebo
- Inherited criminality
o MAO-A gene
Produces the enzyme monoamine oxidase-A which
metabolises neurotransmitters in the brain
A variant of the gene which affects the enzyme
production has been linked to aggressive criminal
behaviour
The variant produces lower levels of the enzyme –
leading to an excess of serotonin, dopamine and
noradrenaline
