WJEC Theories of Crime (Wjec Level 3
Criminology) Questions and Correct
Answers Graded A+ Verified by Experts
1. xyy theory (jacobs): - xyy syndrome is where men have an extra y chromosome
-xyy men are said to be more aggressive and violent
-jacobs argued that this was true as xyy men are overrepresented in prison populations (15 per
1000 in prisons, 1 per 1000 in general population)
2. twin studies (lange & christiansen): - is crime a heritable trait?
-testing the concordance rates of criminal activity between mz and dz twins
-lange - mz twins had higher concordance rates than dz twins
-christiansen - concordance rates were highest in mz male twins and lowest in female dz twins
3. adoption studies (hutchings & mednick): - is crime biological (parents) or nature
(adopted parents)?
-hutchings and mednick - higher proportions of boys with criminal convictions had biological parents
with convictions too
-mednick - no relationship between criminal activity and adoptive parents and children
4. atavistic features (lombroso): - born criminal
-criminals had atavistic features (e.g. high cheekbones and large ears)
1/
9
, -found that 40% of criminal acts were accounted for by atavistic characteristics
5. somatotypes (sheldon): - endomorphs - sociable and relaxed (fat and soft)
-ectomorphs - introverted and restrained (thin and fragile)
-mesomorphs - aggressive and adventurous (muscular and hard)
-mesomorphs most likely to commit crime
6. brain abnormality (raine): - damage to the pre-frontal cortex can change an individual's
behaviour
-raine studied pet scans of impulsive killers
-damage to the pre-frontal cortex was found in the criminals
7. neurochemicals (scerbo & raine): - brain's chemistry can be influenced by diet
-low levels of serotonin can cause higher aggression
-scerbo and raine (found low serotonin levels in anti-social individuals)
-steroids make people violent and increase testosterone
8. social learning theory (bandura): - people learn by watching others' behaviour
-bandura's bobo doll experiment
-3 groups (one given an aggressive role model, one given a non-aggressive role model, one control
group)
-observational learning can take place in the family, in subcultures and media
-james bulger case and the child's play 3 theory
2/
9
Criminology) Questions and Correct
Answers Graded A+ Verified by Experts
1. xyy theory (jacobs): - xyy syndrome is where men have an extra y chromosome
-xyy men are said to be more aggressive and violent
-jacobs argued that this was true as xyy men are overrepresented in prison populations (15 per
1000 in prisons, 1 per 1000 in general population)
2. twin studies (lange & christiansen): - is crime a heritable trait?
-testing the concordance rates of criminal activity between mz and dz twins
-lange - mz twins had higher concordance rates than dz twins
-christiansen - concordance rates were highest in mz male twins and lowest in female dz twins
3. adoption studies (hutchings & mednick): - is crime biological (parents) or nature
(adopted parents)?
-hutchings and mednick - higher proportions of boys with criminal convictions had biological parents
with convictions too
-mednick - no relationship between criminal activity and adoptive parents and children
4. atavistic features (lombroso): - born criminal
-criminals had atavistic features (e.g. high cheekbones and large ears)
1/
9
, -found that 40% of criminal acts were accounted for by atavistic characteristics
5. somatotypes (sheldon): - endomorphs - sociable and relaxed (fat and soft)
-ectomorphs - introverted and restrained (thin and fragile)
-mesomorphs - aggressive and adventurous (muscular and hard)
-mesomorphs most likely to commit crime
6. brain abnormality (raine): - damage to the pre-frontal cortex can change an individual's
behaviour
-raine studied pet scans of impulsive killers
-damage to the pre-frontal cortex was found in the criminals
7. neurochemicals (scerbo & raine): - brain's chemistry can be influenced by diet
-low levels of serotonin can cause higher aggression
-scerbo and raine (found low serotonin levels in anti-social individuals)
-steroids make people violent and increase testosterone
8. social learning theory (bandura): - people learn by watching others' behaviour
-bandura's bobo doll experiment
-3 groups (one given an aggressive role model, one given a non-aggressive role model, one control
group)
-observational learning can take place in the family, in subcultures and media
-james bulger case and the child's play 3 theory
2/
9
