Exploring Biological Explanations of Criminality through Brain Function and Genetics
Investigate the relationship between criminal behavior and biological factors like brain injury, amygdala function, and XYY syndrome. Studies show correlations between brain abnormalities, genetic conditions, and criminal propensity. Understanding the biological basis of criminality sheds light on potential risk factors and avenues for intervention.
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Presentation Transcript
Biological Explanations of Criminality
Three main explanations Brain Injury especially in childhood Amygdala (i.e. the Raine study) XYY syndrome (extra Y chromosome)
The Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) Damage increased aggression and loss of control
The Amygdala Emotional regulation centre Raine found NGRI murderers had reduced activity (reduced fear processing and emotion regulation)
Brain injury example Williams et al. (2010) 196 inmates from a UK prison 60% had a history of one or more head injuries in their youth The 60% also tended to be younger at their first offence, had higher rates of reoffending and had spent more time in prison over the last 5 years than the rest of the sample +ve evidence supported - Fazel et al, 2011, 8% of Swedes who had suffered an ABI had committed a violent crime compared to 3% of a matched control group ve not necessarily a causal relationship. ABI has been linked to increased mental illness, alcohol, and drug addiction.
Amygdala and aggression Amygdala processes fear and threat stimuli. Abnormalities in size, structure, or activity are linked to increased aggression and criminal behaviour. Raine et al. (1997): Found reduced amygdala activity in certain brain areas of violent individuals, suggesting a link between underactive amygdala and aggression. Gao et al. (2010): Studied fear responses in children and found that those with poor fear responses at age 3 (due to abnormal amygdala function) were more likely to commit crimes later in life. Pardini et al. (2014): Conducted brain scans of 26-year-old men, revealing that those with smaller or less active amygdalae were three times more likely to show aggression, violence, and psychopathic traits.
XYY Syndrome Male genetic condition (1 in 1000)- with an extra Y chromosome (supermale) Some studies suggest XYY males are more likely to have criminal records - but this may be down to lower intelligence levels in these individuals Weak evidence Re and Birkhoff (2015) found no link in a meta-analysis of studies into XYY and criminality over the last 50 years There is more XYY in prison populations, but this might be because XYY is linked to lower intelligence levels, learning difficulties and impulsive/behavioural control issues
