Biological Theories

Nature in criminology

• atavistic features

• problems in childbirth

• Damage to brain region

• Having genera linked to aggression

Nurture in criminology

• poverty

• Failed exams

• Access to drugs

• Gang membership

• Unemployment

• Bunking off school

Nature and nurture

• Being aggressive

• Antisocial behaviour

• Parents using drugs

• Worried/ stress

• Parents involved in crime

• Takes risks

Generic theories of crime.

Propose that genetic factors could predispose individuals to commit crimes.

XYY gene.

• also known as supermales- reported to be more violent as they have an extra ‘Y’ chromosome.

• 15 per 1000 in the prison population.

Which case study had the gene?

John Wayne Gacy: Pogo the clown

John Wayne Gacy: nature

• XYY gene

• Overweight

• Alcoholism during pregnancy

• Desire to be female

John Wayne Gacy: nurture

• rejected from father

• Abused by father- emotionally and physically

• Bullying in school

• Sexual deviance- wore mother’s lingerie and clothes

• Closeted homosexuality

What is MAOA?

It controls serotonin and dopamine- and may be presented in 40% of the populus.

What is the MAOA also called?

The warrior gene

Which case study relates to the MAOA?

Bradley Waldroup and Tony Mobley

What is CDH13

It is associated with substance abuse, autism, memory impairment, cognitive rigidity and ADHD.

Twin studies: Lange

1929- Studied 13 sets of monozygotic twins and 17 sets of dizygotic twins.

10/13 sets of MZ twins had both served time in prison while 2/17 sets of DZ twins had the same concordance.

Twin studies: Christiansen

1977 - studied 3,586 twins from the Danish islands.

Found concordance rates of criminal behaviour in 35% of MZ twins and 13% of DZ twins

What does Monozygotic twins mean?

They are identical twins that shares 100% of their genetic material.

What does Dizygotic twins mean?

They are fraternal twins that do not share 100% of their genetic material.

Genetic theories: adoption studies

Mednick Et. Al examined data on over 14,000 adopted sons in Denmark 1924 - 1947.

What was found in the adoption studies?

a rate of 20% shared a criminal record between the biological parent and child.

Physiological theories of criminality

focuses on criminals’ physical characteristics

Lombroso: atavistic features

• believed criminals were genetic throwbacks

• believed they were a separate species.

Examples of atavistic features

• large jaw

• thin lips

• large eye socket

Lombroso’s Research

examination of the facial and cranial features of 383 convicted criminals who were deceased, and 3,839 living ones.

Lombroso concluded that 40% of criminal activity could be accounted for by atavistic features

What are the three Sheldon’s Somatotypes?

• Mesomorph

• Ectomorph

• Endomorph

What are the physical features of a mesomorph?

• Hard

• More muscles

• Narrow waist

• Naturally strong

What are the psychological features of a mesomorph?

• naturally competitive

• Extroverted

• Assertive

What are the physical features of an ectomorph?

• Tall

• Slim

What are the psychological features of an ectomorph?

• highly intelligent

• Gentle and calm

• Introverted

• Self-conscious

What are the physical features of an endomorph?

• short

• Round

What are the psychological features of an endomorph?

• cheerful

• Extroverted

• Lazy and selfish

The samototypes most likely to be a criminal

Mesomorphs, they are physically fit and sociable.

Neutral theories of criminality

Looks at the structure and functioning of the central nervous system and the brain.

Case Study: Charles Whitman

• a.k.a the Texas Town Sniper

• 01/09/1966 he killed his mother and wife, then killed 16 people with a sniper

• He left a letter for his brothers and notes about killing his mother and wife.

Why did Whitman do it?

• he requested an autopsy which proved that a tumour was pressing on his amygdala

Name the parts of the limbic system

• the amygdala

• the hippocampus

• the thalamus

• the hypothalamus

What does the amygdala do?

• responsible for emotional processing

• Sends a message to the hypothalamus to begin the ‘fight or flight’ response

What happens if the amygdala is damaged?

• Impaired decision making

• Hypervigilance: eg. the person with amygdala damage may become sensitive to minor facial expressions, interpreting them as a sign of a possible threat

• Decreased fear response

• Irrational reaction to a threat

• Increase in aggression - unable to process emotions properly

What does the hippocampus do?

• responsible for long term memory

• Involved with the learning process

• Enables spatial awareness and navigation skills

What happens if the hippocampus is damaged?

• Memory loss

• Unable to form new memories

• Hippocampus damage can particularly affect spatial memory, or the ability to remember directions, locations and orientations

• Impaired learning and judgement - unable to process information properly; may cause an irrational response

What does the thalamus do?

• regulated consciousness, sleep and alertness

• relays impulses from the amygdala and the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex (impulse control and emotional reaction)

What happens if the thalamus is damaged?

• Behavioural and cognitive changes e.g. many patients with a thalamus injury have incorrect speech patterns and struggle to find the right words

• Apathy

• Sensory issues such as tingling, numbness, hypersensitivity

• Chronic pain

• Motor impairments

• Attention problems

• Memory loss

• Insomnia

What does the hypothalamus do?

• regulates homeostasis, including sexual behaviour and emotion regulation

• Triggers the sympathetic nervous system to begin the ‘fight or flight’ response

• Release adrenaline

What happens if the hypothalamus is damaged?

• Fatigue and/or insomnia

• Inappropriate aggressive response to a perceived threat

• Inappropriate sexual behaviour

• Frequent urination

• Loss of vision

• Infertility - may lead to sexual deviance

The orbitofrontal cortex

• If any part of the limbic system is damaged, it can cause excessive stimulation if the orbitofrontal cortex (not working properly)

• Responsible for higher-order, critical thinking, impulse control and self-regulation

• brings the body back to a calm state after a ‘fight or flight’ response.

What happens if the orbitofrontal cortex is damaged?

• Poor decision making

• Impulsive behaviour

• Decreased emotional responses

• Personality changes

• Child-like behaviour

• Aggressive behaviour

• Apathy or low motivation

• Flat affect

• Lack of empathy or concern for others

Case study: Phineas Gage

• damaged the left frontal lobe of the brain after an iron rod went through his head.

• People said he was ‘no longer Gage.’

Traumatic brain injury

• Hospitalised Head Injury (HHI) was found in 25% of prisoners and was significantly more prevalent than in the matched general population sample (McMillan et al, 2019)

• 64% of female offenders at HMP/YOI Drake Hall reported a history indicative of brain injury (The Disabilities Trust, 2019)

Common causes of TBI

• Shaken baby syndrome

• Childhood abuse during the maturation of the brain

• Fetal alcohol syndrome

• Forcep assisted birth

• Umbilical cord restriction during delivery

• Accidents resulting in head injury

• Substance abuse

• Stroke

Case study: Richard Ramirez

• a.k.a the night stalker

• When he was 2 a dresser fell on his head crushing his head and severely injuring him.

• At five, a park swing hit him

Case study: Fred West

• suffered a fractured skull after a motorcycle accident at 17.

• as he tried to sexually assault a girl she punched him causing him to fall off two floors and suffer further injuries to his head.

Case study: Henry Lee Lucas

• had damage to his frontal lobe and hypothalamus as a result of alcoholism, malnutrition and childhood abuse.

Biochemical theories of criminality

Effect on the brain chemistry and mental processes.

What are neurons?

• have the responsibility for sending, receiving and transmitting electrochemical signals throughout the body

What is a synapse

Synaptic transmission is the process by which one neuron communicates with another.

Neurochemical issues in offenders

• said that offenders have too much dopamine and too little serotonin, links back to the defective MOAO-L gene variant.

• Damage/defects of the synapse prevent normal levels of serotonin and dopamine from travelling through the neural pathways.

Low level of serotonin

Linked to;

• aggression

• impulsive behaviour

High levels of dopamine

Linked to:

• addiction

• Substance abuse

• Reward seeking behaviour

Research support: Scerbo & Raine

• 1993

• Meta-analysis on 29 studies of antisocial adults and children found that low serotonin levels were common among all participants

Other biochemical explanations

• Male hormones

• Female hormones

• Blood sugar levels

• Substance abuse

Male hormone Explanation

• over or under producing hormones can lead to emotional disturbance.

• More aggressive than females

• Testosterone linked to murder and rape

• Ellis and Coontz = Testosterone levels peak from puberty to the early 20s which is the higher crime rate in males

Female hormone explanation

• premenstrual tension (PMT) Postnatal depression and breastfeeding accepted as partial defence for shoplifting to infanticide (Baby killing)

• Hormones involved have affected defendant judging mood or self-control.

Blood sugar levels explanation

• Hypoglycemia (Low blood levels) Can trigger aggressive reaction which is a link between IBS and alcohol abuse it can induce hypoglycemia and Increase anger

• Schoenthaler Claims lowering the daily sucrose Intake of younger defendants could reduce the levels of antisocial behaviour.

Substances abuse explanation

• legal drugs and other substance intake (Alcohol and glue)

• Medically prescribed (barbiturates)

• illegal drugs (Cannabis, MDMA, LDS, heroin and cocaine)

• Saunders calculated the alcohol plays a significant part in about 1000 arrest per day in the USA.

• Frazer Estimated that 80% of abuse and families involve alcohol

• Crack and cocaine are closely linked with violence.

Role of serotonin

it’s called a happy chemical because it appears to play an important role in regulating mood. It is a hormone and a neurotransmitter which sends a message between the nerve cells and the brain.

it also helps with appetite and digestion, Bone health, sex and sleep.

Low level of serotonin associated with

Low level of serotonin are associated with depression. It also causes anxiety, OCD and PTSD.

Role of tryptophan

it is an essential Amino that is important in the production, They are the building blocks of protein the lower amount of dietary causes brain levels of serotonin.

What foods contain tryptophan?

• Eggs, nut seed, soy sauce, cheese, and more