brain injury and amygdala as an explanation for crime

what does criminological psychology refer to

the application of psychological knowledge to understand crime and antisocial behaviour

what are the key areas of interest within criminological psychology (4)

• what causes an individual to commit crime

• how a crime is analysed and put together

• behaviour in the courtroom

• developing treatment options for offenders to prevent recidivism

what is crime

an act or omission of an act that is against the law

what is antisocial behaviour and what are exmples

behaviour that affects other people negatively like being drunk and disorderly

what is recidivism

act of persistent re-offending

what are ways to reduce recidivism

CBO’s=criminal behaviour orders

what are biological explanations for gender differences in crime (2)

• evolution aggressive behaviour but that is now classified as crime

• higher levels of testosterone in males

what are social explanations for gender differences in crime (2)

• boys are more likely to follow boys so are more vulnerable to gang crime - SLT

• toys given as kids stereotype/encourage gender differences

what does the biological approach to explain crime assume

that there are innate factors within an individual that predispose them to engage in such behaviours however they are sometimes not innate as they can come from physiological illness or injury

what percentage of offenders are male and female

80% are male and 20% are female

describe the male age crime curve

most of male criminal behaviour occurs between the ages 14-25 with a peak around 17 years old

describe why the male age crime curve is around that age/occurs

at 17 there may be a peak in testosterone which increases aggression when looking for a partner which could increase the likelihood of risk taking behaviour

what are the four biological explanations focused on

brain injury, the amygdala, XYY syndrome and personality

what is a brain injury

any impact on the brain structure that can affect its functionality

what does an ABI stand for

acquired brain injury

what is an ABI

a brain injury that is a result of an external force

what is a non traumatic brain injury

brain injuries that result from illness like brain tumours, meningitis or a stroke

what is the function of the pre frontal cortex (5)

• inhibits responses

• decision making

• motivational behaviour

• personality

• regulating memory

what can damage to the pre frontal cortex cause (3)

• poor judgement and impulse control

• over reactions

• more aggressive, sharper and emotional responses

what did williams find (4)

• 60% of 196 prisoners investigates had received some form of traumatic brain injury due to falling, car accidents or sporting activities

• adults with brain injury were relatively younger at entry into prison systems

• adults with brain injury reported higher levels of recidivism

• 65% of 192 young males had a history of brain injury

what did williams conclude

that brain injuries can affect development of temperament, social judgement and the ability to control impulses, brain injuries can contribute to a greater level of risk taking behaviour

what are applications that can be made from williams et al study (5)

• increased awareness of the effects of head injuries throughout the criminal justice system

• should include a standard screening when young people first offend

• recommend to treat neural injury the same way as mental health

• taken into account with their sentence

• some cases a more rehabilitative approach would be more appropriate

what did grafman find

veterans from the vietnam war with frontal lobe damage were more likely to be aggressive, get into fights and arguments then those with damage to different areas of their brain

what are strengths of using brain injury to explain crime (3)

• evidence from grafman, brower and price, williams and phineas gage

• different methodologies have been used to study the link (case studies and brain scanning)

• it had useful applications as it helps understand the negative impact of brain injury on behaviour and leads to the development of rehabilitation

what are weaknesses of using brain injury to explain crime (4)

• relationship between brain injury and crime isn’t necessarily causal as other variables might have influence

• individuals who’ve sustained serious head injury may also suffer from mental illnesses, alcohol and drug misuse

• evidence from brain scans show no evidence of the participants brain scans from before the study (with no brain injury)

• reductionist as it doesn’t take into account being young and male, witnessing family violence and having PTSD

what is the amygdala involved with

processing emotions and fight or flight

in what ways can the amygdala be dysfunctional and how can it increase the likelihood of criminal behaviour

• if the threshold that the amygdala is activated is too low there could be sudden outbursts of unprovoked aggression

• if its malfunctioning anxiety and fear levels might be low which would lead to high levels of risk-taking behaviour

what did pardini find

those with a reduced sized amygdala where 3x more likely to be aggressive, violent and psychopathic 3 years later compared to those with a normal sized amydala

what did yang find

a significant negative correlation between reduced volume of amygdalae and high psychopathy scores

what are strengths of using the amygdala to explain crime (2)

• evidence from raine, charles whitman, pardini and yang

• evidence uses neuro-imaging which is objective

what are weaknesses of using the amygdala to explain crime (3)

• reductionist

• amygdala doesn’t operate alone so the role can be difficult to isolate

• studies that found correlations between amygdala and psychopathy are not necessarily related directly to crime