Summary notes for Alevel Edexcel criminological psychology. Notes consist of A01, A02, A03 and Ao3CA points. Description of point, evidence for point, evaluation and evaluation of the counterargument. Summary points include required studies and led to me achieving an A in Alevel Psychology.
Conte...
Criminal approach – Explanations and applied studies
BIOLOGICAL EXPLAINATIONS
Brain injury
A01
o Caused by accident, drug abuse, illness or violence
o Acquired brain injury- occurs during brain development, may cause individual to fail to move
past risk taking behaviour
o Frontal lobe- regulating behaviour, judgement
o Temporal lobe- limbic system- emotional control, memory
A03
- Phineas Gage- damage to prefrontal lobe and complete behavioural change (damage to
white matter and neurones means no signals were passed), concluded that the PFC is
responsible for decision making and impulses
- Damasio 1994- 3D representation of Gage’s brain- no other area impacted- brain localisation
(shows PFC function), supported by 12 other patients
- Williams 2010- 60% of 196 prisoners investigated had TBI- more likely to be committed at
younger age and higher rates of recidivism (reoffending) due to risk taking
- Boys are more likely to participate in physical activities increasing chance of ABI- explains
why more men are represented in prison populations
- Fazel 2011- 8.8% of Swedish residents with ABI had been convicted of violent crime,
compared to 3% of control- physical trauma= violent crime
A03CA
- Only a correlation shown- no cause and effect- many participants in studies has substance
abuse as well as brain trauma
- Kreutzer 1991- 20% of 74 patients had been arrested pre injury and 10% post injury, most
occurred after alcohol/drugs- shows alcohol/drugs is more of a driving factor
Amygdala
A01
o Located in the temporal lobe
o Responsible for how we perceive emotions and controlling aggression
A03
- Charles Whitman- murdered his mother, wife and 14 students at campus, autopsy
performed found a tumour on his amygdala
- Pardini 2014- psychopaths and those with higher aggression had smaller amygdala
, - Raine- abnormal amounts of functioning in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and
hippocampus, shows correlation between amygdala and murderers NGRI, yet not just
amygdala is responsible for criminal activity
- Glenn 2009- fMRI scan of psychopaths showing reduced neural circuit in amygdala during
moral decision making- worry less about causing pain to others
- Sham Rage- severed neural connections to the cerebral cortex in cats, induced aggression
due to role of amygdala, when removed cats became more placid
- Narabayashi 1963- severed amygdala in humans and found mood stabilising results
A03CA
- Not everyone with smaller amygdala acts aggressively- brain structure cannot be the only
factor
- James Fallon neurologist- identified himself with psychopathic brain yet doesn’t show
tendencies ( also had ancestors who were murderers and MAOA gene)- may apply to
amygdala?
- Diathesis-stress- someone may have biological predispositions yet may not act on them due
to environment
- Psychopathic tendencies often are desirable in some jobs e.g. CEO positions, lawyer,
surgeons, 1% of general population are psychopaths yet 4% of CEOs are, 25% of offenders
- Sham rage- animal study and generalisability- not the same capacity to voice aggression
Genetic causes
XYY syndrome
A01
o Males with extra chromosome due to random genetic mutation- 1 in 1000 males
o Symptoms such as very tall, high aggression, lack of empathy, impulsivity, lower intelligence,
poor writing and speech ability, emotional problems (normal levels of testosterone)
o Due to these symptoms men may not be able to voice emotional issues, act on impulse and
have a lower intelligence possibly causing a lower paying job causing reliance on crime
A03
- Jacobs 1965- found XYY pattern to be overrepresented in Scottish prisons
- Witkin 1976- crime rates are higher in those with XYY= 42%, XY= 9%
A03CA
- Re and Birkhoff 2015- no statistical evidence that XYY is predisposed – may be due to social
factor e.g. harder to find work, rates are only marginally higher showing it cannot be the
only reason
- Stockholm- link between XYY and crime is more due to unfavourable living conditions
- Difficult to assess true extent as is time consuming, expensive and small correlation found so
far
- Women engage in crime as well as men- do not have XYY
- Traits caused by XYY may lead to aggression rather than a direct link
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