C

Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological theories of criminality

Crime is the result of chemical states, physiological

conditions and biological predispositions

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological theories of criminality

Biocriminology

Genetics

Stress

Biological theories of criminality

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biocriminology

Biochemistry

Prefrontal lobe dysfunction

Bi h complications
Birth
li i

Genetics

Stress

Biochemistry risk factors

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Serotonin low levels of serotonin seem to

increase violence

Serotonin is a product of tryptophan

Th best
The
b t source off tryptophan?
t t h ?

Tryptophan at Thanksgiving
Crimin
C
nal Beh
haviorr

So if everyone has turkey at Thanksgiving, why is

there no decrease in violence at this time?

Biological

Individual
Structural

Psychologica

Nutrition and blood sugar

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Hypoglycemia

Body s inability to process sugar effectively

Bodys
effectively, resulting in
low blood sugar

Mental confusion,, emotional instability,

y, neurotic or
psychotic behavior

Excessive alcohol intake

Binge-drinkers tend to neglect nutrition, leading to

irritability, heightened risk of conflict and violence, and
hypoglycemia
h
l
i

Underarousal
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Researchers have found that males who engage in

violent and non-violent crime tend to have

Lower resting heart rates

Reduced skin conductivity

Slower EEG activity

All risk
i k ffactors
t
ffor anti-social
ti
i l bbehavior
h i
Underarousal claimed to be a neurological
d f ti leading
dysfunction
l di people
l tto commit
it crime
i
ffor
the thrill of it
A
Arousal
l is
i regulated
l d bby the
h frontal
f
l lobe
l b

Biological theories of criminality

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biocriminology

Biochemistry

Prefrontal lobe dysfunction

Bi h complications
Birth
li i

Genetics

Stress

Frontal lobes
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Control impulse control,

judgment, language
production, working
memory, motor function,
problem solving
solving, sexual
behavior, socialization,
and spontaneity.
Assist in planning,
coordinating, controlling,
and executing behavior.

Timothy McVeigh
Crimin
C
nal Beh
haviorr

Gulf War veteran

Perpetrator of the Oklahoma City
bombing
April 19,
19 1995,
1995 Alfred P.
P Murrah Federal
Building
168 lives and over 800 injured

Motive?
Claimed anti-government sympathies
b
because
off Waco
W
and
d Ruby
R b Ridge
Rid

Timothy McVeigh
haviorr
Crimin
C
nal Beh

According to Michel and Herbeck,

McVeigh suffered three head injuries
during his youth
Did this cause neuropsychological
py
g
trauma?
Manyy death row inmates have
neuropsychological problems

Frontal lobes
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Extremely vulnerable area

Injuries/lesions here cause significant
problems

Affects Impulsivity and personality

Inability to plan and execute complex

ssequences
qu c s of
o actions
act o s

Inability to reason

Inappropriate sexual behavior

Inability to modify behavior to social

norms

Frontal lobe damage

Crimin
C
nal Beh
haviorr

What can enhance or diminish an injured persons

predisposition to violence?

Biological

Individual
Structural

Psychologica

Birth complications
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Birth complications may lead to brain dysfunction

Can lead to cognitive deficiencies and then to school

failure and loss of self-control

Risk increases in combination with early maternal

rejection

Biocriminology what to do about it

haviorr
Crimin
C
nal Beh

Good evidence that social variables and adjusting

to conditions can mitigate violent tendencies

Prenatal intervention for vulnerable mothers

Education strategies to minimize maternal rejection

School curriculum tailored to high risk students

Biological

Individual

Structural

Psychological

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological theories of criminality

Biocriminology

Genetics

Phrenology

Lombroso

Heredity

Biosocial theories

Stress

A brief history of genetics

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Gregor Mendel (1886)

Used Darwin
Darwinss Theory of Natural Selection to study
the inheritance patterns of physical traits in pea plants.

Results ignored
g
or disparaged
p g

Revival in the 1900s

Refocus on hereditability
of traits

A brief history of genetics

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

1940s-1970s: Focus on
DNA

DNA identified as genetic

material

Double helix structure

identified

1970s-Current:
Genomics
G

Study unique sequence of

genes

What is genetics?
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

The science of heredity and

variation
Passage of traits between
g
generations
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
(
(DNA)
)
24 chromosomes in humans

Phrenology
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Phrenology is a theory which claims to be able to

determine character, personality traits and
criminality on the basis of the shape of the head
Developed
p byy German physician
p y
Franz Joseph
J p
Gall around 1800, the discipline was popular in
the 19th century

Most prominent 21st century adherent?

Stephen
p
Colbert!

Crimin
C
nal Beh
haviorr

Early trait theories

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)

The born criminal

criminal
The

Theory of criminal atavism

Large of forward projecting jaws

Low sloping forehead

High cheekbones, flattened or upturned nose

Handle-shaped
p ears,, hawk-like noses or fleshyy lips
p

Shifty eyes, scanty beard or baldness

Insensitivity to pain
pain, long arms

Human Genome Project

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Project designed to sequence the 3 Billion

chemical base pairs in human DNA

Completed in 2003 at the cost of $3 Billion

Data Used in medicine,

medicine agriculture,
agriculture biology,
biology etc

Somatotype approach
nal Beh
haviorr
Crimin
C

Classification of human physical types developed

by psychologist W.H. Sheldon.
Sheldon studied the photographed bodies of
some 4,000 Ivyy League
g students from front view,
side view, and back view.
People
p can be classified as to bodyy build in terms
of three fundamental body types (the
somatotypes):

Endomorphic: round / fat

Mesomorphic: muscular

Ectomorphic: slim / linear

Somatotypes
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Mesomorphic claimed
to often engage in
assertive gesturing,
which can lead to
aggressive behavior
Some studies have
found a link between
mesomorphic body
types and delinquency
What are some
ppotential pproblems
with this research?

Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, Ectomorphic

Heredity
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Charles Goring, English physician

In 1913 published a comparison of

3,000 English convicts with 3,000
people, including military personnel
from the British Royal Engineers

Found no real difference, though

g criminals tended
to be smaller in stature. Given that size and
mental ability are inherited, generalized that
criminals were still born with inherited traits.
traits
While disproving Lombroso, Gorings research
still had some problems.
problems Such as?
as ?

Are we born criminals?

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

The central problem with genetic traits

Genetic theory suggests that your individual
chromosomal characteristics are inherited from
yyour parents
p
ggenes at conception
p
However, as we develop as a fetus other traits
are created from ggenetic mutations
The resulting characteristics are biological, but
not inherited

Biosocial theories
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Some of the most modern thinking in this area in

in the relationship between an individuals
biochemistry and the environment
Expose
p
to certain minerals appears
pp
to promote
p
aggressive behavior. Which ones?
Mgg - Cu - Cd - Zn - Pb

Male hormones
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Increased secretion of hormones in adolescent

males linked to anti-social behavior

The biggest culprit?

Testosterone

So does more testosterone lead to more

aggressive behavior?

It appears that the reverse is true

Or even that testosterone has a distal effect

Increased testosterone social inhibitions delinquency

XYY chromosomes
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Lombrosos view that criminal tendencies

were inherited fell out of favor until the 1970s
Discovery of the XYY chromosome in some
males ((1 in 1,000))
XYY boys have increased risk of learning
difficulties ((in up
p to 50%)) and delayed
y speech
p
and language skills (what is distal, what is proximate?)
Those with XYY more likelyy to have an arrest
record, but not more likely to be for violence
XYY not inherited; random mutation

Twin studies
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Further evidence of a genetic propensity toward

involvement in crime comes from studies
examining twins or non-twin siblings who have
been adopted out into different families at or
soon after birth.
birth
Dizygotic (product of
t
two
separate
t eggs))
Monozygotic (twins the
product of one egg
share the same DNA)

Truth in genetic propensity?

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Twin studies generally find that both members of

a monozygotic (i.e. identical) twin pair are more
lik l to be
likely
b involved
i l d iin crime
i
than
h bbothh members
b
of a dizygotic (i.e. fraternal) twin pair.
Munich physiologist Johannes Lange found
f

When a non-twin sibling was imprisoned, so was the

sibling
ibli only
l 8% off the
th time
ti

When a dizygotic twin was imprisoned, so was the

twin 12% of the time

When a monozygotic twin was imprisoned, so was the

twin 77% of the time

Some caution
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

The results of several adoption studies have

shown that there is greater similarity in the
criminal histories of sons and their natural fathers
than between sons and their adoptive fathers.
ButMost of the evidence from twins studies
suggests that any effects of heredity are evidence
in people who commit less serious crimes.
crimes
The interaction between children and their
adopted parents may itself increase the risk of
later involvement in crime. Therefore the
environment mayy pplayy a ppart.

So in summary?
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

While there is some

statistical evidence
consistent with the
possibility that there
may be
b inherited
h
d
factors in crime, that
evidence is also open
to interpretation in
ways which do not
i li
implicate
genetic
i
factors

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological theories of criminality

Biocriminology

Genetics

Stress

Diathesis-stress model
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

A psychological theory that explains behavior as

both a result of biological / genetic factors and life
experiences
Diathesis

An elegant term for a predisposition or tendency

A pre
pre-existing
existing vulnerability to certain stresses

Used to explain the onset of mental conditions

such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Stressors and crime

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Potential explanations for

later criminality include

Childhood neglect and abuse

Alcohol vulnerability

But stressors can be

accumulative

Divorce, death of a parent,

p y
unemployment

Stress and crime

However, some things can mediate stress

Crimin
C
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological

Individual
Structural

Psychologica

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Biological theories of criminality

MAOA deficiency
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Monoamine Oxidase A deficiency

Inherited genetic abnormality that alters levels of
specific brain chemicals
Characterized
Ch
t i d bby borderline
b d li mental
t l retardation
t d ti
and aggressive behavior

What role should genetics play?

C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

Stephen Anthony Mobley

Accused of murder during the

commission of a robbery

Attempted
p
to use familyy historyy and
genetics as a mitigating defense to
avoid the death penalty

B li d he
Believed
h was MAOA deficient
d fi i

Executed March 2005

Discussion questions
C
Crimin
nal Beh
haviorr

How much should genetic propensity be a factor

in deciding prison sentence length?
How much should stress be used as an excuse for
criminal behavior?
Should people with a propensity for criminality be
required
q
to receive treatment?
Should someone shown to be a potential future
danger
g receive a longer
g jail
j sentence?