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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define The Term Crime. |
Any behaviour that breaks the law. |
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Why Is It Difficult To Define Crime? |
-Time -Culture -Harm -Intent |
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What's An Example Of How Criminal Behaviour Depends On Time? |
Homosexual behaviour was illegal in the UK up until about 40 years ago, but now homosexual people have the same rights as heterosexual people. |
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What's An Example Of How Criminal Behaviour Depends On Culture? |
Euthanasia is against the law in the UK and many other countries, but has been legalised in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. |
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What Are Three Problems Associated With Using Official Crime Statistics To Measure Crime? |
-Statistics count the number of criminal acts rather than the number of criminals, so one crime may have been committed by a number of people or many crimes have been committed by one person. -People may not know that they have been a victim of crime and so have not reported it. For example, someone may have been pick-pocketed while drunk and assume the next morning that they lost it. -Victims of crime don't always want to report the crime for a variety of reasons. |
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Define The Term Criminal Personality. |
A collection of traits that make a person different from 'normal', law-abiding people. |
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What Are Five Common Characteristics Of Someone With A Criminal Personality? |
-Impulsiveness -Lacking in feelings of guilt -Pleasure- seeking -Being over- optimistic -Self- importance |
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According To The Biological Theory Is Being A Criminal Down To Nature Or Nurture? |
Nature. |
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Define The Term Heritability. |
The proportion of a behaviour that is due to genetic factors. |
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How Do People Inherit Criminal Behaviour? |
From their parents, through their DNA. |
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What Can This Help To Explain? |
That there are 'criminal families' in which a number of people in each generation appear to commit crimes. |
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What Does The Theory Suggest About An Individual's Parents? |
That if their parent is a convicted criminal, then that individual would have a higher chance of becoming a criminal too. |
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Define The Term Brain Dysfunction. |
The idea that a brain is not operating as normal brains do. |
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What Areas Of The Brain Are Seen To Be Dysfunctional In Criminals? |
-Pre-Frontal Cortex. -Limbic System. -Corpus Callosum. -Temporal Lobe. |
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What's Wrong With The Pre-Frontal Cortex In Criminals? |
This area of the brain is under active in some criminals. It's the part of he brain where humans are conditioned to form an association between fear and anti-social behaviour. |
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What's Wrong With The Limbic System In Criminals? |
This is the area of the brain that controls aggressive and sexual behaviour. Scans show increased activity in criminals compared with non-criminals. This can explain crimes such as assault and rape. |
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What's Wrong With The Corpus Callosum In Criminals? |
The corpus callosum is the 'bridge' between the two hemispheres of the brain, which allows the rational side of the brain to communicate with the irrational side. It's less active in murderers which means that communication between the two hemispheres of their brain is weak. |
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What's Wrong With The Temporal Lobe In Criminals? |
This part of the brain is involved in many functions, including language, learning, emotions and memory. Brain wave activity is more likely to be slower in the temporal lobe of aggressive psychopaths compared with that of the normal population. |
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What Facial Features Have Been Associated With Criminals In The Past? |
-Asymmetrical Faces. -Low & Sloping Foreheads. -Glinting or Glassy Eyes. -High Cheekbones. -Large, Protruding, Handle-Shaped Ears. -Crooked, Flat or Upturned Noses. -Fleshy Lips. -Strong Jaws. -Prominent Chins. -Lots of Hair. |
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What Are The Criticisms Of The Biological Theory Of Criminal Behaviour? |
-Critics of the biological theory argue that there can't be one criminal gene that accounts for all criminal behaviour. -Brain dysfunction is only evident in some criminals, so it doesn't reliably predict whether someone is going to be a criminal or not. -The idea that criminals have a different set of features from other people isn't well supported by evidence. Even when criminals appear to look different, it can be explained by other factors besides genetics. -The biological theory clearly ignores the influence of the social environment on criminal behaviour. |
