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Biosocial Approaches

CHAPTER 10

CJ 450D

On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik were 21 and 18 years old, respectively. They murdered their parents (Jose and Kitty Menendez) that evening in the den of the family's home in Beverly Hills. Neighbors later reported hearing loud bangs around 10 p.m. but dismissed them as nothing to be concerned about, thinking the noise was local kids playing with firecrackers. Jose was shot point-blank in the back of the head with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Kitty, awakened by the shots, sprang from the couch and ran for the hallway but was shot in the leg. She slipped in her own blood and fell, then was shot several times in the arm, chest, and face, leaving her unrecognizable. Both Jose and Kitty were then shot in the kneecap in an attempt to make the murders appear related to organized crime. The brothers then drove away and dumped their shotguns on Mulholland Drive. They later told police they had left home that evening to see the new James Bond movie, License to Kill, but since the lines were too long, they saw Batman instead. Afterward, they said, they went to the annual “Taste of L.A.” festival at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. At 11:47 p.m., when the brothers returned home, Lyle telephoned 911 and cried, "Somebody killed my parents!"

Learning Goal

Students will enter the world of genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology as they explore and evaluate the biosocial perspective of criminology.

Performance Objectives

Define the terms commonly associated with behavior genetics.

Explain the three (3) types of gene-environment correlation.

Identify the two neurotransmitters that criminologists are most interested in studying.

Discuss the main message that neuroscience has for us regarding our experiences.

Distinguish between the reward dominance theory and the prefrontal dysfunction theory.

Explain how the evolution of criminal traits are linked to mating efforts.

List several strengths and weaknesses of the biosocial perspective.

Discuss prevention policies advocated for under biosocial theories.

Performance Objectives

Introduction

Any trait, characteristic, or behavior of any living thing is always the result of biological factors interacting with environmental factors.

Biosocial criminology is not a theory per se; it is a way of looking at criminal behavior from a wide array of biologically informed theories and methodologies.

Biosocial research into criminality is growing at an explosive pace.

Behavior Genetics

Behavior genetics is the study of how heredity and environment come together to shape behavioral and personality characteristics.

Genes are segments of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that make proteins which builds, maintains and replaces the tissues in your body.

Genes do not cause us to behave or feel one way or the other; they make neurotransmitters and hormones (protein-based products) which facilitate our behaviors and feelings by producing tendencies or dispositions to respond to our environments.

Bullet #3 – Neurotransmitters (dopamine and serotonin) and hormones (testosterone).

Neurotransmitters and hormones incline us to behave a certain way; they do not compel us.

Behavior Genetics

There are no “criminal behavior” genes, but there are genes that lead to particular traits that increase the probability of criminal behavior when combined with certain environments.

Genotype is the sum of genes we get from our parents.

Phenotype are the observable and measurable behavioral and personality characteristics of any living thing as a result of genes interacting with the environment.

Bullet #1 – Particular traits such as low empathy or impulsiveness

Bullet #3 – Phenotype such as height, weight, IQ, impulsivity, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, self-esteem, resiliency, excitability, etc…

Behavior Genetics

Gene expression always depends on the environment.

We can think of genes as light bulbs, and the environment as a dimmer switch.

Genes are switched on, cranked up, dimmed down, and turned off depending on what the person requires to meet specific environmental challenges at that moment.

Bullet #1 – Genes are constantly extracting information from the environment and manufacturing the substances we need to navigate it. Genes make us uniquely ourselves and thus resistant to environmental influences that go against our natures. In short, genes do not constrain us, they enable us.

Behavior Genetics

What specific type of studies do you think biosocial criminologists prefer to use to show us that genes and environments are always jointly responsible for any human characteristic?

Twin

Adoption

Bullet #1 – Particular traits such as low empathy or impulsiveness

Behavior Genetics

Environmental effects on a trait are divided into two types:

Shared environment – the environment experienced by children brought up in the same family and assumed to make them similar.

Nonshared environment – unique environmental experiences that make children from the same family different.

It is consistently found that parental (shared) effects on personality and cognitive traits that made siblings somewhat similar while sharing a home disappear almost completely in adulthood.

Bullet #2 – Shared environment – Such as parental SES, religion, values and attitudes, parenting style, family size, intactness of home, and neighborhood.

Bullet #3 – Non-shared environment – Familial non-shared variables include gender, birth order, perinatal trauma, illness, and parental favoritism. Extra-familial factors include different peer groups and teachers; or a different, time-dependent culture.

Gene–Environment Correlation

Gene-environment interaction (GxE) is the notion that people differ in sensitivity to identical environmental influences and will respond differently to them.

Gene-environment correlation (rGE) means that genotypes and environments are related.

Bullet #2 – Remember – genotype is the sum of genes we get from our parents.

Gene–Environment Correlation

Three types of rGE (gene-environment correlation):

Passive – the positive association between genes and their environments due to biological parents providing children with genes linked to certain traits and an environment favorable for their expression.

Evocative –refers to the way others react to the individual on the basis of his/her evocative behavior. Bringing traits into situations that increase or decrease the probability of evoking certain types of responses from others.

Active – refers to the active seeking of environments compatible with our genetic dispositions.

Bullet #2 – Passive – Children born to intellectually gifted parents are likely to receive genes that lead to above-average intelligence and they will be raised in an environment in which intellectual behavior is modeled and reinforced, thus setting them on a trajectory independent (passively) of anything the child has done.

Bullet #3 – Evocative – A pleasant, well-mannered child will evoke different reactions than a bad-tempered, ill-mannered one. Evocative rGE magnifies phenotypic differences by funneling individuals into like-minded peer groups (“birds of a feather flock together).

Bullet #4 – Active rGE becomes more pertinent as we mature and acquire the ability to take greater control over out lives. It assures us that we are active agents who create our own environments just as they help to create us.

Behavior Genetics & Criminality

There are no behavior genetic theories of criminal behavior, however, such studies have impacted our understanding of the criminological theories we have already examined this term.

Psychosocial approaches (Chpt. 9) we learned how different family structures predicted antisocial behavior. Genetic factors play a large part in sorting individuals into those structures.

Genes contribute to the choices people make, as well as make them easy or difficult to live with.

Bullet #2 – Families consisting of a divorced or never married mother with children fathered by different men are the most at-risk family type for antisocial behavior. Families with full siblings with both biological parents present were least at risk.

Behavior Genetics & Criminality

One of the factors influencing choices is low self-control and in Chpt. 7 we learned about the low self-control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi).

There are well over 100 studies showing strong links between low self-control and low levels of serotonin.

Genes govern the base levels of serotonin a person has and how well it is regulated.

However, what is going on in the environment results in serotonin levels increasing and decreasing.

Behavior Genetics & Criminality

Regarding Sutherland’s differential association theory (Chpt. 7), researchers found that genetic factors accounted for 64% of the variance in delinquent peer affiliation.

Twin studies found that peer group affiliation was associated with genetics and that the magnitude of the genetic effects on conduct problems increased as the the level of association with delinquent peers increased.

Behavior Genetics & Criminality

With respect to antisocial behavior in general, research points to a modest (but not as strong) genetic influence.

Heritability for antisocial behavior itself is in the 0.40 to 0.58 range with higher heritability in adults than in juveniles.

Strong genetic effects on antisocial behavior are most likely to be found only among chronic offenders who begin offending prior to puberty and continue to do so across the life course.

Bullet #2 – Heritability is the extent to which variance in a phenotypic (obvious, observable, and measurable) trait in a population is due to genetic factors and ranges from 0.0 to 1.0.

Neuroscience

Whatever the source of human behavior, it is funneled and processed through the brain.

We are still a long way from fully understanding the brain, but we cannot ignore what is known about it relevant to criminology.

All our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behaviors are the result of billions of brain cells called neurons communicating with one another through substances called neurotransmitters.

Neuroscience

Criminologists are most interested in the neuro-transmitters dopamine and serotonin.

Neural networks are continually being made, retained, and eliminated in a process governed by the strength and frequency of our experiences.

Experiences in adults alters the organized brain, but in infants and children, it organizes the developing brain.

Brains organized by negative events are ripe for all kinds of antisocial behavior.

Bullet #4 – Hormones released by chronic stress (trauma) can cause neurons to die, and children with high levels of these hormones (adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol) experience cognitive and social development delays.

Neuroscience

The message neuroscience has for us (hint, hint) is that the experiences we encounter largely determine the patterns of our neuronal connections and thus our ability to successfully navigate our lives.

Trauma-informed care (supervision) is all the rage in social services and corrections right now. Paper Tigers is an excellent 2 hr. documentary addressing how one school implemented a trauma-informed response to education.

Reward Dominance Theory

A neurological theory based on the proposition that behavior is regulated by two opposing mechanisms:

The behavior activating system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS).

The BAS is associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine (facilitating goal-directed behavior) and with pleasure areas in the brain.

The BIS is associated with serotonin (modulating behavior) and with brain structures that govern memory.

The BAS is like the gas pedal motivating us to seek rewarding stimuli while the BIS is like the brake that stops us from going too far too fast.

Reward Dominance Theory

This theory asserts that criminals, especially chronic offenders, have a dominant BAS.

This tends to make them overly sensitive to reward cues, and

Relatively insensitive to punishment cues.

This theory also provides us with hard physical evidence relating to the concepts of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and low self-control that are connected to other theories.

All of these traits are brought forth by either a sticky accelerator (too much dopamine) or faulty brakes (low serotonin).

Prefrontal Dysfunction Theory

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the part of the brain located just above the eyes and is responsible for planning, analyzing, modulating emotions, and making moral judgments.

Prefrontal Dysfunction Theory

All executive functions involved in prosocial behaviors are regulated by the PFC.

If the PFC is damaged or disrupted in any way, these executive functions are compromised resulting in a person being prone to antisocial behaviors.

What is the most preventable cause of low IQ today? Something that wreaks havoc on the frontal lobe…

Bullet #2 and Image – It has been found that highly stressed people, who are displaying a strong tendency for violent behavior, have functional “holes” in their prefrontal cortex.

These are areas where no more blood flow is recorded, where the brain is permanently shut down.

Bullet #3 – Answer is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Prenatal exposure to alcohol disrupts the migration and hookup of the embryo-fetus’s developing neurons in the frontal lobes and other brain areas.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores human behavior using an evolutionary theoretical framework.

Criminologists under this umbrella look at how certain behaviors society now call criminal may have been adaptive.

Adaptive behavior is any behavior that contributes directly or indirectly to two evolutionary “goals”:

An individual’s survival and

Reproductive success.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychologists believe (as do most criminologists) that crime is normal behavior and that everyone has the potential to commit a criminal act.

So if criminal behavior is “normal,” it must have provided some evolutionary advantage for our ancestors.

However, because modern environments are so radically different from hunter/gatherer environments, many traits selected for their adaptive value at the time may not be adaptive today.

Evolutionary Psychology

Important point – it’s the traits underlying the criminal behavior that have allegedly adapted, not the specific acts we call crimes.

A male in a hunter-gatherer group would need to be fearless, thrill-seeking, and impulsive to be considered a formidable opponent against rival groups.

He would also need to be strong, aggressive, and lack compassion to dominate his groupmates for first shot at resources and women.

Evolutionary Psychology

There are two ways that members of any animal species can maximize their reproductive success:

Parenting effort – the proportion of parenting effort invested in rearing offspring.

Traits that facilitate parenting effort underlie other forms of prosocial behaviors (empathy and altruism).

Mating effort – that proportion of effort allotted to acquiring sexual partners.

Mating effort is associated with traits useful for committing criminal acts.

Last Bullet – David Rowe (2002) gives an excellent thumbnail sketch of the traits useful to mating effort that can clearly be co-opted to support criminal behavior.

A strong sexual drive and attraction to novelty of new sexual partners is clearly one component of mating effort. An ability to appear charming and superficially interested in women while courting them would be useful. The emotional attachment, however, must be an insincere one, to prevent emotional bonding to a girlfriend or spouse. The cad may be aggressive, to coerce sex from partly willing partners and to deter rival men. He feels little remorse about lying or cheating. Impulsivity could be advantageous in a cad because mating decisions must be made quickly and without prolonged deliberation; the unconscious aim is many partners, not a high-quality partner.

Evolutionary Psychology

Research supports the notion that an excessive concentration on mating effort is linked to criminal behavior.

A review of 51 studies relating number of sex partners to criminal behavior found 50 of them positive.

A review of 31 studies found that age of onset of sexual behavior was negatively related to criminal behavior (the earlier the age of onset, the greater the criminal activity) in all 31 studies

Both studies conducted by Ellis & Walsh, 2000.

The main stumbling block with the biosocial perspective is that their studies are more difficult and far more expensive than the typical social science methods of conducting studies.

Behavior genetic studies require comparing samples consisting of pairs of identical and fraternal twins and/or adoptees, which can be difficult to come by.

Evaluation - Weaknesses

Biosocial approaches take advantage of the newest and most sophisticated technology in observational techniques.

They incorporate their biological concepts and findings into their theories.

There are a number of ambitious studies stockpiling mountains of environmental, behavioral, and cognitive data.

Imaging studies with anywhere from 400 to 2,000 subjects.

High quality longitudinal formats

Collecting DNA data which has become affordable ($10).

Some universities now offer double majors in criminology and molecular genetics or neuroscience.

Evaluation - Strengths

Biosocial theories may have their greatest policy applications in terms of prevention and treatment programs:

Knowing how nurturing affects both gene expression and brain development in humans, biosocial criminologists advocate for a wide array of “nurturant” strategies.

Biosocial criminologists advocate for treatment over punishment and favor indeterminate over fixed sentences.

Policy & Prevention

Bullet 1) – Pre- and postnatal care for women; monitoring infants and young children through the developmental years; paid maternity leave; nutritional programs; lead removal programs; educational campaigns to reduce maternal drinking and smoking.

Bullet 2) – Pharmacological and psychosocial treatments have proven to be superior to psychosocial treatment alone for syndromes associated with criminal behavior.

Policy applications continued…

Taking into consideration the valid and identifiable brain differences between adults and adolescents, biosocial science played a pivotal role in the US Supreme Court banning the death penalty for juveniles.

Biosocial studies provide information about both environmental and biological risk factors, helping us pinpoint environmental factors that may help prevent crime.

Policy & Prevention

Bullet 3) – In writing the majority opinion for Roper v. Simmons (2005), Justice Kennedy noted the neurobiological evidence for the physical immaturity of the adolescent brain.

NEXT WEEK…

Chapter 11 – Developmental Theories