Download Comparative Psychology

Gender differences in
criminal behaviors
 What gender differences can you think of in
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terms of criminal behaviour?
Evolution of crime
– What is evolution, how can criminal behaviors
be explained via evolutionary factors?
What gender differences exist between males and
females?
Why do males tend to be involved in a lot more
criminal activities than females?
What advantages are there for risk taking
behaviors?
Gender differences in
criminal behaviors
 An organism’s ability to survive depends on
how well its characteristics allow it to:
– Exploit the opportunities available in its
environment
– Avoid or deal with the threats presented
by its environment
 We call this the organism’s fitness
 The fitness of an individual will be directly
influenced by their reproductive success.
Fitness
Fitness
Yummy!
Gender differences in
criminal behaviors
 Fit organisms are more likely to survive into
adulthood than unfit ones.
– Consequently, they are more likely to mate and
have offspring
– They pass on their genes to the next generation
 Gradually, the genes for successful
characteristics spread through the population
 Risk taking behaviors may increase fitness in
terms of predator avoidance and increased
reproductive success.
Gender differences in
criminal behaviors
 Pressures of mate selection in our
evolutionary past have lead to different
behaviors being pre-disposed in the
population.
 Due to intersexual selection (choosing an
appropriate mate) and intrasexual selection
(competing for a mate) risky behaviors are
exhibited by males to increased the
likelihood of attracting a sexual partner.
Evolutionary differences in
criminal behaviours
 Age crime
curve- the peak
of offending
happens in early
twenties and
then falls into
mid to late
twenties.
 Why do you
think that this
age crime
relationship
exists?
Daly and Wilson- 2001. Key study
 Identified the ‘short term horizon’.
 Based on the idea that male seek
immediate gratification- they are not
concerned with long term gains.
 In terms of evolution what other
reason could there be for risk taking
behaviours is not for sexual selection
processes?
Read the handout on the Daly & Wilson study
and then answer the following questions
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What was the aim of their study?
How many community areas were involved?
What is a correlational analysis? What variable did D & W
correlate in their investigation?
What was the average life expectancy of the participants?
What did D & W find in relation to life expectancy and
neighbourhood specific homicides? What was the co-efficient?
They found a negative correlation between life expectancy and
truancy from school- how was this explained?
What problems may arise when using evolutionary explanations to
explain modern day behaviours?
What can we conclude form Daly’s research?
Write 4 evaluation points of the biological explanations-single
gene?, environmental influences?, falsifying evolution
explanations?, methods of investigation?, reductionist?