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Recent mass shootings 08/24/12 Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a self-employed NYC man shot and killed a former coworker in front of the Empire State Building. Officers fired sixteen rounds, killing Johnson and injuring nine bystanders. 08/08/12 Wade Michael Page, 40, opened fire in and around a Milwaukee-area Sikh temple, killing six and wounding three including a police officer. He died from a selfinflicted wound to the head. Page was a well-known white supremacist and sang in a white-power band. 07/20/12 A troubled graduate student burst into a Colorado theatre during a midnight showing of “A Dark Knight,” threw gas grenades and opened fire with a shotgun, a rifle and two pistols, wounding fifty-eight and killing twelve. James Holmes, 24, was arrested without incident. How do these compare to more conventional violent crime? 05/04/12 A neo-Nazi who led an Arizona border militia shot and killed his live-in girlfriend, her daughter, granddaughter and daughter’s boyfriend, then killed himself. ExMarine Jason Ready had a history of domestic violence. Bank robberies “Ordinary” gang violence (drive-by’s, etc.) Organized crime “hits” Sheldon linked physique and temperament Endomorph: Soft physique relaxed and comfort-seeking Mesomorph: Muscled physique active and assertive Ectomorph: Lean, frail physique introverted Gluecks found correlation between mesomorph somatotype and aggressive/antisocial/uninhibited behavior Issue: Might there be a psychological connection between body build and temperament? Think of an intervening variable that might go between physique and temperament Physique ___(variable)___ Temperament Examined relationship between heredity, environment, and frequency (F) and length (L) of imprisonment Heredity F/L imprisonment OR Environment F/L imprisonment? Findings Parents and children are similar in terms of F & L of imprisonment Environmental factors not correlated with F & L of imprisonment ▪ Poverty, broken homes, education, nationality, birth order Biological factors are correlated with F & L imprisonment ▪ As F & L increase, physical size smaller, mental inferiority worse Criticisms Current data does not suggest that crime “runs rampant” in families Family members often share criminal propensities, but they are usually exposed to similar environmental factors Not taking other environmental variables into account Difficult to distinguish between hereditary and environmental effects Difficult to control environmental variables Fraternal twins: different eggs, different DNA Can inherit different biological factors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTYCv1ObZrI Identical twins: one egg, same DNA So, control heredity Biological factors the same Look for similarities and differences in behavior Similarities between identical twins could be inherited or a product of the environment Differences between identical twins cannot be inherited – cannot be hereditary If behavior of sets of identical twins is more alike than behavior of sets of fraternal twins, heredity may be important 6,000 pairs of male twins Higher concordance for identical twins Male identical twins: 67 pairs where at least one was registered as a criminal. ▪ In 36% of these pairs (n = 24) both were criminals Male fraternal twins: 114 pairs where at least one was registered as a criminal ▪ In 12% of these pairs (n=14) both were criminals Higher concordance for serious crimes Issue: Could higher concordance of behavior for identical twins be due to a more similar environment? Similar environments might make identical twins act alike So – compare behavior of identical twins reared apart Grove (32 pairs separated shortly after birth); Christiansen (8 pairs). Both found evidence that antisocial behavior can be inherited Identical twins reared apart behave similarly Walters – 1992 meta-analysis of 13 twin adoption studies Considered sample size, quality of research design Support for hereditary basis to criminality Issue: Adoptive parents may be much less criminal than biological parents ▪ Adoptees may be exposed to less criminogenic (crime causing) environments How to remove (“control”) effect of home environment? Study adoptees Number of court convictions of biological parents (not adoptive parents) influences youth criminality Limitation: might only apply to property crimes Other influencers Socioeconomic status of biological and adoptive parents Personality disorders of biological parents Number of placements before adoption Criminality of biological and adoptive fathers Issues with adoption studies Low sample sizes Recent studies found link between heredity and behavior for minor and property crime, but not for violent crime Adoptive parents may be much less criminal than biological parents ▪ adoptees may be exposed to less criminogenic (crime causing) environments Neurotransmitters Chemicals that transmit electrical impulses in the brain Levels affected by medication, diet, drug use, stress ▪ Alcoholism can affect neurotransmitter levels Imbalance may promote aggressive or compulsive behavior ▪ Violence, drug use Hormones Testosterone: Documented role in animal aggression, effects found in human research Issues Reverse causal order: Aggression high hormone levels? Booth and Osgood study ▪ Association between testosterone and adult deviancy ▪ BUT – effect of high levels of testosterone may be mediated by social integration: High levels of testosterone lack of social integration aggression Brain and spinal cord Cerebral cortex - outer portion of the brain Four lobes Frontal and temporal lobes control goal-directed behavior, impulses and emotions Some evidence that abnormalities in the lobes may be associated with violent and sexual offending Frontal dysfunction may be associated with violent offending Temporal dysfunction may be associated with sexual offending Violent sexual offenders may have both dysfunctions Issues Methodology – no random selection, so samples may be biased Precise path is unknown – exactly how does a dysfunction translate into offending? Controls involuntary functions: Blood pressure, heart activity, intestinal activity, hormone levels Anxiety “Fight/flight” situations: ANS prepares body to respond Blood goes from stomach to muscles Increases respiration Stimulates sweat (increases electrical conductivity of skin) Anxiety may be provoked by the conditioned fear of punishment ▪ Being bad parent punishes kid is “conditioned” to expect punishment kid avoids being bad to avoid anxiety Anxiety may be the primary socializing agent for children ▪ They behave properly to avoid anxiety caused by fear of punishment Hypothesis that defective anxiety responses can interfere with socialization Antisocial persons might for various reasons (i.e., bad learner) be more difficult to “condition” So, they might be less likely to fear punishment Alcohol in lower dosages increases aggressive behavior, especially in males http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxLCw0GJHoM Relationship between alcohol & violence is strongest of any drug Marijuana does not appear to increase aggression - it may reduce it Opiates (and prescription painkillers) may reduce aggression But chronic use may increase aggression Withdrawal from opiates may also increase aggression Methamphetamine, PCP and LSD may increase aggression May be especially true for those predisposed to violence Police anecdotes about extreme violence and strength displayed by persons high on Meth and PCP No direct evidence of effect of cocaine on violence Association between violence and areas where rock cocaine is used (inner cities) In August 2011 the prestigious American Society of Addiction Medicine announced that addiction is a disease. Addiction is a primary disease with organic origins Not simply a product of psychiatric or emotional problems. Addiction involves reward circuits in the brain. Cravings for food, sex, alcohol and drugs are triggered by memories of their effects, affecting judgment and impulse control, and leading to behaviors including some that are defined as crimes. Like conventional diseases, sufferers can take steps to make things better, so there is choice, but providing assistance and opportunities for treatment are crucial. Lead in diet may affect brain functions May cause hyperactivity and antisocial behavior in children Head injury with brain damage may cause violent behavior Decrease cognitive and social skills Headaches and irritability Damage frontal and temporal lobes, increasing anxiety, anger and hostility Delivery complications correlated with violent offending Particularly when parents had psychiatric problems Evidence that premature births can pose risk for mental illness ▪ Study of young adults born at less than eight months’ gestation ▪ Risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia was 2X-plus; for major depression was nearly 3X, and for bipolar disorder was more than 7X Inheritance (nature) & environment (nurture) may not “cause” as much as they “predispose” Nature v. Nurture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AIHC4PNCak Crime is a social definition – Malum in se v. mala prohibita Not all maladaptive behaviors are illegal Behavior is affected by ... Inherited characteristics Inherited characteristics, affected by environment Environmental effects on health (injury, pollution, poor diet, drinking…) General agreement that biology and environment interact Sociologists, including criminologists, tend to minimize biological and psychological factors But as we learn more about the human organism, more and more winds up being explained by chemistry, biology and genetics