IB Psychology Chapter 2.3 Important Notes

Are factors that contribute to a specific trait. The more risk factor an individual has, the bigger the probability of the individual having that trait

It is a twin study. He found that monozygotic twins have a bigger concordance rate for crime. He also found that the concordance rates for males are bigger than females

Adoption studies. He found that an adopted child with an adoptive and biological father as criminals will tend to be criminals more than adoptive child with adoptive father as a criminal only.

Blair et al. found that amygdala is impaired in criminals. Amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for regulating emotional response

They see crime as the result of cognitive distortions:

-Blaming others
-Super optimistic
-I think therefore it is
-Exaggerating accomplishments
-Minimizing wrongful acts

The rational choice theory explains that criminal behavior is a result of a reasoned decisive making. If the benefits of the crime outweighs the risks, they are more likely to make the crime. But it is argued since crimes are sometimes spontaneous

Structural poverty is poverty that is characterized by poor families, low level of education, high infant mortality rate. There has been a high correlation between structural poverty and crime.

The US FBI report on crime shows that most murderers are male. James Dabbs then demonstrated that criminals have a higher level of testosterone. But it is argued that testosterone levels might be elevated because of environmental factors, not genetical factor. Either way, both may work