It has been suggested that there is a link between certain brain activity and anti-social behaviour (Robert Hare, 1986 as cited in Muir, 2015). Hare is famous for work with psychopaths and sociopaths finding a link between psychopaths and risk taking behaviour.
Damage to the limbic system and the temporal lobe have been identified as resulting in criminal behaviour. The limbic system controls our memory, emotions, and parental and social instincts. Furthermore, the temporal lobe is one of the easiest parts of the brain to damage through knocks to the head, car accidents and internal, resulting in violent behaviour. Studies such as Lewis et al (1986) support this information by finding that all fifteen of the participants suffered head injuries prior to prison.
However the effects of a brain injury can vary from individual to individual with minor injuries resulting in the person possibly suffering from concussion, dizziness and headaches. More severe brain injuries may cause a person to suffer from dramatic mood, personality changes, loss of executive functioning and poor judgement.
Many serial killers have suffered a head trauma or injury during childhood or at birth such as Leonard Lake, Ted Bundy, Bobby Joe Long and Fred West. In particular Fred west suffered injuries to his frontal lobe during a road accident which is thought to be the cause of his sexual appetite and violent behaviour.
More locally 21, 217 people in Scotland suffered a head injury in 2013/14, suggesting that someone has trauma to the head every ninety minutes. The Acquired brain injury service in the Angus area helps people physically, cognitively and emotionally after a brain injury.
For more in-depth information please read the following;
Muir, F., 2015. Brain Injuries. [lecture notes]. Dundee and Angus College, Criminology, 09 December 2015.
Peat, R., 2007. Acquired brain injury. unpublished.
The above content is very informative and interesting. You mention a study carried out by Lewis on 15 participants. Are all the studies you examined focussed on such a small sample? If so, does this have any implications on the data collected?
ReplyDeleteFiona
I also looked at the study Hatziaskos et al (1994) which involved 67 participants. However both of these studies have small samples therefore can not be generalised to the whole population.
DeleteThe above is also very informative for explaining criminal tendencies due to a brain injury acquired after birth. However, have you come across any studies looking at criminal tendencies being hereditary? The media would have us believe that crime runs in families. Have you came across any evidence to support this in your studies?
ReplyDeleteThere is a great amount of evidence supporting that crime runs in families also known as biological theories of offending. Firstly Osborne and West (1982) found that forty per cent of sons whom had convicted criminal offences also has criminal fathers. Compared to the control group which found only thirteen per cent of sons with non convicted fathers.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore there is also evidence to support the biological argument within a twin studies. These studies found higher concordance for criminality amongst monozygotic twins than dizygotic twins therefore supporting the genetic influences. However it must be highlighted that these studies were carried out on very small samples.
Are the head injuries self-reported or recorded in medical notes? How would this affect the stats?
ReplyDeleteThe head injuries are mainly self reported meaning official statistics may not be a fair representation of people who have suffered a head injury.
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