Evolution, Genetics

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Evolution, Genetics Criminal Behaviour

• Biological Perspectives Relevant to Criminologists

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Session Aims

• Discuss how evolution interprets crime.
• Outline some of the links to genetics.
• Look at some examples.
• Connect to previous lecture.
• Leave you able to develop your own understanding.

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Evolution

• Reproductive success key.
• Behaviours, etc evolve if adaptive.
• Can be several different ways to succeed.
• Behaviour can depend on environment.
• Crime just another behaviour.
• Works via genes, genes have biol impact.
• Biol has effect on behaviour biology.

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Evolutionary Approaches

• Evolutionary Psychology Behavioural Ecology
  Sociobiology parts of
• Human Evolutionary Psychology.
• Spot behaviour evolved in EEA (?)
• See similar behaviour across species.
• Impact on reproduction adaptive.

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Evolution and the Male Age-Crime Curve

• MACC most accepted fact in criminology.
• See same curve for art, jazz, science, etc.
• All fall off after marriage family.
• Fair match to Testosterone levels.
• Rise as puberty ends, falls from 25yrs.
• M compete for status, f prefer high status.
• Any practical use? (YES!)

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Age-Crime Curve
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Fig. 1. The age of peak scientific achievement,
280 scientists.
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Fig. 6. The benefits and costs of competition and
the agecrime (and agegenius) curve. (a)
Reproductive benefits of competition. (b)
Reproductive costs of competition. (c)
Propensity toward competition benefit - costs.
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How Wicked Are Step-parents? 1

• Daly Wilson looked at child abuse.
• High levels pose evolutionary question.
• Maybe not biol parents?
• Lions new males kill cubs.
• Yanomama tribe abduct wives, kill kids.
• Pacific, Tikopia marry widow, proclaim will not
  keep kids foster or kill.
• Cultural stereotypes.

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How Wicked Are Step-parents? 2

• Step-familiesmore strain, less love.
• Most common frictionresources step-parent asked
  for for stepchildren.
• 1976 USlt3yr stepkids 7x risk abuse record.
• To avoid bias took 279 deaths only, now had 100x
  risk!
• Criticised but convincing?

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Genes, Evolution Crime

• Evolution works via Gs.
• No crime G, some Gs bigger risk.
• Even if definition crime changes, Gs leading to
  gtaggression, gtimpulsivity, etc likely to always
  have increased criminality.
• Gs INTERACT with environment.
• G studies also show environmental factors.
• Different versions of same Galleles.

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Genes and Criminality

• Twin/adoption/twins reared apart/molecular
  genetics Gs affect AS aggressive behav.
• Impact depends on environment.
• Cloninger m petty crime, just G12, E7,
  GE40. All adoptees.
• 140 M twins, 11yrs, tested every 3yrs, early
  crim links to chronic adults, low IQ, ADHD.
  Mz55 vs Dz29. G key.
• Twins Gs critical for CD. (Slutske, W. et al
  1997)
• Twins Gs critical in early aggressive bullies.
• 862 AS Gs behind 3 factors (Krueger et al 1994)

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Genes Criminogenic Traits

• 5-HT function genetic. Lowgtaggression.
• 193 newborns lower 5-HIAA in ASPD families.
  Constantino, et al 1997.
• Low 5-HIAA gtimpulsivity aggression hostility
  all ASPD traits. Virkkunen et al.
• Gsgtlow 5-HT functiongtASPD and Ppthy.
• Dopamine system for sensation novelty seeking.
  (Martens 2002).

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In Summary

• Evolution gt males show traits that increase
  chance of more offspring.
• Impulsivity, aggression, novelty sensation
  seeking all high. Empathy, etc low.
• All males in 15-25 yrs (?) range due to
  development. (Especially prefrontal cortex.)
• Some have too much? Some damaged?
• Bad Env x Bad Gs Bad person?

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All Chromosomes m f
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Genes on Chromosome
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Replicating DNA
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Genetic Causation
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DNA Bases
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Serotonin Diagram
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Dopamine Diagram
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Norepinephrine Diagram
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Neuron Diagram
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Da 5-HT Pathways