The Brain and Behavior
What part of the brain regulates our impulsive actions?
Prefrontal Cortex
Wha are the two types of processing called?
System one and system two
What part of the brain is the "emotional center"?
The amygdala
What is the name of the system of glands in the body that release hormones?
The endocrine system
What two areas of the brain are most studied in criminology?
The amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.
Veterans from what war have been studied for the past 40 years?
Vietnam War
What is the name of the task used in Bechara et al.s study on vmPFC lesion patients?
Iowa Gambling TAsk
What gland in the endocrine system releases stress hormones during the fight/flight response?
Adrenal gland (the pituitary is a gland, but it only sends the signal to the adrenal gland)
What are two behaviors associated with testosterone?
Aggression/violence, social dominance, social status, attraction, competition
What are two brain imaging technologies used frequently in criminology?
MRI and fMRI (Pet also acceptable answer)
What machine is used to locate the area of the brain damage of veterans so researchers can compare groups?
MRI
What are three characteristics of system two processing?
Slow, conscious, based on logic, rational, based on consequences, controlled
What three tests did Feinstein et al. conduct on SM to measure her fear?
-Haunted house, pet store and observing scary clips
How did Radke et al. manipulate testosterone levels?
With injections
What specific type of aggression has been the focus of explanation in this unit?
Reactive, impulsive aggression. This means reacting to a threat and the reaction is done with little thought. It’s different to other displays of aggression like premeditated aggression.
What specific part of the brain was damaged in the group with the most aggressive behavior in Grafman et al.'s report from the Vietnam Head Injury Study
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
What are four characteristics of system one processing?
Fast, nonconscious (unconscious), automatic, intuitive, based on emotion
Why does SM have damaged amygdalae?
A rare genetic condition
How do we know from Radke et al.’s study that testosterone influences the brain in response to social threats, and not just in response to other people?
- It only impacted the amygdala when viewing the angry faces, not the faces with other emotions.
Who is arguably the most famous criminologist today? He is author of “The anatomy of violence,” which looks at the biology origins of crime?
Adrian Raine
What results in Grafman et al. s study suggest that its not just brain damage that influences aggression?
Disruption to family activities was a better predictor of aggression than the size of the lesion
What characteristic of system two processing were the vmPfc patients NOT demonstrating in the gambling game in Bechara et al.’s study?
An ability to process information (and make decisions) based on consequences - they were unable to learn from their mistakes.
Describe the process of releasing stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) in response to perceiving a threat. There are four specific glands and parts of the brain you must mention (A,H,P,A)
The amygdala perceives the threat, sends a signal to the hypothalamus, which signals the pituitary gland, which signals the adrenal gland and stress hormones are released.
Why can we not use Radke et al’s study to explain the actions of a serial killer who murders innocent victims?
Radke et als experiment measures testosterone’s activity in the brain in response to a social threat - the angry face 0 and when were motivated to deal with that threat. In the serial killer scenario, if someone is innocent, they’re unlikely to be a threat to the killer - in other words, the murder is unprovoked.
What was the focus on Albert et al's study on rats?
Testosterone and social dominance