Biological theories of SM

1
Biological theories of SM

• Neurological functioning
• Hormones
• Brain damage
• Research on executive functioning
• Genetics
• Legal implications?

2
Testosterone

• Does testosterone in males (or females for that
  matter) cause crime.
• Makes sense given lower female crime
• Men in prison have higher testosterone levels
• hockey players
• BUT, they also have higher adrenaline and
  cortisol levels
• Do adrenaline and cortisol cause crime---no.
• Is is quite possible (and I argue more likely)
  that Crime causes increases in testosterone
  levels, much as it does with adrenaline or
  cortisol.
• Physical functions and stress
• However
• Most men are not criminals
• A good percentage (15) of violent criminals are
  females
• Depo-Provera for sex-offenders
• Generally not believed that testosterone causes
  crime

3
XYY

• Jacobs Syndrome A genetic disorder which pretty
  much has no symptoms.
• Was once thought was linked with crime.
• Richard Speck
• However, most criminals do not have XYY (not even
  at a higher than general population).
• This theory has been discredited

4
Richard Speck

• July 14, 1966 8 nurses raped and killed
• Forces his way in while 5 are home at gunpoint
• 1 returns from drinking
• ties them up, takes them 1 by 1
• 2 nurses return home--these find him raping
  Pamela Wilkening
• stabs and strangles them
• Suzanne Farris stabbed 18 times
• Mary Ann Jordon stabbed in chest, neck and eye
• Finishes Wilkening with a stab to the heart
• Nina Schmael is next
• Her neck is broken, and stabbed rituatlistically
• Valentina Pasion
• Slits her throat through the voicebox

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Richard Speck continued

• Merlita Gargullo
• raped for 30 mins, then stabbed and strangled
• Pat Matusek
• takes her to the bathroom asks Are you the
  girl in the yellow dress?
• ruptures liver strangles her
• Cora Amurao--has been hiding is a witness
• Gloria Davey, raped while unconscious
• With Amuraos testimony Speck is convicted
  sentences to life
• 1 appeal involves the XYY defense
• hormone treatment

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Biology and Women

• Alternate theories have argued that women are
  essentially irrational and thus not able to be
  held responsible for their behavior during
• PMS (Dalton)
• Puberty
• Menopause
• Post-Partum
• All of these theories have been discredited
  empirically
• Ex. Overpeck and Post-Partum
• Hormones can influence some motivations (ex.
  Testosterone and sex drive)
• Do hormones force us to behave in a particular
  manner?
• Probably not, but it is a convenient
  rationalization
• also expectancy effects

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Brain Function and mass homicides

• Brain function is a more reasonable hypothetical
  link with crime than is hormones
• Robert Hare
• Brain tumors
• Charles Whitman
• 16/30
• brain tumor in hypothalamus
• But most criminals do not have brain tumors
• Unlikely any general brain chem cause

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IQ and SM

• Do the less intelligent commit more crimes
• What IS intelligence?
• Influence of Lombroso
• Bell Curve (Herrnstein Murray)
• Criminals have average IQ of 92
• However, other studies suggest psychopaths have
  high IQs
• Could be that low IQ criminals more likely to get
  caught
• SM and IQ
• Organized vs. disorganized

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Pornography

• Does pornography lead to violence
• Dworkin suggests pornography leads to violence
  against women
• most research suggests that depictions of
  consensual sex does not
• Violent (rape) pornography--weak temporary
  effects
• Unlikely pornography causes violence
• No surprise that sex criminals enjoy violent
  pornography
• But we seem to favor external attributions for
  crime
• Also provides convenient rationalization
• Ex. Ted Bundy

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Historical Perspectives in Psychology

• Psychodynamic
• Thanatos
• Oral sadistic
• Behavioral
• Social modeling
• Humanistic
• All basically good

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Current Psychological Perspectives on SM

• deviant behavior
• Mental illness? Insanity?
• Psychology recognizes the contribution of
• sociology
• biology

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Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977)
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Social Learning Theory (continued)

• Modeling
• Bo-bo doll experiments
• Media violence?
• Recent controversies on video games
• Why violent crime reduction?
• Probably a weak explanation for SM

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Diathesis-Stress

• A more quasi-medical approach to psychology than
  is social learning theory
• Assumes deviant behavior results from a
  disorder which is internal to the individual
• However, not a deterministic model
• diathesis Biological or personality
  predisposition
• stress life events
• Thus crime (or any disorder) results from an
  interaction of a predisposition for that disorder
  with life stress in the absence of coping skills.
• Still view SM as disorder
• Consistent with Hickey
• But is SM necessarily a disorder

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Diathesis-Stress (continued)

• Multiaxial classification of disorders
• Not one, but two types of disorders may produce
  criminal behavior
• AXIS I Clinical/Mental Disorders(depression,
  schizophrenia, etc.)
• Most (e.g. depression) do not imply loss of
  rational thought
• Generally speaking only psychotic disorders may
  result in decreases in rational thought
• Contrary to what you might hear, psychotics ARE
  somewhat more likely to engage in crime, however
• Most crime is nuisance crime
• Violent crime is disorganized in nature
• Most criminals are not psychotic

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AXIS II

• AXIS II disorders include mental retardation and
  (more importantly) personality disorders
• These are not mental illnesses, nor are they
  generally curable or treatable
• Personality disorders imply that the persons
  thought patterns, interpretations of the world
  and behavior are deviantand this is how they
  naturally are
• not a mental illness
• life long and pervasive
• personality is virtually unchangeable--no
  empirically validated treatments exist for
  personality disorders

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Antisocial Personality Disorder

• Antisocial Personality Disorder (Psychopathy,
  Sociopathy)
• Hedonistic calculus
• No empathy/guilt/remorse
• Violate rights/well-being of others
• Usually highly charming, above average
  intelligence
• Thrill seeking behavior
• 4 of males 1 of females in US
• highly associated with crime in both males and
  females (e.g. Salekin et al., 1997 Hare, 1983).
• Sadistic Subtype (Millon, 1996)
• However, not all psychopaths are criminals, not
  all criminals are psychopaths

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Sadistic Personality Disorder

• Theodore Millon
• Not in DSM-IV-TR as official diagnosis
• Similar in some regards to APD, but
• Motive differs somewhat
• Hares psychopathy