A process model of white-collar crime postulates that the etiology of this form of crime is incomplete without consideration of individual differences in neurobiology. Based on prior research, this study tests the primary hypothesis that “gray-collar crime” (GCC; offending on the margin of more serious white-collar crimes) would be associated with increased frontal lobe volume. Secondary analyses explored which frontal subregions, if any, would be associated with gray-collar offending.
Method:
Gray-collar offending and blue-collar criminal offending were assessed in 129 community males. Total frontal lobe, anterior cingulate, superior frontal, middle frontal, inferior frontal, and orbitofrontal volumes were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging.
Results:
Increased frontal volume was associated with increased gray-collar offending. Frontal volume remained significant after controlling for ethnicity, age, intelligence, whole brain volume, and blue-collar crime covariates, explaining 4.6 percent of the variance in GCC. Within the frontal lobe, findings were localized to superior frontal and anterior cingulate cortex, both before and after controlling for covariates.
Conclusions:
Findings provide preliminary evidence of increased frontal volume as a neural correlate of gray-collar offending and support a process model which hypothesizes that frontal lobe volume may provide some individuals with an advantage in perpetrating criminal offenses in occupational and avocational settings.
AlvarezJulie A.EmoryEugene. 2006. “Executive Function and the Frontal Lobes: A Meta-analytic Review.” Neuropsychology Review16:17–42.
2.
BarnettC.2000. The Measurement of White-collar Crime Using Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Data. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
3.
BarcelóFranciscoKnightRobert T.. 2002. “Both Random and Perseveration Errors Underlie WCST Deficits in Prefrontal Patients.” Neuropsychologia40:349–56.
4.
BarkleyRussell. A.1996. “Linkages between Attention and Executive Functions.” Pp. 307–25 in Attention, Memory, and Executive Function, edited by LyonG. R.KrasnegorN. A.. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
5.
BenjaminiYoavHochbergYosef. 1995. “Controlling the False Discovery Rate: A Practical and Powerful Approach to Multiple Testing.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B57:289–300.
6.
BensonMichael L.2002. Crime and the Life-course: An Introduction. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.
7.
BensonMichael L.KerleyKent R.. 2001. “Life Course Criminology and White Collar Crime.” Pp. 121–36 in Contemporary Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice: Essays in Honor of Gil Geis, edited by PontellHenry N.SchichorDavid. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
8.
BensonMichael L.ManchakSarah L.. 2014. “The Psychology of White-collar Crime.” in Oxford Handbooks Online in Criminology and Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.
9.
BlickleG.SchlegelA.FassbenderP.KleinU.. 2006. Some Personality Correlates of Business White-collar Crime. Applied Psychology55: 220–33.
10.
BoesAaron D.TranelDanielAndersonSteven W.NopoulosPeg. 2008. “Right Anterior Cingulate Cortex Volume Is a Neuroanatomical Correlate of Aggression and Defiance in Boys.” Behavioral Neuroscience122:677–84.
11.
BraithwaiteJohn. 1985. “White-collar Crime.” Annual Review of Sociology11:1–25.
12.
BrowerM. C.PriceB. H.. 2001. “Neuropsychiatry of Frontal Lobe Dysfunction in Violent and Criminal Behaviour: A Critical Review.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry71:720–26.
13.
BucknerR. L.HeadD.ParkerJ.FotenosA. F.MarcusD.MorrisJ. C.SnyderA. Z.. 2004. A Unified Approach for Morphometric and Functional Data Analysis in Young, Old, and Demented Adults Using Automated Atlas-based Head Size Normalization: Reliability and Validation against Manual Measurement of Total Intracranial Volume. Neuroimage23: 724–38.
14.
BushGeorgeLuuPhanPosnerMichael I.. 2000. “Cognitive and Emotional Influences in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences4:215–22.
15.
CarterCameron. S.BotvinickMatthew M.CohenJonathan D.. 1999. “The Contribution of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex to Executive Processes in Cognition.” Reviews in the Neurosciences10:49–57.
16.
ChayerCelineFreedmanMorris. 2001. “Frontal Lobe Functions.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports1:547–52.
17.
ChenZi-Xiang.LiXueLiangChun-YuWangLi-LiMeiWeiZhangQiangZhaoHu. 2015. “Specific Marker of Feigned Memory Impairment: The Activation of Left Superior Frontal Gyrus.” Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine36:164–71.
18.
ChibnallStevenSaundersPeter. 1977. “Worlds Apart: Notes on the Social Reality of Corruption.” British Journal of Sociology28:138–54.
19.
ColemanJames William. 1989. The Criminal Elite: The Sociology of White-collar Crime. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
20.
CollinsJudith M.SchmidtFrank L.. 1993. “Personality, Integrity, and White-collar Crime: A Construct Validity Study.” Personnel Psychology46:295–311.
DencklaMartha Bridge. 1996. “A Theory and Model of Executive Function: A Neuropsychological Perspective.” Pp. 263–78 in Attention, Memory, and Executive Function, edited by LyonG. R.KrasnegorN. A.. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
23.
DevinskyOrrinMorrellMartha J.VogtBrent A.. 1995. “Contributions of Anterior Cingulate Cortex to Behaviour.” Brain118:279–306.
24.
D.K. 2017. The Crime Book. New York: Penguin.
25.
du BoisgueheneucFoucaudLevyRichardVolleEmmanuelleSeassauMagaliDuffauHughesKinkingnehunSergeSamsonYvesZhangSandyDuboisBruno. 2006. “Functions of the Left Superior Frontal Gyrus in Humans: A Lesion Study.” Brain129:3315–28.
26.
FalquezRosaluxCoutoBlasIbanezAgustinFreitagMartin T.BergerMoritzArensElizabeth A.LangSimoneBarnowSven. 2014. “Detaching from the Negative by Reappraisal: The Role of Right Superior Frontal Gyrus.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience8:1–16.
FinchamJon M.AndersonJohn R.. 2006. “Distinct Roles of the Anterior Cingulate and Prefrontal Cortex in the Acquisition and Performance of a Cognitive Skill.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America103:12941–46.
29.
FischlB.DaleA. M.. 2000. Measuring the Thickness of the Human Cerebral Cortex from Magnetic Resonance Images. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America97:11050–55.
30.
FischlB.SerenoM. I.DaleA. M.. 1999. Cortical Surface-based Analysis. II: Inflation, Flattening, and a Surface-based Coordinate System. Neuroimage9:195–207.
GaoYuRaineAdrian. 2010. “Successful and Unsuccessful Psychopaths: A Neurobiological Model.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law28:194–210.
34.
GaoY.RaineA.SchugR. A.. 2011. P3 Event-related Potentials and Childhood Maltreatment in Successful and Unsuccessful Psychopaths. Brain and Cognition77:176–82.
35.
GaoY.RaineA.SchugR. A.. 2012. Somatic Aphasia: Mismatch of Body Sensations with Autonomic Stress Reactivity in Psychopathy. Biological Psychology90: 228–33.
36.
GehringWilliam J.WilloughbyAdrian R.. 2002. “The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Rapid Processing of Monetary Gains and Losses.” Science295:2279–82.
37.
GiulianiNicole R.GrossJames J.. 2009. “Reappraisal.” Pp. 329–30 in Oxford Companion to the Affective Sciences, edited by SanderD.SchererK. R.. New York: Oxford University Press.
38.
GlennAndrea L.RaineAdrian. 2014. “Neurocriminology: Implications for the Punishment, Prediction and Prevention of Criminal Behavior.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience15:54–63.
39.
GottfredsonMichael R.HirschiTravis. 1990. A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
40.
HairJoseph F.BlackWilliam C.BabinBarry J.AndersonRolph E.. 2009. Multivariate Data Analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
41.
HawkinsKeith A.TrobstKrista K.. 2000. “Frontal Lobe Dysfunction and Aggression: Conceptual Issues and Research Findings.” Aggression and Violent Behavior5:147–57.
42.
HoltfreterKristy. 2005. “Is Occupational Fraud “Typical” White-collar Crime? A Comparison of Individual and Organizational Characteristics.” Journal of Criminal Justice33:353–65.
43.
HuSienIdeJaime S.ZhangShengLiChiang-Shan R.. 2016. “The Right Superior Frontal Gyrus and Individual Variation in Proactive Control of Impulsive Response.” Journal of Neuroscience36:12688–96.
44.
KandelElizabethFreedDavid. 1989. “Frontal-lobe Dysfunction and Antisocial Behavior: A Review.” Journal of Clinical Psychology45:404–13.
45.
KennedyDavid N.LangeNicholasMakrisNikosBatesJuliannaMeyerJamesCavinessVerne S.Jr. 1998. “Gyri of the Human Neocortex: An MRI-based Analysis of Volume and Variance.” Cerebral Cortex8:372–84.
46.
KennerleySteven W.WaltonMark E.BehrensTimothy E. J.BuckleyMark J.RushmoreMatthew F. S.. 2006. “Optimal Decision Making and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex.” Nature Neuroscience9:940–47.
47.
KlenowskiPaul. M.DodsonKimberly D.. 2016. “Who Commits White-collar Crime, and What Do We Know about Them?” Pp. 101–26 in The Oxford Handbook of White-collar Crime, edited by Van SlykeS. R.BensonM. L.CullenF. T.. New York: Oxford University Press.
48.
LaneScott D.KjomeKimberly L.Gerard MoellerF.. 2011. “Neuropsychiatry of Aggression.” Neurologic Clinics29:49–vii.
49.
LangtonLynnPiqueroNicole Leeper. 2007. “Can General Strain Theory Explain White-collar Crime? A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship between Strain and Select White-collar Offenses.” Journal of Criminal Justice35:1–15.
50.
LeviMichael. 2013. “Individual Differences and White-collar Crime.” Pp. 469–73 in Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory, edited by CullenFrancis T.WilcoxPamela. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
51.
LittleRoderick J. A.RubinDonald B.. 2002. Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley.
52.
MaguireEleanor. A.WoollettKatherineSpiersHugo J.. 2006. “London Taxi Drivers and Bus Drivers: A Structural MRI and Neuropsychological Analysis.” Hippocampus16:1091–1101.
53.
ManlyTomRobertsonIan H.. 1997. “Sustained Attention and the Frontal Lobes.” Pp. 135–53 in Methodology of Frontal and Executive Function, edited by RabbittP.Hove, England: Psychology Press.
54.
MenardScottMorrisRobert G.GerberJurgCoveyHerbert C.. 2011. “Distribution and Correlates of Self-reported Crimes of Trust.” Deviant Behavior32:877–917.
55.
MiyakeAkiraFriedmanNaomi P.EmersonMichael J.WitzkiAlexander H.HowerterAmyWagerTor D.. 2000. “The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis.” Cognitive Psychology41:49–100.
56.
MorseStephen. 2011. “Avoiding Irrational Neurolaw Exuberance: A Plea for Neuromodesty.” Law, Innovation and Technology3:209–28.
57.
MulertChristophSeifertChristianLeichtGregorKirschValerieErtlMatthiasKarchSusanneMoosmannMatthiasLutzJurgenMollerHans-JurgenHegerlUlrichPogarellOliverJagerLorenz. 2008. “Single-trial Coupling of EEG and fMRI Reveals the Involvement of Early Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activation in Effortful Decision Making.” Neuroimage42:158–68.
58.
OteroTulio M.BarkerLauren A.. 2014. “The Frontal Lobes and Executive Functioning.” Pp. 29–44 in Handbook of Executive Functioning, edited by GoldsteinS.NaglieriJ.. New York: Springer.
59.
PaternosterRaymondSimpsonSally. 1993. “A Rational Choice Theory of Corporate Crime.” Pp. 37–51 in Routine Activities and Rational Choice Theory, edited by ClarkeR. V.FelsonM.. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
60.
PausTomasKoskiLisaCaramanosZografosWestburyChris F.. 1998. “Regional Differences in the Effects of Task Difficulty and Motor Output on Blood Flow Response in the Human Anterior Cingulate Cortex: A Review of 107 PET Activation Studies.” Neuroreport9:R37–R47.
61.
PenningtonBruce F.BennettoLoisaMcAleerOwenRobertsRalph J.. 1996. “Executive Functions and Working Memory: Theoretical and Measurement Issues.” Pp. 327–48 in Attention, Memory, and Executive Function, edited by LyonG. R.KrasnegorN. A.. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
62.
PerriFrank. S.2013. Visionaries or False Prophets. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice29:331–50.
63.
PerriFrank. S.LichtenwaldTerrance G.MieczkowskaEdyta M.. 2014. “Sutherland, Cleckley and Beyond: White-collar Crime and Psychopathy.” International Journal of Psychological Studies6:71–88.
64.
PiqueroNicole LeeperLyn ExumM.SimpsonSally S.. 2005. “Integrating the Desire-for-control and Rational Choice in a Corporate Crime Context.” Justice Quarterly22:252–80.
65.
PiqueroNicole LeeperSchoepferAndreaLangtonLynn. 2010. “Completely out of Control or the Desire to be in Complete Control? How Low Self-control and the Desire for Control Relate to Corporate Offending.” Crime & Delinquency56:627–47.
66.
RaineAdrianLauferWilliam S.YangYalingNarrKatherine L.ThompsonPaulTogaArthur W.. 2012. “Increased Executive Functioning, Attention, and Cortical Thickness in White-collar Criminals.” Human Brain Mapping33:2932–40.
67.
RaineAdrianYangYaling. 2006. “Neural Foundations to Moral Reasoning and Antisocial Behavior.” Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience1:203–13.
68.
RaineAdrianYangYalingNarrKatherine L.TogaArthur W.. 2011. “Sex Differences in Orbitofrontal Gray as a Partial Explanation for Sex Differences in Antisocial Personality.” Molecular Psychiatry16:227–36.
69.
ReedGary E.YeagerPeter Cleary. 1996. “Organizational Offending and Neoclassical Criminology: Challenging the Reach of a General Theory of Crime.” Criminology34:357–82.
70.
RomineCassandra B.ReynoldsCecil R.. 2005. “A Model of the Development of Frontal Lobe Functioning: Findings from a Meta-analysis.” Applied Neuropsychology12:190–201.
71.
RossEdward A.1977. “The Criminaloid.” Pp. 29–37 in White-collar Crime, Revised, edited by GeisGilbertMeierRobert F.. New York: Macmillan.
72.
SchaferJoseph L.OlsenMaren K.. 1998. “Multiple Imputation for Multivariate Missing-data Problems: A Data Analyst’s Perspective.” Multivariate Behavioral Research33:545–71.
73.
SchoepferAndreaPiqueroNicole LeeperLangtonLynn. 2013. “Low Self-control versus the Desire-for-control: An Empirical Test of White-collar Crime and Conventional Crime.” Deviant Behavior35:197–214.
74.
SerucaTaniaSilvaCarlos F.. 2016. “Executive Functioning in Criminal Behavior: Differentiating between Types of Crime and Exploring the Relation between Shifting, Inhibition, and Anger. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health15:235–46.
75.
ShapiroSusan P.1990. “Collaring the Crime, not the Criminal: Reconsidering the Concept of White-collar Crime.” American Sociological Review55:346–65.
76.
SharkeyPatrickBesbrisMaxFriedsonMichael. 2018. “Poverty and Crime.” Pp. 623–36 in The Oxford Handbook of the Social Science of Poverty, edited by BradyDavidBurtonLinda M.. New York: Oxford University Press.
77.
ShoverNealHochstetlerAndrew. 2005. Choosing White-collar Crime. New York: Cambridge University Press.
78.
SimpsonSally S.2013. “White-collar Crime: A Review of Recent Developments and Promising Directions for Future Research.” Annual Review of Sociology39:309–31.
79.
SimpsonSally S.PiqueroNicole Leeper. 2002. “Low Self-control, Organizational Theory, and Corporate Crime.” Law & Society Review36:509–48.
80.
SterneJonathan A. C.WhiteIan R.CarlinJohn B.SprattMichaelRoystonPatrickKenwardMichael G.WoodAngela M.CarpenterJames R.. 2009. “Multiple Imputation for Missing Data in Epidemiological and Clinical Research: Potential and Pitfalls.” British Medical Journal338:b2393.
81.
StotlandEzra. 1977. “White Collar Criminals.” Journal of Social Issues33:179–96.
82.
StussDonald T.AlexanderMichael P.. 2000. “Executive Functions and the Frontal Lobes: A Conceptual View.” Psychological Research63:289–98.
83.
SutherlandEdwin H.1940. “White-collar Criminality.” American Sociological Review5:1–12.
84.
TangneyJune PriceStuewigJeffMashekDebra J.. 2007. Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior. Annual Review of Psychology58:345–72.
85.
TroyerAngela K.MoscovitchMorrisWinocurGordonAlexanderMichael P.StussDon. 1998. “Clustering and Switching on Verbal Fluency: The Effects of Focal Frontal- and Temporal-lobe Lesions.” Neuropsychologia36:499–504.
86.
Van VeenVincentCohenJonathan D.BotvinickMatthew M.StengerV. AndrewCarterCameron S.. 2001. “Anterior Cingulate Cortex, Conflict Monitoring, and Levels of Processing.” Neuroimage14:1302–8.
87.
WechslerDavid. 1997. WAIS-III Administration and Scoring Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
88.
WeisburdDavidWaringElinChayetEllen F.. 2001. White-collar Crime and Criminal Careers. New York: Cambridge University Press.
89.
WeisburdDavidWheelerStantonWaringElinBodeNancy. 1991. Crimes of the Middle Classes: White-collar Offenders in the Federal Courts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
90.
WelshMarilyn C.2002. “Developmental and Clinical Variations in Executive Functions.” Pp. 139–85 in Developmental Variations in Learning: Applications to Social, Executive Function, Language, and Reading Skills, edited by MolfeseD. L.MolfeseV. J.. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
91.
WheelerStantonWeisburdDavidBodeNancy. 1982. “Sentencing the White-collar Offender: Rhetoric and Reality.” American Sociological Review47:641–59.
92.
YangYalingRaineAdrian. 2009. “Prefrontal Structural and Functional Brain Imaging Findings in Antisocial, Violent, and Psychopathic Individuals: A Meta-analysis.” Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging174:81–88.
93.
YangYalingRaineAdrianJoshiAnand A.JoshiShantanuChangYu-TengSchugRobert A.WhelandDavidLeahyRichardNarrKatherine L.. 2012. “Frontal Information Flow and Connectivity in Psychopathy.” British Journal of Psychiatry201:408–9.
94.
YangYalingRaineAdrianNarrKatherine L.LenczToddLaCasseLoriCollettiPatrickTogaArthur W.. 2007. “Localization of Increased Prefrontal White Matter in Pathological Liars.” British Journal of Psychiatry190:174–75.
95.
YuanPengRazNaftali. 2014. “Prefrontal Cortex and Executive Functions in Healthy Adults: A Meta-analysis of Structural Neuroimaging Studies.” Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews42:180–92.
96.
ZohnyHazemDouglasThomasSavulescuJulian. 2018. “Biomarkers for the Rich and Dangerous: Why We Ought to Extend Bioprediction and Bioprevention to White-collar Crime.” Criminal Law and Philosophy. doi: 10.1007/s11572-018-9477-6.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
