Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Cognitive Neuropsychology Centre, ASST "Grande Ospedale Metropolitano" Niguarda, Milano, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2020 May 22;10(1):8559. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65486-z.
Since the recruitment process, Italian Mafias impose on their members a strict code of conduct. These rigid rules regulate their private and public behavior, implying a total adhesion to the group's values. Such juridical and social aspects substantially distinguish organized crime (OC) from ordinary crime. It is still unknown whether these two categories of offenders also show distinctive cognitive traits. Here we investigated the frontal lobe cognitive functions of 50 OC prisoners from the Mafia and 50 non-OC prisoners based on the performance of 50 non-prisoner controls. We found that OC members were more likely to show pathological risk-propensity than non-OC prisoners. We interpret this finding as the result of the internal dynamics of Mafia groups. OC is a worldwide threat, and the identification of cognitive traits behind criminal behavior will help in devising focused prevention policies.
自招募过程以来，意大利黑手党就对其成员强加了严格的行为准则。这些严格的规则规范了他们的私人和公共行为，意味着对该组织价值观的完全坚持。这些法律和社会方面使得有组织犯罪（OC）与普通犯罪明显不同。目前还不清楚这两类罪犯是否也表现出独特的认知特征。在这里，我们根据 50 名非囚犯对照者的表现，调查了来自黑手党的 50 名 OC 囚犯和 50 名非 OC 囚犯的额叶认知功能。我们发现，OC 成员比非 OC 囚犯更有可能表现出病态的冒险倾向。我们将这一发现解释为黑手党集团内部动态的结果。OC 是一种全球性的威胁，确定犯罪行为背后的认知特征将有助于制定有针对性的预防政策。
