Abstract
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.
Highlights
Since the recruitment process, Italian Mafias impose on their members a strict code of conduct
At the time of testing, they differed in periods of detention (t(98) = −5.58; p < 0.001): organized crime (OC) offenders had been staying in prison on average for 12.7 years (SD = 9.2), while non-OC prisoners were incarcerated on average for 4.9 years (SD = 3.5) (Table 1)
Such a difference was expected because of the Italian Law System: for the same crime committed, OC members received a harsher sentence than non-OC individuals, because they are convicted of Mafia association
Summary
Italian Mafias impose on their members a strict code of conduct. On the basis of the most recent neurocognitive models of frontal lobe functioning[7,8], we used a series of computerized cognitive tasks investigating planning, working memory, risk-taking behavior, flexibility, inhibition, and sustained attention.
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