Lester Joseph Gillis, aka George Nelson, was born in 1908. He was killed in 1934 by FBI agents in Illinois three months after his partner in crime, John Dillinger, was found and killed by the FBI. He was 25 when he died. His wife was sentenced a year in jail. He was a bank robber, gangster, smuggler, and killer. He killed more FBI agents in the line of duty than anyone else.
His childhood had everything to do with how and why Lester Gillis became George Nelson. When he was a young teenager, he was in a gang in Chicago. He became known as Baby face Nelson by the members of the gang. As an adult, he was five feet and four inches tall and weighed roughly 133 pounds (FBI, pg.1). This component lead to the violence and disregard he demonstrated towards other people and the law all throughout his life.
The nature vs nurture theory describes that genetics can cause predispositions to mental illnesses, or behaviors that lead people to make poor decisions or even become criminals. (Good Therapy, pg. 1) The reasons behind George Nelson is mostly accountable towards his environment and how he was raised.
From a young age, Nelson proved to have behavioral problems with others. When he was seven, he went to state reformatory for a year after he shot another child in the jaw with a pistol he found. (Nelson Journal, pg. 1) This was an accident, but it would not be the only person that he shot in his life. This kind of behavior in children is genetic because a violent, mean
nurture debate is deeply connected to the extent in which genetics plays a role in or can explain criminal behavior. The nature vs. nurture debate is one of the most debated arguments in psychology. This debate is concerned with whether a person's development is predisposed in their DNA and genetics (nature), or if it is mostly influenced by life experiences and environment (nurture). Nature can be looked at as the pre-wiring of and individual in which an individual’s traits and behavior have come only or mostly from their genetics or DNA. On the other hand, nurture is not influenced by genetic inheritance and biological factors. Nurture is taken as the influence of external factors. These external factors might include life experiences, or influence from parents or from society and surroundings. Decades ago, twin studies used to be almost the only way to compare the influence of genes and the influence of environment on personality and behavior. However, psychologists have recently determined that it is unwise and slightly misleading to have the debate of “nature vs. nurture”. This is because genes combine with the environment to produce complex human traits and behaviors. It is not a matter of whether nature or nurture is responsible for behavioral traits; rather it is a matter of how much of each contribute to behavioral traits. Although it has been concluded by many that both nature and nurture influence behavior, psychologists are still not satisfied to
Another psychologist whose theories support the fact of nurture over nature was Albert Bandura. His social learning theory, in 1977, stated that aggression was learned from the environment through observation and imitation. Overall, his theory was based on a person’s behavior being developed through what they observed in their environment. There aren’t guarantees that their behavior is based on genetics but more on their social interactions and what they choose to
The final confirmed victim of the Zodiac Killer is Paul Stine The taxi driver picked up a passenger on October 11, 1969 in San Fransisco, California. The passenger then shot Stine once in the head with a 9mm pistol. Three teenagers witnessed the crime but there was no valuable information that came from it.
The past violence that the subject and his brother suffered through is a large factor in their need for violent satisfaction. The lack of emotional support and adoration can connect with the subject’s sexual gratification that he achieves through killing. Relentless abuse ongoing throughout childhood backed by neglect in school (often connatural with social mistreatment) can “create a violent, deviant personality” (Pakhomou, 220). Children are greatly impact with what surrounds them. The negativity and violence that are exposed to them will form lasting flashbulb memories that can shape not only their actions in the future but how they understand and perceive life. Violence plays a big part in developing the characteristics of a serial killer, but there are also other components that can lead to a distraught and homicidal person. In a research composed by James Beasley, he presents several different factors of development into becoming a serial killer through the case studies of seven offenders. Offender number three had multiple challenges that led him to become as aggressive and hostile as he was. As a child, his mother was completely absent and was an alcoholic. His stepfather, who physically and verbally abused him, lacked the comfort and attention any child would need. After learning that he would repeat the third grade, his behavior became hostile and he showed a lack of self-esteem. At the age of seven, the subject already began to show
One of today's greatest areas of controversy in the study of human behavior is the nature-nurture debate. The nature argument is that human behavior is determined by our inheritance or genetic structure. The nurture argument is that human behavior is the result of learning and experience from outside factors such as family, religion, media and peers. A question that has been long debated by psychologist and criminologist is whether a serial killer has a weird fate to be a killer or inherently got passed these “evil genes”. This is so controversial because this is what is argued when convicting someone innocent or guilty. Is someone truly guilty of a crime if they are born with a mental illness? It's hard to understand what drives
Q) What was the basis of doctors reasoning to raise David (named Bruce at birth) as a girl? Explain the doctors reasoning in relation to nature versus nurture theories.
Through history, the idea of nature vs. nurture has been a hotly debated issue. Nature, or genetics is often believed to be the most important aspect of a persons’ upbringing, as nature is something intrinsic to any one person. However, many debate that nurture, or the care and encouragement of any human life, trumps nature. The earliest evidence and rebuttals of these theories have been honed and developed over time by specific psychologists and educational theorists – all who hoped to prove their own ideas as fact at one time in history.
Nurture refers to all the environmental factors that influence what kind of people we are. These include our experiences growing up as a child, our relationships with others around us, and the culture that they are accustomed to. Nick Collins's online article, Nature vs. Nurture: Outcome Depends on Where You Live, argued that your environment impacted the person you are and the personalities you develop. “In London, environment played a greater role than genetics- possibly because wealth varies so dramatically within communities, meaning twins growing up on the same street are more likely to fall in with different groups of friends who could influence their behavior” (Collins). Although a pair of twins can be relatively similar when it comes
Is one’s life set in stone right from birth? Or does an individual gain certain qualities through experiences in life? Nature versus nurture has always been a controversial debate, and there are many different theories and explanations that have been provided around the world, and although many of these statements are true, no one has come to an official conclusion that explains this psychological phenomenon. There have been hundreds of studies conducted in order to explain this topic, and the findings can help develop an understanding that can eventually define the truth. By analyzing certain cognitive traits in individuals it is possible to learn whether these certain traits are predisposed or if the environment one grows up in influence the appearance of the traits.
There are a plethora of ideas and theories regarding the developmental psychology behind why people metamorphosize into different personalities and habits later in life. Developmental psychologists have developed several ways to try and determine where the determining factors are in peoples’ lives that cause the differences. Several of the theories tend to have overlaps in parts of the ideas such as the ideas of “nature vs nurture” and that of “social context.” These theories share the overlapping ideas that there are outside influences on the way a person turns out in life. While “nature vs nurture” states that there are outside influences, there is also a counterargument that the genetic make-up of a person is the determining factor for how that person develops later. Even still, there are some who also believe that both arguments of “nature vs nurture” have even attributes on the lives of people.
Nature is like a trigger, where something that happens can change the outcome of someone’s life forever. Many reports have shown people having psychopathic brains, but never acted as one or became one. An evidence is from a quote "if you're raised in a very positive environment, that can have the effect of offsetting the negative effects of some of the other genes". This quote states that a environment can be the reason some traits that your gene possess will not show depending on the environment that you live in. This evidence supports Nurture because it claims that the evidence can change something in one’s genes and ultimately makes one’s destined future a false reality. Another quote is “20 percent of kids who are really susceptible and they may ultimately be triggered for abused or abandoned”, this quote states that Nature is like a trigger where one’s true gene appear when something negative impacts their life in a very large scale. So this supports Nature because it proves a point where a positive environment where negative scenes are not active can change someone’s psychological behavior or completely negate it. These are my reasons that Nurture is more dominant in people’s psychological
The nature vs nurture debate is one that naturalists and empiricists love to have. The naturalists are on the nature side of the debate; they believe that a person's development is primarily influenced by their genetic traits. The empiricists, on the other hand, side with the nurture part of the debate; they believed that a person's development is mostly influenced by the environment they are raised in. Most modern psychologist, however, don’t take such radical approaches. They instead accept that a person’s development is influenced by a mixture of both nature and nurture, although there is still debate over which plays a larger role (McLeod). In my life, both nature and nurture have played key roles in my development as a person and who I
The topic of whether nature or nurture is more important in the shaping of a person's personality. To start off, the heredity is the passing of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another. On the other hand of the debate, the nurture/environment is basically the place a person grew up in, personal experiences, early childhood life etc... The debate has a long history as one of the oldest debates in psychology. The longevity of the debate and the great importance of both aspects of a person's personality makes side picking extremely difficult. However, one side does have an advantage over the other.
The study on Solomon is indicative of the nature verses nurture theory as described by Broderick and Blewlitt(2015). Broderick and Blewlitt (2015) expound on the impact of one’s genetic make-up as well as one’s environment on behavior; indicating both nature and nurture provide integral components to an individual’s development (Broederick & Blewlitt, 2015). Solomon exhibits this theory in his developmental delays, as noted by his inability to recite the alphabet, count or interact appropriately with peers his age as a result of being raised by parents who are addicted to drugs and are incapable of providing for or nurturing his educational needs. Furthermore, behavior of staying up late and sleeping all day is learned behavior as he watches
In regards to being a “natural born killer”, behavior in a person can ultimately be broken down into it’s biological components. Humans have a “warrior gene” built inside of them and sometimes it’s an uncontrollable urge that just releases with little to know warning. For example, on a drastically smaller scale, you get punched in the face and your immediate reaction is to strike back. That feeling, that action is the “warrior gene” inside of you. That’s part of your DNA to adapt and survive. Some people are born with extremely bad tempers. Where do you think that came from? It’s passed down from generation to generation. Men are more common to strike back, have a poor attitude or make a big deal out of something