Nature vs. Nurture Essay

Many people wonder why some people are able to do bad things, even when they know the consequences. To our normal brains there seems to be no reason for doing things like this. However, scientists have discovered that many criminal’s brains are not normal. Scientific studies show that a large majority of convicted criminals have some sort of psychological issue or problem in their brains, which has been shown to affect their behavior.

Biological theories say that crime is caused by genetic or physical defects, with treatment being effective only with the reduction of aggression. Earlier ideas were phrenology, atavism, criminal behavior in families, and somatotypes, then progressing with later theories of biosocial arousal, behavior genetics, and autonomic nervous system to name a few. The causes can range from diet, physical or neurological defects, or just born bad. There have been cases were individuals have been known to receive blows to the head causing them to have some form of head trauma that has been linked to criminal behavior.

The controversial question: "Are criminals born, or made?" is an argument that has been ongoing for many years and is still the subject of debates. There is a number of opposing theories to explain the reasons why an individual commits a crime, from theories claiming there is a genetic predisposition for some individuals to be a criminal to the interactions with others being the sole reason behind criminal acts (Mazerolle, 2009). The biological theory believes that an individual’s criminal behaviour is

There is no perfect formula to accurately predict crime or to understand the criminal elements of the human mind, but there have been many theories that have attempted to explain crime for better or for worse. The 5th edition Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences covers the both the most famous and infamous of criminal theories. Although some ideas are convincing at first they tend to fall flat when new evidence surfaces, so when reading, researching, or just watching the news in general it is important to remain vigilant and impartial as everybody else is entitled to their opinions. Unfortunately societies tend to spread false information quickly, but it is not like it is difficult to change someone’s opinions, however the amount of people with the wrong idea grows into quite a substantial number.

After reading the article I learned important facts such as that we continue to try to control 3,700 years ago since the Babylon's Code of Hammurabi to today. Further more there are an abundant factors and reason why people commit crimes ranging from biology to pure greed. For the biology of humans ressearchers finds that your body can be the one of the factors that will make you commit a crime for example in your brain there two types of neurochemicals that change the level of agression. One is serotonin that lowers the agression and the other that rasise the agression is called Dopamine.The genes of the parent to child can also be a factor, if the parent comited a criminal act in their life their child might cominit one also due to the genes.

Criminal risk prevention tools are critical in preventing crime behavior. There are principles of effective correctional intervention tools which are emergent inquiries. Initially, to predict crime, one must comprehend what constitutes the behaviors which may lead to crime. The variables which best predict criminal conduct are arranged under a primitive argument: nature vs. nurture. It is necessary to compare both elements and note the differences among behavior characteristics. The way that an individual reacts to social norms may influence his or her motives. However, this predictor is one among many which may entail future behavioral issues.

There are five theories relating to an individual’s propensity to engage in criminal activity. There are a few of these theories that are farther reaching than individual choice and genetic makeup. These three theories indicate that people can literally be a product of their environment.

The main research question was to determine if genetic factors alone lead people to become criminals. The article was researched and written by many criminologists and psychologists, Caspi, Moffitt, Silva, Stouthamer-Loeber, Krueger, and Schmutte. The article stated that the researchers found that it's not just genetic factors that lead people to become criminals, but it's genetic factors influenced by environmental factors.

For many years, debates regarding criminal behavior has existed. Psychologists, have debated the difference between “nature and nurture” regarding criminal behavior (Jones n.d.). While some people believe an individual's genetic makeup that makes them a criminal, others believe that the environment great impacts and creates criminal behavior. Researchers, have come to the conclusion that both genetics and the environment contribute to the criminality of an individual (Jones n.d.). Evidence leading to that conclusion, resulted from research conducted on “a number of twins, family, adoption studies, and laboratory experiments” (Jones n.d.). Research results, determined that “genetic predisposition for criminal behavior does not determine the

ot all criminal acts are symptomatic of psychopathology. In any case, the criminal behavior usually derives from genetics or environment. As the saying goes the apple does not fall far from the tree; as a result, the same happens with genetics if a person is from a family that is involved in criminal activity that person will more than likely participate in criminal activity themselves. There is also another saying you are who you hang out with that is referring to one's environment. What I get out of that is if a person does not want to do bad things then they do not need to hang out with bad people who do bad things. If you want to do real good in life increase your education because it seems that a lot of the time I hear about a crime being

The psychological approach to criminal behavior is categorized into the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate. The brain starts to develop early on in life, which means that it is important to start with a good foundational baseline to become a socially functional adult. The psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund Freud, which states that all humans have natural urges and drives that are repressed in the unconscious mind. Thus being, all humans have criminal tendencies. However, these tendencies are curbed by socialization. An individual that is improperly socialized could develop personality disturbances that may cause them to act on his or her antisocial impulses. Those who direct their impulses internally become neurotic, and those who act on their impulses externally become criminal. The next theory is called the cognitive development theory. It states that criminal behavior results from the way that an individual organizes their thoughts around morality and the law. This type of thinking is developed through the three stages of moral

Criminal behavior is defined as an act that violates the public law established by the government. Individuals exhibiting criminal behavior may be subjected to negative consequences such as imprisonment or death penalty. Criminal behavior is normally associated with deviance, which is the violation of norms (Henslin, 2017). The factors which influence the criminal behavior is often debated by researchers, whether they are acquired or inborn. Specifically, scientists who study sociobiology believe that genetic predispositions lead people to engage in deviant or criminal acts (Henslin, 2017). As the study of genetics advance, more biological explanations are utilized to illustrate the variety of crime by race, sex, age, and social class (Henslin, 2017). Individuals who carry certain traits will more likely engage in deviant or criminal acts compared to those people who do not hold these characteristics. According to sociobiologists, females are less likely to exhibit criminal behavior due to the fact that they possess more empathy and greater self-control over their impulses compared to their male counterpart (Henslin, 2017). However, human behavior is highly versatile that it can be shaped by myriad of factors, and not just by genetics alone. Sociologists believe that there are external factors that encourage people to violate norms. They also examine outside influences, such as associations of a certain individual, their social locations, and their membership in

‘While theories which locate the causes of crime in biological differences might provide useful explanations for the behaviour of a minority of offenders, they are very limited as general explanations of criminality’. Discuss.

There are many factors that can drive an individual to break the law, whether it is how the person is raised or if they have a mental illness. I will be comparing and contrasting the difference between how behaviourism, humanism and biological approaches can have an effect on someone which can contribute to them committing crime.

Explaining why people commit crime is not an easy task. Criminologists have attempted to travel down the paths of the reasoning for criminal behavior and the factors that flow with them. Criminologists have developed many theories or perspectives of crime. The perspectives recognize the cause of crime by the related qualifies of criminals and populations with high crime rates. Two perspectives of crime stood out from the wide variety, biological and psychological. In some cases biological and psychological explanations of crime run hand in hand, however the two perspectives focus on very different products of criminal behavior.