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Do both biological(nature) and environmental(nurture) factors play a role in explaining criminal propensities
Biological, psychological, and environmental factors of crime
Do both biological(nature) and environmental(nurture) factors play a role in explaining criminal propensities
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The Biosocial Theory contains three subcategories. The first subcategory is called the “Biochemical factor”, which is believed by some criminologists that there is a direct link between crime and anti-social behavior caused by environmental factors that affect a person’s internal biochemistry. (Siegel & Worrall, 2013, pg. 45) The second subcategory is called the “Neurological Factor”. This is directly related to how a person acts and behaves. If a person has a neurological impairment, individuals will have less self control and can often lead to poor decision making. In adolescence, children with ADHD exhibit signs of anti-social behavior and according to Siegel and Worrall, “result in poor school performance, bullying, stubbornness and
182). Social rejection leads to social isolation and even social ostracism. The deficit in behavioral inhibition lead ADHD students to make choices impulsively and to overreact emotionally (Hallahan et al., 2012, p. 182).
Sociology is the study of society and the interactions that occur within society itself. There are numerous methods of analyzing societies and the way the function, nonetheless, most methods fall in micro and macro level theories. Micro level theories allow sociologist to study smaller relationships such as individual or compact groups of people. On the other hand, macro level studies permit for larger scale investigations to take place. With both of these theories there are three theoretical perspectives used in sociology. Micro level theories include symbolic interactionism which focuses in interactions done with language and gestures and the means which allow such interactions to take place. Macro level theories include structural functionalism
Biological positivism is the theory that there is something biologically inferior about criminals that makes them predisposed to criminality (Vold, et all, 2010). Throughout its history, biological positivism has focused on different aspects of a human’s biology. Its creator, Cesare Lombroso, described criminals as “throwbacks” to primitive peoples in terms of human evolution. He theorized that criminals were physically different than non-criminals. While he described these differences as differences in facial structure, Lombroso’s idea later developed into modern biological positivism that focused on genetics, brain functions, and brain development. This modern view of biological positivism is one of the theories that best describe a primary child psychopath’s development into an adu...
...& Snipes, J. (2010). Biological Factors and Criminal Behavior.Vold's theoretical criminology (6th Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, James and Herrnstein, Richard. "Crime & Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime" New York: Free Press, 1998.
In the eternal exploration into understanding the complex criminal mind, a multitude of theories, in the study of criminology, have flourished. Among these theories is the nature vs nurture debate, which suggest that criminal behavior is either genetically inherited or a consequence of environmental influence. These two views on criminal causation differ in many ways but they are not without their similarities.
When it comes to the biological theories of crime, researchers can examine differences in brain function and development, genetic influences on behavior and conditions, that could potentially cause changes in behavior. While this form of theorizing started in the mid 1800's and was referred to as the Positive School of criminology, it brought a sense of awareness for scientists to examine the reasoning for criminal behavior. Scientists were trying to categorize different methods or perspectives regarding how to determine which individuals were most likely to commit a crime. In my opinion, this chapter was not the easiest to comprehend, but I did find it quite interesting in learning the numbering and definitions of the organs. I knew that we
Theories of crime inferred include the biological theory; positivism, atavism and somatotype. Positivism infers that offenses are made due to many factors outside of the offender’s control, making them crime prone (White and Haines, 2000, pp. 36). Atavism believed ‘criminals were biological throwbacks … people more primitive’ (Bernard and Vold et al., 2010, pp. 38). People committing the coward punch ‘don’t ever develop and many are delayed’ and that it is an atavistic feature that is ‘very primitive.’ (Munro, P. 2014, pp. 3) explains Hickie, executive director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, inferring positivism and atavism. The somatotype theory explains crime is committed by people with muscular builds who enjoy physical activity involving crime. Most criminals are seen as mesomorphs who are muscular, action orientated and aggressive, similar to McNiel’s character who is ‘A labourer with a love of bodybuilding ‘ (Munro, P. 2014, pp. 3).
The case I will be using is about a man named Tyrone Howard who has allegedly shot at a police officer named Randolph Holder. According to the article Howard was already being pursued by officials in another shooting that took place in September. He had been trying to avoid officers during this time until he had crossed paths with Holder and Wallace, another officer with him, and at this point shot Holder. The theories I will be using are psychological and social ecology. The models I am using will be the medical and social.
Although Lombroso’s theory was disproven, Edward O. Wilson wrote a book called Sociobiology. “Wilson (1975) argued that people are biosocial organisms whose behaviors are influenced by both their physical characteristics and the environmental conditions they are faced with.” (Review of the Roots of Youth Violence). This is in turn brought about the biosocial perspective of criminality. Instead of viewing criminals as people governed by their biological instincts to be innate criminals, biosocial theorists believe that physical, environmental, and social conditions interact in many different and complex ways to produce human behaviors. This then began the Nature vs Nurture debate.
Children with ADHD of the hyperactive-impulsive type may show aggressive behaviors, while children of the inattentive type may be more reserved. Since, children with the inability to focus are less disruptive than children who are hyperactive or impulsive, many children who have the inattentive type go undistinguished and untreated and aided properly. Both types of children may be less cooperative with others and not willing to wait their turn or play by the rules. The behaviors associated with ADHD change as children grow older. For example, a preschool child may display hyperactive characteristics—always running or climbing and constantly jumping from one activity to another. Older children may be restless and fidget in their seats or play with their chairs and desks. They may often fail to complete their schoolwork, or make careless mistakes on their work. However, adolescents with ADHD tend to be more isolated and less
Modern positivism is heavily criticised as treating criminal behaviour as a “disease” and therefore searches for a non-existent cure (Henry and Lanier, 2001). Excessive sentences can be justified using positivist ideology under the guise of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, research into biological criminology has created a large pool of data from which we can conclude that criminal behaviour is a result of a variety of factors, but importantly, at least some of those factors are found within the
Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects approximately eight per cent of children in Australia. It is believed that children with ADHD have different brain function to other children, most likely of the frontal lobe. This difference in brain function affects a number of behaviours of these children, such as; focusing their on a task and maintaining that attention, their ability to understand a particular situation, formulate a plan and carry out that plan and to modify any actions as needed. Due to these behaviours children with ADHD can have their learning severely affected. It can also affect their social and peer relationships and self-esteem.
Cohen, Patricia. “Genetic Basis for Crime: A New Look .“ The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 June 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
...dual will engage in criminal behaviors…biological factors are said to increase the likelihood that an individual will engage in criminal behaviors when these factors interact with physiological or social factors.” (Bernard, Snipes, Gerould, p. 55)