Violent crime has been an ongoing problem for our society for as long as I can remember. The damages associated with violent crime included; physical, psychological and emotional damages as well as property and monetary damages. Lawmakers, researchers and policy makers have been studying what they believe to be the main cause of violent behavior in human in order to have a better understanding of this particular type of behavior. There are two widely known ideas about the cause of violent behavior; biological and social. The supporters of the biological ideas argue that violent behavior is caused by the DNA and genetically differences in human. The supporters of the social ideas on the other hand, argue that violent behavior is caused by the …show more content…
According to (Arjun, 2014)., “Recent research conducted by Stanford University biologists Robert M. Sapolsky and Lisa J found that even wild baboons, which are among the most aggressive animals on the planet are not genetically mandated to be violent. The study provides the very first field evidence that primates can go the peaceful route, and if aggressive behavior in baboons is a result of cultural traits rather than a biological factor, it could provide some insight into the same phenomenon with human beings, given the fact that our genetics are extremely similar.” This study proves that even a wild aggressive animal can choose to go the peaceful route regardless of their genetics. It wouldn’t make much sense to me if we were to blame biological factor entirely for the violent behavior in human …show more content…
In my opinion, there is one main thing that we need to focus on which is family. I believe that family is the root of everything including violent behavior. According to (Patrick, 1995)., “Policymakers at last are coming to recognize the connection between the breakdown of American families and various social problems. The unfolding debate over welfare reform, for instance, has been shaped by the wide acceptance in recent years that children born into single-parent families are much more likely than children of intact families to fall into poverty and welfare dependence themselves in later years. These children, in fact, face a daunting array of problems.” The importance of the family cannot be overemphasized because family is a first line of defense when it comes to crime prevention regardless of the type of
All around the globe, people have attempted to find an organic, genetic basis for aggressive behavior. Several hormones and neurotransmitters, such as testosterone and seretonin, have been implicated in the "aggression quest", as well as specific localities of the human brain. My paper will serve to suggest that although many findings have shown impressive results regarding possible biological causes of violent behavior, we still do not have sufficient means to understand the neuroanatomical or biochemical basis of aggression.
Do you believe violence is rooted into human nature?
Nature versus nurture has been argued in attempt to understand how criminals behave. The theory of what influences psychopath and serial killers’ violent and destructive pathways has not been agreed on till this day. Criminals such as psychopaths and serial killers have been researched for the past two decades. Scientists have found that genetics is a determining factor of who becomes a serial killer. It is important to understand the determinants involved within a serial killer, because if these social and environmental causes are discovered, they can be altered and controlled to reduce crime (Lykken, 1993). With more studies, we would therefore prevent mass murders and could assist in significant reductions of crime within society.
My argument is that animal behavior can explain a very basic level of human behavior. “Evolution can explain why humans exhibit aggression because it is a primal emotion like any other, experts say” (Whipps). If we can accept and support the idea that children possess the basic need of love when they are being raised, then we must realize that this concept was first witnessed and tested in animals. The presence of compassion and love in the early life of an offspring raises his/her potential for success and increases his/her quality of life for a longer length of time. As biologist David Carrier agrees, he states that “[j]ust as compassion for your offspring increases your genes' chance of survival, violent tendencies may have been similarly useful for some species”
For decades researchers have speculated about the relationship between levels of violence, and societal conditions such as poverty, urbanism, population composition, and family disruption. National and international level research has concluded that each of these factors are related to crime rates and their trends overtime (Avison & Loring, 1986; Lafree, 1999, Lauristen & Carbone-Lopez, 2011). To examine these factors more closely we should recognize that they are the foundation of many criminological theories, both motivational and control, applied to the macro and individual level. Specifically, these include social disorganization theory (Shaw & MCkay, 1942), anomie-strain theory (Merton, 1968), violent subcultural theories (Anderson, 1999), social bond theory (Hirschi, 1969), self-control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), and biosocial perspectives (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1983).
The article starts with a brief anecdote that gives a good example of childhood behavior, observing how her son at a very early age showed signs of aggressive behavior through his love of predatory dinosaurs, which being so young had not been influenced by society very much. She questions why her son would want to pretend to gnaw off her leg. Why would he do such a thing if he was not biologically engineered to do so? To support this claim Blum consults a behavioral endocrinologist at the University of California, Marc Breedlove, on the topic. He claims that “Yes, we’re born with predispositions, but its society that amplifies them, exaggerates them. (He) believes that – except for the sex differences in aggression, those [differences] are too massive to be explained simply by society” (574). This excellent use of a professional testimony sets up the stage for her next more factual section of the article exploring statically how men and women differ in criminal activity, namely aggressive behavior.
The violence takes place when the criminal uses the intentional power of threat or physical violence against any individual victim, community and minority group. The violent act considered as manslaughters, murder, physical assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, and robbery or burglary. In this research essay, I will analysis the causes and its methods to reduce the violent crime through different theoretical perspective. The violent crime refers on the basis of gender, age, community and neighborhood.
Pirruzia, T (2011).Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Literature Reviews. (n.d.). Chapter 1: Biosocial Theory. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume5/chapter01_biosocial_theory.aspx
Many experts do not accept that biology alone creates children who kill. They believe that violence is a learned behavior. Being abused or witnessing domestic violence is an environmental factor in ju...
Crime is a highly complex and important problem that changes across cultures and across time. This briefing provides a summary of some of the key explanations that try to explain the causes of crime. It is by no means a thorough list. Each of the explanations covered has its own strengths and weaknesses, has gaps and may only be related to certain types of crime, and not others. There is no “right” or “wrong” explanation to justify it.
There has always been a fascination with trying to determine what causes an individual to become a criminal? Of course a large part of that fascination has to do with the want to reduce crime, and to determine if there is a way to detect and prevent individuals from committing crime. Determining what causes criminality is still not perfectly clear and likewise, there is still debate as to whether crime is caused biologically, environmentally, or socially. Furthermore, the debate is directly correlated to the notion of 'nurture vs nature'. Over time many researchers have presented various theories pertaining to what causes criminal behavior. There are many theories that either support or oppose the concept of crime being biological rather than a learned behavior.
In this article the two authors research the connection between genetic factors and criminal behavior. They look at the causes that make someone act in a criminal way. There are several factors looked at in connection to the cause such as social factors and environmental variables. The social factors being the more examined of the two. They hypothesized that other factors in performance or alone with environmental variables would lead to better understanding of why some people become criminal. The genetic factor of influence due to mental disorders was posed to have a slight role in affecting people to show criminal behavior. Another cause looked at was the combination of genetic and environmental factors, with a possible result of having a higher risk for criminal behavior.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behaviour, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory, psychosis and brain injury theory. In the next few paragraphs examples of each will be shown.
Different schools of thought propose varying theoretical models of criminality. It is agreeable that criminal behaviour is deep rooted in societies and screams for attention. Biological, Social ecological and psychological model theories are key to helping researchers gain deeper comprehension of criminal behaviour and ways to avert them before they become a menace to society. All these theories put forward a multitude of factors on the outlooks on crime. All these theories have valid relevancy to continuous research on criminal behaviour.