Nature versus Nurture
Noted explorer, anthropologist and cousin of Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton, first used the phrase "Nature versus Nurture" in 1871 (Lewis, 2000). The debate, however, is far older than that as it dates back to the early Greeks, whose literature debated the nature of fate versus free will (Oedipus the King, a play written by the Greek dramatist, Sophocles, c. 497 V 406 B.C.). The nature vs nurture controversy has continued ever since and, although there are scholars who seek to finalise the discussion, it is doubtful this will ever occur. While studies of nature vs nurture are significant in the science of criminology as one means of determining causes of criminal behaviour, it is also present in a multitude of other scientific areas such as sociology, genetics and psychology to mention just a few. The nature vs nurture argument became "biodeterminism vs environmentalism" in the twentieth century (Kimble, 1993). At the end of that century, an interesting compromise was made and "biodeterminism vs environmentalism" became "interactionism" (Gould, 1996). Interactionism focuses on the human being as an active participant in relation to his/her environment, defining the m
This was a cross-fostering adoption study covering over fourteen thousand adoptions in Denmark between 1927 and 1947. This hypothesis is validated by evidence that areas of low socio-economic standards have an increased incidence of crime compared to affluent areas. It is far more logical to accept that the predisposition towards a crime is a combination of both genetics and environment. British Journal of Criminology, 19, 120-133Raine, A. CRIMINALS V BORN OR MADESimplistically put, there are three schools of thought. Evidence from studies carried out on adoptees suggests that the environment alone is not responsible for an individual's tendency towards criminal behaviour. Physiological processes that trigger unlawful activities in individuals are more likely produced by multiple genes acting in combination to create influential proteins and enzymes (Venables & Raine, 1987). This and further studies intended to demonstrate that criminality is hereditary although, in fact, the behaviour could have been learned from family members or the family environment. One study suggested that these effects tend to cancel each other out. ) Applying psychology to imprisonment: theory and practice. Either criminals are a product of their genetic makeup; they are a product of the environment or a combination of both.
Common topics in this essay:
COMBINATION THEORY,
Oedipus King,
Gabrelli Hutchings,
GENETIC THEORY,
John Locke,
Venables Raine,
BORN Simplistically,
Osborn West,
Francis Galton,
Journal Criminology,
criminal behaviour,
vs nurture,
nature vs nurture,
nature vs,
criminal activity,
biodeterminism vs environmentalism,
june 2003 world,
west 1979,
nurture controversy,
osborn west,
rules processing,
person's environment,
combination genetics environment,
nature versus nurture,
combination genetics,
|
Acceptance Essays
