Biological Factors and Violence - Research Paper Example

Before going into the discussion regarding how testosterone and other biological factors cause more violence, let us get a better understanding of what testosterone actually is in order to get a better understanding the issue. Testosterone is a sex hormone from the androgen group, which is secreted in the sex-associated organs of males and females. In males, it is secreted in the testes whereas in females, it targets the ovaries. Testosterone levels start decreasing with the increase in age of a person.

Higher levels of testosterone are associated with higher levels of violence in men and women. “Regardless of their gender, the most violent prisoners have higher levels of testosterone than their less violent peers” (Mims, 2011). Researches show that testosterone leads to increase in the criminal behavior of people. “Testosterone levels were highest among male inmates convicted of violent crimes such as rape, homicide and assault” (ScienceDaily, 1997). In a research, which included prisoners, it was proved that such prisoners, who were in the age group of 18 to 35 years, were more violent as caused more problems for the prison administration as compare to older prisoners.

The reason was that in the age group of 18 to 35 years, the levels of testosterone are at peak whereas the levels start decreasing when a person becomes older in age. . “Biological factors do not have to be hereditary. They could be caused by a head injury, poor nutrition, or environmental events, such as exposure to lead paint” (Monahan, 2010). All of these biological factors instruct the mind of a person to adopt some kind of violent behavior. According to the theoretical perspective of behaviorism, most of the people who have higher levels of testosterone commit the crimes of sex and adopt such violent behaviors that are related to sex.

The reason is the testosterone is a sex hormone, which stimulates the sexual organs of a person, and that sexual arousal leads a person commit different kinds of sexual crimes. The role of media in fueling the violent behavior of people is also very influencing. However, media can only influence such people who already have criminal mindset. Such people learn different ways of committing crimes through television and movies and try to practice the learned behaviors. On the other hand, the influence of biological factors is somewhat more considerable because these factors influence every person regardless of mindset, age, or gender.

The working of the human body depends on the instructions that are given to the body parts by the brain. When the biological factors affect the brain of a person, it causes violence in the behavior, which makes a person commit different types of crimes. Therefore, we can say that violent behaviors of people are more closely associated with the biological factors, such as, testosterone, poor nutrition, and head injuries as compared to media. References Dabbs, J., & Hargrove, M. (1997). Age, testosterone, and behavior among female prison inmates.

Psychosomatic Medicine, 59(5), 477-480.