Criminal Behavior May Be a Result of Both Heredity and Environmental Factors - Essay Example

Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who died in the electric chair on January 24, 1989. He said he committed 30 homicides but the number is uncertain. People do not know who his real father was. Some believe it might be his own maternal grandfather, Samuel Cowell, an abusive and violent man. Was Bundy’s disposition to crime because of his genes? How about Seung-Hui Cho of the Virginia Tech massacre? During the shooting, he was able to hurt 25 people and kill himself and 32 others. He was diagnosed with severe depression among others. In the package Cho sent to NBC News his hatred for the wealthy was expressed. (Johnson, 2007) However, according to Cho’s sister, theirs was a peaceful and loving family. (Breed and Beard, 2007) Did Cho kill because of his environment? The concept of how individuals become criminals has been an ongoing debate among psychologists and criminologists. For years, a person’s behavior has been attributed to factors either outside or innate in the individual. Because of the data gathered from various researches, this writer believes that criminal behavior may be a result of both heredity and environmental factors. In psychology, there has been a long-standing debate on which specific aspects of a person’s behavior arise from being inherited (nature) or being influenced (nurture). (Mcleod, 2007) Everyone believes that some physical traits of a person such as eye and hair color, height, skin, certain sicknesses are present because they have been passed on by the parents or ancestors. In trying to understand human behavior, the possibility of certain traits producing specific behavioral patterns has also been speculated to come from an individual’s genetic make-up. On the other hand, there are claims stating that, from infancy, a human being behaves in reaction to the outward factors he or she is experiencing. Because there were a number of proofs from both sides to show that heredity and environmental factors can influence a person’s disposition, the question eventually evolved into how much of each is present at a certain situation. Recently, there have been studies claiming that scientists have discovered specific genes that cause criminal behavior, alcoholism and gayness. (Mcleod, 2007) Nevertheless, there has also been research conducted showing how external forces have influenced human behavior, especially in crime. Criminal behavior is one area where the nature/nurture debate is ever present. Since the criminal mind is a truly intriguing thing, oftentimes, it is hard to comprehend how certain individuals are able to come up with ideas of how to inflict harm on others and actually follow through with their plans. Take the case of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. The two were seemingly harmless and unassuming teenagers. They were good friends and attended the same school. They also managed to kill thirteen people before committing suicide in the middle of the day at Columbine High School in Colorado. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the two boys were very angry individuals (Cullen, 1999) and had been planning to kill as many people as possible with their guns and homemade bombs. Lee Harvey Oswald was considered an intelligent boy and was a member of the Civil Air patrol and the United States Marine Corps. (Simkin, n.d.) After trying to shoot General Edwin Walker in 1963, Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy in the head and throat and a policeman who approached him a few hours after JFK’s assassination. (Simkin, n.d.) After all the investigations, historians have yet to figure out why Oswald decided to kill JFK. Until now, people are still curious as to what drove these individuals to perpetrate these killings. Some scientists believe the tendency to commit crimes is innate in the individual. They may not be totally wrong. It used to be the opinion that a person’s outer appearance such as tattoos, beards, shifty eyes, etc. were signs related to criminal behavior. This was called physiognomy. (physiognomy) Naturally, this belief soon evolved into one that delved into within the individual. Phrenology by Franz Gall claimed that the different sections in the brain were responsible for different human functions. (The Positive) Based on this theory, the existence of bumps or bulges on the head was due to the enlargement of the organs that were connected to each powerful trait. (Franz, n.d.) These bumps or bulges, linked to sections of the brain controlling certain traits, were assumed to explain why the person acted a certain way. It was Cesare Lombroso’s idea of the atavist or born criminal that provided an answer to the questions of recidivism in the early times. Lombroso believed that biology, especially brain pathology, can cause violent crime. (Arjunan, 2000) This further encouraged the belief that genetics plays a role in the criminality of a human being. Although Gall’s presumption did not gain much popularity, it helped in the scientific study of personality. Eventually, scientists came to the opinion that a person’s brain was not totally responsible for an individual’s behavior, specifically in committing crimes. Researches began in order to dig deeper into the body for further explanation of a person’s conduct. Observations which focused on the individual himself consequently extended to the individual’s family. It was then hypothesized that an individual leaned towards criminal activities because it was in his blood. Aside from biological factors, it is believed that genetic factors also contribute to a person’s illicit behavior. This means that an individual may perform unlawful acts because he inherited this trait from his family. To gather evidence for this, studies were made on twins and adopted babies. These genetic studies have shown that heritable influences trigger criminal behavior. (Raine, 1993) Numerous researches have illustrated how adopted children perpetrate crimes just like their biological parents. (Hjalmarsson and Lindquist, 2011) Since adopted children are separated from their biological parents since birth, the criminal pattern strongly suggests that there are inherited traits passed on to the babies. It has also been found that being fraternal or identical twins incurs an additional risk for criminal behavior. In the experiment, several fraternal and identical twins were observed and it was discovered that the identical twins had more inclination to crime than fraternal twins. Furthermore, identical twins, although reared apart, were still found to perform criminal acts. These discoveries can be attributed to the fact that identical twins shared more similar genes than fraternal ones. (Criminology, n.d.) Nevertheless, twin and adoption studies have been found less conclusive with regards to violent crimes. (Tehrani and Mednick, n.d.) Conversely, there are those who believe criminals are made because they are exposed to external factors that encourage criminal behavior. This group supports the idea that criminality is due to the various stimulus the individual is exposed to inside and outside the home. Various criminological theories attribute the inclination to commit crime to factors other than genetics. The social disorganization theory is one such model. Proponents of this principle claim that if an individual belongs to a community or neighborhood where people have good relationships with one another, this would prevent crime and delinquency. (Extending, 2003) An example of this is featured in the movie The Departed which showed a young Matt Damon being trained by the Irish mob to infiltrate the police force. The general strain theory also links criminal behavior with outside influences. According to Robert Agnew’s principle, people get upset and involve themselves in crime when they are badly treated. (Kaplan, 2006) Victims of abusive parents are an example. The victims run away from the strain (abusive parents) and participate in illegal activities in attempt to exorcise their pain. According to research done by Steele, Pollock and Martin (Abusive, 2000) where parents with child maltreatment cases joined in psychiatric programs, the abusive parents referred to their own experiences of childhood abuse. Violence in media has also been blamed and seen as affecting audiences, especially the young, and making them prone to criminal behavior. In a study of 329 youth, it was discovered that men and women who often watched violence on television were “significantly” more likely to have committed some type of criminal act and treated people around them in a rough manner. (Huesmann, 2003) This is an illustration of the social learning theory based on Gabriel Tarde’s three laws of imitation. (Williams, n.d.) Proponents of this principle suppose that the development of criminal behavior in an individual is a direct result of observing and following the actions of the people around him. Thus, those who partake in drug usage might do so because they have seen their parents or friends do the same. The rational choice theory is yet another principle researchers use to rationalize human behavior in criminal activities. This is a widely used theory in economics but has since been used in other fields of study. (Green, 2002) Advocates assert that individuals have their own reasoning and use this to weigh what action will bring more benefit to them under the existing circumstances. (Scott, 2000) This is why between going to jail and going hungry a person will decide to go through any means to acquire food. Several other theories exist which criminologists, sociologists and psychologists attempt to use in order to explain an individual’s acts that are against the law. Trying to find the real reason behind a person’s behavior, especially in criminal activities, will probably continue to be a work in progress. The discovery of the gene for criminal behavior has gone a long way in opening society’s eyes that there may be a genetic explanation behind an individual’s predisposition to commit illegal activities. In 2009, an Italian court was reported to have reduced the sentence of a convicted murder because he supposedly had genes linked to violent behavior (Feresin, 2009), proving that some people have come around and accepted the genetic theory. However, there are still researchers who maintain that the individual is influenced by external factors. Moreover, in his research, Raine (1993) admits that results from twin and adoption studies do not show significant genetic influence on violent criminal behavior. The role of genetics in understanding criminal behavior should be studied in correlation with the influence of external factors. If society strives to understand human behavior in order to find an effective solution to criminality, then all possible reasons as to why an individual commits a crime should be taken into account. As it is, people are still theorizing why seemingly normal people can be behind incidents such as the Kennedy assassination and the Virginia Tech massacre. On the other hand, there are also cases where investigations show and offenders themselves admit that the actions were a result of the culprit’s environment. At this point, it is therefore suffice to say that genetics and external stimuli do play a part in a person’s disposition to crime. Hopefully, this insight will trigger new avenues for research and consequently discover an answer to the problem of crime. References: Abusive Parenting and Childrearing Practices. (2000). Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/2000_11_1/page3.html Kaplan, H. (2006) Social Psychological Perspectives on Deviance. In J. Delamater (Ed.) Handbook of Social Pyschology. (451-478). New York, NY: Springer. Arjunan, M. (2000). Cesare Lombroso. Retrieved from http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/lombroso.htm Breed, A. G. and Beard, A. (2007, April 21). Seung-Hui Cho’s parents and sister grieve in isolation, share darkness with victims’ families. [Web log]. Retrieved from http://johnib.wordpress.com/2007/04/21/seung-hui-chos-parents-and-sister-grieve-in-isolation-share-darkness-with-victims-families/ Criminology: Intellectual History – Biological Theories In Criminology. (n.d.) law.jrank.org. Retrieved from http://law.jrank.org/pages/911/Criminology-Intellectual-History-Biological-theories-in-criminology.html Cullen, D. (1999, September 24). “Kill mankind. No one should survive.” About.com. Retrieved from http://history1900s.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=history1900s&cdn=education&tm=28&f=10&su=p284.12.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/09/23/journal/index.html Extending Social Disorganization Theory. (2003 May) Social Disorganization and Rural Communities. OJJDP Bulletin. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/193591/page1.html Franz Joseph Gall. (n.d.) German Biologists. Howstuffworks. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/biologists/franz-joseph-gall-info.htm Green, S. (2002). Rational Choice Theory: An Overview. 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Gabriel Tarde. Retrieved from http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/tarde.htm Read More