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Nature vs. Nurture Have you ever wondered what enters a persons mind when they decide to commit a horrible crime such as murder? I have often read of such brutal cases in the newspaper or on television and was curious as to what they were thinking and why they had done it. What would make a person take another's life? Many doctors will often try to analyze the mind to seek out those answers. They usually discover more knowledge of the individual by closely examining or questioning other family members and the type of childhood this person has had but what often confuses me is when someone has had no history of abuse and so forth, then what is the reason for computing such an act?
Is it because of genetics or environmental influences? After all the interesting researching Ive done, I can honestly say that I can not take sides on the nature vs. nurture debate because I believe together, they both shape us, although if I had to choose one, I believe nurture plays a bigger part in who we become as adults. I believe a person gets certain traits from their parents. These traits include everything from the persons sex to their mental abilities or problems. The traits are hereditary because they are passed on through genes.
They even inherit abilities of their parents, such as an natural talent for music. It is believed though that children are not born with a natural affinity for violence and crime since there is no such thing as a crime gene. (Moir 038; Jersey) You can inherit a predisposition to crime but you will not necessarily be a criminal if you can suppress (handout) the trait. It is also believed the way parents raise their kids, within reason, does not matter at all. Parents do not have any important long-term effects on the development of their childs personality apart from the genes they have inherited (Yang) but instead its the environment you are in which may affect how you develop.
Individuals are effected by the environment, and the activities they see. Stereotyping and gender roles are examples in which influences ones way of thinking and people act to fulfill these expectations. Self-esteem also has a lot to do with how successful a person can be in overcoming obstacles in their life which can be influenced by their environmental conditions too. There is also the Labeling theory which says that once a person is perceived in a certain manner, they will behave in the way society now expects them to. Early theorists also emphasize on the fact that people learn behaviors by observing the behavior of others. (Strassen Berger) If we have children growing up observing daily, the destruction and turmoil of a ever so fast-paced changing society, we can only guess what will become of them. Theorists speculate the factors for people committing murder are sociocultural, psychological, and biological conditions.
Biologically, research has shown that serial murderers have organic disorders of their central nervous systems, which can result from biochemical imbalances, genetic disorders, or injuries to the brain. (Lindner) Sociocultural theorists focus on how individuals bond to society. Criminals attachment to society is very weak. (Lindner) Psychologically, researchers believe that motivation comes from the unconscious mental process. (Lindner) What ever causes a person to act a certain way is, the least to say a controversial topic. It may be from inherited traits, learned from society and family, or even a combination of both. In this case, an exact answer will probably never be known.
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