To make a criminal one has to have been involved in criminal behaviour. The criminal behaviour that will be mainly discussed in this essay will be of violent nature, or of actions that most countries in this world will consider as criminal behaviour, such as murder, thieving etc. Human beings are social creatures, therefore they shape themselves through behaviour seen from their social surroundings, however biological factors also play a part in what defines them as a person or who they become known as. Opposing arguments such as whether criminals are born or made, involves the argument of nature vs. nurture, where we are able to discuss which factor (biological or environmental) is the most influential in terms of how we behave. This essay will mainly focus on how these influences lead to criminal/aggressive behaviour.
Biological factors such as genes and how our brain functions in terms of hormonal release etc. can be an influence on the way one acts. Criminal behaviour in particular is associated with antisocial behaviour, which may be caused by any internal damage, such as injury, trauma, or even long-term alcohol/drug usage, to the brain. The Amygdala is an important part of the brain that determines ones emotions, so any damage to this area would cause the person to become emotionless or exaggerate their emotions, as they’re not able to control their feelings as desired. Studies using brain-scanning techniques on psychopaths (by Pardini et al, 2014) have further lead to the suggestion that abnormalities of the amygdala can lead to aggressive behaviour, as psychopaths tend to have smaller sized amygdala than a regular citizen, perceived as psychologically ‘normal’ would do so. Pardini et al (2014) elaborates and goes onto suggest that “Men with lower amygdala volume exhibited higher levels of aggression and psychopathic features from childhood to adulthood”, and that children with lower amygdala levels displayed more aggressive behaviour and were prominently violent, than other children with normal sized amygdala. Twin studies is also an effective way of being able to tell if the aggressive behaviour is due to genetic factors or because of environmental factors. This is because if both the monozygotic twins (who share 100% of their genetic information between each other), show aggressive behaviour in a similar way than dizygotic twins, then we are able to suggest that this is more likely because of genetic factors than environmental factors.
Further to this, hormones also play an important role in determining ones aggressive behaviour, which may lead to criminality. Recent studies into gene activities in expressions of criminal behaviour have lead to the discovery of the gene MAOA, a gene mutation of the MAO gene. The MAO is responsible for recycling neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine etc. However, mutation of the MAO to the MAOA gene means that less of the neurotransmitters are broken down, therefore leading to higher levels of aggression displayed by people who have the MAOA gene. Also, as this gene is passed down the X chromosome, more boys are likely to have the attributes displayed because of the mutated gene than girls.
Other factors such as lesions could also be factors in determining whether one will involve them in aggressive/criminal behaviour. Lesions are any damage to the brain that causes the damaged part of the brain to die, leaving it non-functional. Studies of simulation to different areas of animal brain have shown association with a particular type of aggression. For example the medical hypothalamus in a cat’s brain being simulated led to the cat expressing offensive behaviour, whereas simulation of the dorsal hypothalamus in the creature led to the expression of defensive behaviour etc. Phineas Gage was a really popular case study of how biological factors can affect ones behaviour to become aggressive. After an unfortunate accident and injury (in1848), where an iron rod damaged his prefrontal cortex, completely severing it, he became a more aggressive and irresponsible, compared to him being a reliable person prior to the injury. The new characteristics expressed by him, over the course of 11 years after the injury, after the injury was thought to be unbecoming of him. However, one of the weaknesses of this case study is that we cannot possibly generalise single case studies, as other victims of similar injuries may have reacted to the situation differently than Phineas Gage, and his behaviour could be due to other factors (environmental factors) such as his disappointment in his facial disfigurement.
On the other hand, Sutherland’s differential association theory suggests that ones criminal behaviour may not be due to biological factors, but rather due to social and environmental factors, suggesting that criminal behaviour is not inherited but learnt. Adoption studies is a good example to see whether the adoptees have learnt their behaviours from their adopted parents, or whether they inherited their behavioural characteristics from genetic inheritance. This is a good method of comparing nature vs. nurture argument as to where criminal/aggressive behaviours stem from, because the concordance rate between twins cannot possibly be 100%. Also, frustration aggression hypothesis, put forward by Dollard and Miller et al (1939) also aims to explain the aggressive behaviour expressed by some. Frustration aggression hypothesis suggests that ones frustration that cannot be relieved can lead to aggressive behaviour towards others in order to relieve that frustration, which can be in terms of criminal activities. One such example of this type of behaviour can be seen in the American gun shootings that have been occurring in the recent past in America. For example the Freeman High School shooting in Washington on the 13th of September, 2017, where a student was shot to death and 3 more students being wounded, by another student aged 15 years old, occurred because of the shooter being bullied by the victim, and that the shooting was a teaching to bullies on what may happen if they bully others. On the contrary, these type of incidents may be because of how easily and readily available these weapons are to these perpetrators and the general school culture of America, rather than it being solely down to the fact of frustration aggression hypothesis.
In conclusion, criminal behaviour in an individual can be triggered by nature or nurture, however nurture plays a more important role as to how ones behaviour may change or be affected and display a more violent/aggressive nature. This is because, an individual may be born with all the right chemicals and right brain functionalities like Phineas Gage did so, however, due to social factors (nurture) they may be affected in a way where they are forced to become someone else. In case of Phineas, someone more aggressive and irresponsible. Therefore, I disagree with the statement and complete my argument that criminals are made, not born.