Modern biosocial theories posit that criminal behavior arises from a complex interplay between biological predispositions and social/environmental factors, rejecting earlier deterministic views.
despite being very popular in the early
20th century biological explanations of
crime fell out of favor entirely for
several decades after world war ii
following the revelations of the
holocaust and the role that those early
theories played in it i have other
videos exploring that in greater depth
which you can check out there are links
in the description below during this
time little serious consideration was
given to biological factors in trying to
understand human nature and it wasn't
until the 1970s that biological factors
started to be taken seriously again but
this time with a clear rejection of
biological determinism in other words
biological factors were not considered
to be the sole cause of criminal
behavior instead these modern biological
theories argue that each individual is
unique and there is no one universal
explanation for criminality often
referred to as biosocial theories they
recognize that while biological factors
can predispose someone toward engaging
in criminal or anti-social behavior the
social environment is also a necessary
component so according to biosocial
theories in the debate over nature
versus nurture the answer is simple both
play an important role and the question
then becomes identifying the extent of
the relative influences of different
biological and social or environmental
factors so let's take a look at some of
these biosocial theories which generally
can be divided into four major areas
genetics biochemical
to build off of the early biological
theories let's start with genetics the
idea is that genetics shape how we
interpret our environment and learn
socially we inherit predispositions to
certain behaviors these behaviors are
more likely to occur given the right set
of social or environmental circumstances
this includes criminal behaviors the
research on genetic influences on crime
particularly look for similarities
between parents and children and also
among siblings a child who has parents
or siblings particularly siblings of the
same sex that are involved in crime are
more likely to engage in crime
themselves studies comparing the
criminal records of twins have found
greater patterns of criminality among
identical twins those who share the same
identical genetic makeup as opposed to
fraternal twins and studies of boys
adopted at birth have found the highest
rates of arrest among boys with both
adoptive and biological fathers with
criminal histories and the lowest rates
were among those with biological or
adoptive fathers who had no criminal
histories so this indicates that there
is likely a genetic influence here but
there is much we don't know about the
nature of this relationship just because
two things are found to be related does
not mean we know exactly how they're
related it doesn't mean that one causes
the other and we don't know exactly what
may have been inherited that relates to
criminality is it genetics
neurophysiology temperament or something
else or are there environmental factors
that may explain the correlation
prenatal care nutrition environmental
toxins susceptibility to alcohol or drug
addiction and many other potential factors
speaking of which this points to the
next set of biosocial theories that
argue crime and especially seemingly
irrational violence is a function of
biochemical imbalances that negatively
influence behavior the research on these
theories primarily focuses on diet
hormones allergies and environmental
contaminants such as lead intake what we
eat or don't eat can certainly influence
our behavior an over or under supply of
certain chemicals and minerals can lead
to psychological imbalances if we eat a
bunch of junk we're not gonna feel as
well such as having too much sugar or
too many high carb foods not eating can
also impact our behavior i myself am
certainly guilty of being hangry after i
haven't gotten food in a while something
that my friends and family members can
certainly attest to if we eat foods that
are good nutritious filling we're going
to feel better and ultimately behave
better another factor is hormonal
influences hormones can cause areas of
the brain to become less sensitive to
environmental stimuli things happening
in the environment that register in the
brain decreasing levels of hormones as
men get older is one theory for
declining crime rates over the life
course environmental contaminants lead
being the most obvious also copper
cadmium mercury and inorganic gases that
can all cause emotional and behavioral
disorders illnesses and even death lead
exposure is a particular concern
especially with its long-term effects on
childhood development in fact the
concentrated effort to eliminate
exposure to leads since the 1970s is one
prominent theory for why crime rates
another set of biosocial theories are
neurophysiological looking at how the
brain functions with the idea that
impairments of executive brain
functioning can lead to increased
impulsive and aggressive behavior thus
increasing the risk of engaging in
criminal behavior this could come in
many different forms one is brain structure
structure
not quite like that no no no we're all
done with that now tumors legions
injuries disease can all cause damage to
the brain itself leading to a greater
risk of depression irritability temper
outbursts and violent attacks some
studies looking at eeg readings of
electrical impulses given off by the
brain have recorded much higher levels
of abnormal readings indicating brain
dysfunction among violent criminals
another is brain chemistry which looks
at abnormal levels of certain
neurotransmitters in the brain such as
dopamine and serotonin which have been
linked to impulsivity hyperactivity lack
of attention and sensation and thrill
seeking for similar reasons some
research has also shown links between
criminality and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder adhd the arousal
theory argues that some people's brains
respond differently to environmental
stimuli and the need for greater levels
of stimulation and sensation can lead
them toward riskier thrill-fulfilling
behaviors including crime and violence
so it's likely that all these factors
are closely related looking at the same
problem through different lenses and
it's difficult to break apart how much
influence each one has i have other
videos on different psychological
theories that explore some of these
connections further there's a link in
the description below you can check that out
and the final area of biosocial theories
is evolutionary theory the major premise
of evolutionary theory is that adaptive
traits became ingrained as humans
evolved because they were necessary for
survival especially when competing for
scarce resources this includes traits
that promote more aggressive and
impulsive behavior and this is one of
the explanations for the differences and
crime patterns between males and females
especially violent crime and while these
traits were highly adaptive in the past
and are still certainly necessary today
to an extent they don't fit in as well
in our modern society especially higher
levels of aggressiveness and impulsivity
and this predisposes some men toward
so that's just a brief overview of some
of the modern biosocial theories of
crime there's a lot more to go over but
that's just the broad strokes there's
certainly sufficient evidence to
indicate there may be a biological
influence on criminal behavior but none
of these biosocial theories are
definitive some have more support than
others and they've been subjected to
only limited testing mostly in clinical
settings with small sample sizes so
there's much we really don't know but
this body of research continues to grow
and if there is indeed a biological
influence on criminality it's important
to remember that it merely predisposes
some individuals to an increased risk of
potential criminal behavior it takes the
right combination of influences in the
social environment to actually trigger
that predisposition which is something
that we're still trying to get a handle on
on
much left to learn you can check out my
other videos on early biological
explanations of crime including the
negative impacts that they had as well
as psychological theories there'll be
links on the screen and the description
below and until next time thank you for
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