Nurture vs. Crime

Many criminal activities are caused by either nature nor nurture. In contemporary century, psychologists and criminologists are more focusing on how nurture effects on criminal behaviors. Changing the nurture would be a better way to prevent people from committing crimes.

Society Environment Parenting Style

Nature: the phenomena of the physical world such as plants, animals or other features on the earth. It also could be the inherent feature of humanity

Nurture: The process of care for or encourage for someone or something’s growth or development. In contemporary century

Crime An action or activity that, although not illegal, is considered to be evil, shameful, or wrong Michael Rocques, Brandon C. Welsh, Adrian Raine9 (July-August 2012) Biosocial criminology and modern crime prevention, Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 40, Issue 4., Pages Retrieved from: Jill Portnoy, Frances R. Chen, Adrian Raine. (September- October 2013 Biological protective factors for antisocial and criminal behavior, Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 41, Issue 45, Pages Retrieved from Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1961), Classics in the History of Psychology, Retrieved from: Lindsay Beller (August 2011) The Making and Unmaking of a Criminal (The magazine for alumni and friends of the Chicago school of professional psychology), Retrieved from: Andrew, S. (2014, March 17). The Reckoning, The father of the Sandy Hook killer searches for answers. The New Yorker, Retrieved from: reckoninghttp:// reckoning VCU ( ), UVA and Swedish researchers discover that childhood environment strongly influences the development of cognitive ability (VCU News)

Reason 1: Children would tend to copy and learn from adult’s action. Evidence: The “bobo doll experiment” is the classic psychology experiment, which study whether a kid would mimic adult’s action or not. The result shows that parenting style could be an early risk factor of criminal behavior and it tend to accumulate and escalate since childhood to adulthood. Boy is even more aggressive than girl because they’ve been taught in different way.

Reason 2: Although IQ would be a risk that cause criminal activity, it can be changed in different environment. Evidence: The scientist found that identical twins or siblings have similar IQs and their IQs can be changed by different parenting environment. Research shows that a member from a pair of sibling who was raised in an adopted family with a high level of education has higher IQ than the other member who was raised in biological family with lower education.

Reason3: Society or cultural could be a reason that cause people become a criminal. Evidence3: Sandy Hook shooting case. In this case, murder’s parents did try to care about their kid, and they did everything they could do as a parent. But it didn’t work. What if the United State make gun illegal, it probably won’t happen. So it’s really a cultural thing and how the society is.

Objection1: Eugenics can be a nature way that prevent criminal activity. Rebuttal1: Eugenics is against the nature. It fell into disfavor after Nazis misunderstanding the meaning of it. Hitler attempted to have a uniform race in order to take control of the world. He could be consider as a crime.

Objection 2: “Research indicates that genetics is responsible for about 50 percent of criminal behavior and that environment accounts for the rest.” Rebuttal2:The research shows criminal’s brain is different from normal people. Brain is something come naturally, it can’t not be easily changed. And also, not everyone who has a “criminal brain” would become a criminal in the future, if the environment won’t inspire this risk factor in his or her brain, he won’t become a criminal.

Objection3: Nurture also can be hard to change Rebuttal: As a school… education (still need source and organize the words)