http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2165715.stm Hi I found this news article which I found interesting it suggests that their is a gene which causes bad and anti-social behavior Im not completely convinced but I suppose it could provide one explanation for people engaging in behavior which they know is bad. I was wondering if anyone had any comments on the research because it seems to me that science can find a gene for anything these days it wasn't that long ago everyone was going on about the fat gene. Does anyone actually believe it or are they just making excuses for people to make them feel better about the way they look or behave.
This article is very interesting as it makes a strong suggestion that a persons genetic make-up can have a big impact on whether or not they go on to commit anti-social behaviour.
ReplyDeleteIt relates to a gene that controls an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), which when in low levels, there was an increased chance that person would commit anti-social behaviour if they suffered from maltreatment while those who had higher levels were less likely.
I think this is strong proof that nature can be just as influential as nurture in the outcome of a persons behaviour. I feel though, that both are equally influential and that we shouldn't think that it is completly down to genetics how a person behaves, although it is clear that some people are more likely to commit anti-social behaviour if exposed to high levels of maltreatment, stress, etc.
As Professor Stephen Rost, mentions in the article, some people will appear genetically to have a high likelihood of commiting anti-social behaviour yet despite also suffering from maltreatment will go on to live normal, constructive lives.
Also you could suggest that many instances of anti-social behaviour are influenced by a situation or another person and that all of us, if found in a certain situation, are capable of commiting some sort of bad behaviour. For example, punching a fellow human being is seen as anti-social behaviour, yet if you have just caught that person in bed with your wife, then it is likely that you will commit this act, whether or not you have high or low levels of MAOA!
It may be argued that if we can find out through this enzyme, who is more likely to commit a crime it may be easier to prevent, but then would it be right to give a person drugs and treatment to prevent behaviour which they have not even commited and maybe never will? I don't feel this would be fair or right, particularly as such a high number of people who have low MAOA levels, don't actually go on to commit crimes.
Plus there is no mention in this article of what sort of maltreatment these individuals were subjected to, as whether it was mild or more severe maltreatment would obviously have a huge impact. I would also ask were all individuals subjected to the same maltreatment? This I very much doubt and therefore you could argue that many of those who commited crimes, may have purely reacted this way because they suffered from more severe maltreatment rather than their MAOA levels.