Genetics and environment: inseparable when discussing criminality.
Genetics and environment: inseparable when discussing criminality. Criminality is an ancient behaviour that appears with the civilization of the human being. Indeed even though one can measure aggression and violence in animals it could never be associated to criminality, for this concept involves the notion of law and moral that one transgresses. This is why criminality just as a concept could never be a purely biological outcome, because its roots are founded in society and thus in environment. When studying such a subject one must remember that we are discussing a social problem as well as a psychological problem and a biological one. Indeed we are going to discuss that different biological causes lead to criminality or predispose someone to it, then we will discuss the environmental factors. When discussing the genetics of criminality one must first specify what kind of criminality is in question. Indeed it would be hard to talk about the possible genetic inference in fraudulent behaviour. This is why we want to make a differentiation between violent criminality and non violent criminality. We are going to discuss the possibility of genes having some influence in criminality because "though the belief that single genetics defects produce criminal behaviour is untenable, behaviour is regarded as an emergent function of physical systems and brain activity which provides
Criminals are born not made. Discuss.
Criminals are born not made. Discuss. A criminal is defined as someone who has committed a crime. Psychologists have come up with many theories and reasons about why people commit crimes. The two main explanations lie in genetic and environmental factors, which relates to the nature and nurture debate. Studies have been carried out to explain criminal behaviour. Some suggest that criminals are born, these are, twin studies (Bartol 1998), Family Studies (Farrington 1991) and a study by Jacobs et al (1965) who compared chromosomes. On the other hand there are also studies that have been conducted to prove that criminals are made by society. Bandura et al, social learning theory accounts for this and also Virkkumen (1986) who looked at biochemistry and Becker 1963 who studied labelling behaviour. These are examples I will use to support both sides of the argument to determine whether criminals are born or made. There is information that suggests that there are genetic explanations for crime and that it runs through families of criminals. An 'MZ apart' study has been conducted were two monozygotic children have been brought up apart. If both children turn out to be criminals then it supports the genetic explanation. The average concordance rate has been 55%. Mednick (1987) and Bohman (1995) looked at court convictions and criminal records of 14,000 people and their biological
Experiment investigating conformity in students.
Experiment investigating conformity in students. Abstract Will participants give the wrong answer more frequently when others present are unanimously giving wrong answers? Yes!!! The effects of conformity on sixteen year olds were analysed using a simple experiment. The results are rather shocking to see, that 50% of females and 83% of males conform to social pressure. On a whole that is 67% of a group of twenty-eight 16 year olds that conform from social pressure. Introduction In recent years, there has been considerable interest to whether students will conform to social pressure. Ever since The Milgram Experiment (1963), where he showed that under social pressure subjects would conform, psychologists have been intrigued by the way subjects conform to the social pressure set by others. In difference from Milgram's experiment (1963). Here we investigate if participants will conform to social pressure and give a wrong answer. Hypothetically believing that the participants will give the wrong answer more frequently when others present are unanimously giving the wrong answer. Of course all participants, with exception to the subject being studied, are aware that the experiment is being carried out. All of the participants are of the same age range (16 years) and are all of the same occupation (student) and ethical background (white). The only difference
This report will depict some of the complex influences affected by consumer and buyer behaviour in the Leisure Industry.
CONTENTS .0 INTRODUCTION 2 2.0 SOCIOCULTURAL LEVEL 2.1 ECONOMY 3 2.2 WORKING PATTERNS 2.3 HOME LIFE 4 2.4 STRESS 2.5 SOCIAL CLASSIFICATION 3.0 INTERPERSONAL LEVEL 3.1 REFERENCE GROUPS 6 3.2 DAISY CHAINS 3.3 FAMILY LIFECYCLE 7 3.4 DEMOGRAPHICS 3.5 COGNITIVE AGE 8 4.0 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL 4.1 MOTIVATION 9 4.2 INFORMATION AND LEARNING 5.0 SUMMARY 1 REFERENCES 2 APPENDIX 1 PERSONAL DISPOSABLE INCOME 3 APPENDIX 2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION 4 APPENDIX 3 REFERENCE GROUPS 5 APPENDIX 4 FAMILY LIFECYCLE 6 APPENDIX 5 DECISION-MAKING PROCESS 7 APPENDIX 6 HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 8 .0 INTRODUCTION This report will depict some of the complex influences affected by consumer and buyer behaviour in the Leisure Industry. Strong relation is made to the key developments of consumer behaviour derived from 'Leisure in the new Millennium' report by The Henley Centre (2000). Utilising marketers traditional and modern concepts and models to denote basic behavioural concepts. The report discusses sociological, Interpersonal and Individual level factors and the influences in the context of consumer behaviour. 2.0 SOCIOCULTURAL LEVEL 2.1 THE ECONOMY 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 Traditional economist view, has classed the purchases of Leisure and activities as luxury goods that are price elastic to demand. However, The Henley Centre (2000:1)
Critically consider psychological explanations of love
Critically consider psychological explanations of love There are three psychological theories of love, The Three Factor Theory of Romantic Love, Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love and Romantic Love and Attachment. The three factor theory of romantic love suggested by Hatfield and Walster, recognises two types of love, passionate love and companionate love. Whilst passionate love can be seen as an intense physiological arousal which involves a longing for the other person, companionate love is more a feeling of affection towards those whom we feel deeply about. Hatfield and Walster propose a theory to explain passionate love based on three factors; physiological arousal, appropriate love object and cultural exposure. The authors see love as a label that is placed on someone that we are physiologically aroused by. Experiencing this arousal will cause a person to state it is because of love, since this is what our culture teaches us happens when we are in love. This theory receives support from research by Dutton and Aron. In this study, male participants were interviewed on a high or low suspension bridge, by an attractive female. The results supported the prediction that those males interviewed on a high bridge felt more sexual attraction to the woman, presumably because they experienced stronger physiological arousal. The males on the lower bridge felt less physical
Evaluate the evidence for prenatal hormonal influences on the development of sexual orientation in humans.
Evaluate the evidence for prenatal hormonal influences on the development of sexual orientation in humans. Although the nature-nurture debate is still a topic of popular conversation, in scientific circles it is considered largely irrelevant. As William Byne (1994, p.50) notes: "All psychological phenomenon is ultimately biological". However, of all the aspects of human behaviour that have been scrutinised by psychology, it would seem that objective study of the possible causes of the existence of human homosexuality has been left to last. Consequently, what few explanations exist are badly integrated and what supporting experimental work there is on humans has rarely been replicated. This essay will examine the evidence for one such theory - that of prenatal hormonal influences on the development of sexual orientation - and also attempt to integrate the theory in with other biological theories of homosexuality. Although explanations of biological mechanisms will be confined to a simple level, it is still necessary to include the following: firstly, a short description of sexual dimorphism; secondly, a look at the effect of androgens generally; then more specifically the effect of prenatal hormones on sexual orientation, followed finally by the relevance of heritability of homosexuality. A discussion about the biological origins of homosexuality would not be necessary
Compare and contrast the studies of Sherif and Asch. What do they tell us about conformity?
Compare and contrast the studies of Sherif and Asch. What do they tell us about conformity? Conformity is defined by Zimbardo & Leippe (1991) as: "A change in belief or behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure when there is no direct request to comply with the group nor any reason to justify the behaviour change" Conformity can be categorised into two main groups, informational influence and normative influence. Informational influence is when one changes their private opinion to match that of others, because they believe that ones judgement is superior to their own. On the other hand normative influence is when one changes their public opinion but their private opinion remains the same, because they want to be liked by the group. Both Sherif and Asch investigated these influences in their experiments which were conducted about sixteen years apart. Although Asch's experiment was a response to the earlier investigation, Sherif had raised significant questions and had shown important points in his investigation. Sherif (1935) used a visual illusion called the autokinetic effect in which a stationary spot of light in an otherwise darkened room appears to move. Participants were asked to estimate how far the light moved. The participants initially made their estimates privately then as a group. Asch (1951) decided that the best way to measure conformity was
Should Research into social influence be banned?
Should Research into social influence be banned? In this report I will look at whether conformity studies are justifiable, both ethically and scientifically, and what conclusions can be drawn from them. I will be looking in detail at experiments carried out by Milgram, Ash, Moscovici and a few others, and discussing whether they are ecologically, ethically and scientifically valid. In doing this I will consider the ethical guidelines and try to decide whether there was a need for them to be broken and if it was essential for the experiment. The key guidelines are consent/informed consent, deception, and protection from harm. In some experiments however it is hard to decide whether a guideline has been broken or not and which one it would be. I will describe and explain each experiment in some detail and then come to a conclusion at the end of the report explaining my view on whether research into social influence should be banned. Milgram 1963 (Teacher/Learner) Aim: To investigate how far people will go to obey an authority figure. Method: * Subjects were gathered using applications in a newspaper, and were all voluntary. They were told the nature of the experiment was to investigate the effects of punishment on learning. The subjects were always 'Teachers' (chose by a fixed lottery) and who they thought were other participants as the 'Learners' were actually actors.
To what extent do research studies support the view that disruption of attachment bonds has long lasting effects on the individual?
To what extent do research studies support the view that disruption of attachment bonds has long lasting effects on the individual? Many psychologists argue that attachment bonds are extremely essential, not only for an infant in order for them to be fed and loved, but for the future as well. Some evidence has suggested that in fact, a lack of an attachment in younger life can lead for attachments in later life to be bad too - this includes relationships with friends, marriage, and relationships with your family. Therefore it is important that research is carried out on the subject. Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis stated that breaking an attachment bond had long lasting effects on the individuals emotional development, and that the effects were permanent and could not be fixed. He conducted a study that he said proved his hypothesis. The participants were delinquent thieves, of which 32% had 'affectionless psychopathology', a disorder where there is a lack of guilt and remorse. 86% of these had experienced maternal deprivation before the age of 5. This suggests that the damage is permanent and long lasting, as they are still suffering from something that happened before the age of 5. However, there are many criticisms of this study, for example there is a limited sample group as the participants were all juvenile thieves. This study is also unreliable because it may
Discuss interpersonal attraction
Discuss interpersonal attraction. Physical attractiveness often has the major influence on initial attraction. Walster et al carried out a blind date involving more than 50 students and found that the more physically attractive a person is, the more liked he/she is. These people tend to have similar features that are often widely agreed to be attractive. Feingold concluded it is due to the halo effect that people attribute positive stereotypical characteristics to physically attractive people and so more attracted to them, thus more likely to start relationship. He illustrated such claim by his research which found that over 70% of his participants agreed that physically attractive people are said to be sexually warmer, more sociable and skilled. Yet, people tend to agree each other about attractiveness. Cunningham reported women who have features such as big eyes and small chins have high rating for attractiveness when male participants are asked to rate women photos. However, such "beauty" ratings may not apply to the whole world as people in different cultures have diff. values and may have diff. views towards "beauty". Indeed research has shown this is not true. Roggmann replicated Cunningham's study in other cultures (e.g. Korea & USA) and found similar traits are rated. Furthermore, even similar characters such as more sociable and friendly are attributed to these
