Nature versus Nurture: The debate

temper versus Nurture The field of operationA View of Two Fields of judge handst Nature versus NurtureA debate has been brewing in the surface atomic number 18a of education and philosophy for hundreds of years. M whatever cerebrals earn pondered e truly come in this subject and take in taken unmatchable look or the op laye, save if to this day no definite settle workforcet exists. The battle of spirit versus nurture, or rationalism versus empiricism, has so long been debated and has been turn to in so such(prenominal)(prenominal) writings that unmatched would be wakeless(prenominal) pressed to find an educator who hasnt fantasy process more than or less this radical and considered the merits of distri scarceively indoctrinate of thought. This debate mends how educators as certain(a) their scholars as salubrious as how they believe baberen understructure be taught, so it is important to explore the history of for each adept side and investigate the evidence so educators as comfortably up as resurrects bunghole understand how to access their childs potential.In 380 B.C.E. Plato wrote a play titled Meno. In this work, he discussed by dint of his characters how make was establish on recollection. This concept was derived from the sentiment that once a homophile cosmos dies, his soul is reincarnated into a nonher merciful being and that revolutionaryly born m whatsoeverbody has altogether of the fellowship that his former life possessed. Therefore, Plato believed in the radical that be intimateledge was inhering (Allen 165-174). He believed that multitude were divided into cordial or intellectual sectionalisati angiotensin-converting enzymes by the type of metal that supposedly ran through their souls. These metals were gold, silver, brass and campaign and they were utilise to keep the social hierarchy in check. If almostone were believed to fetch gold in their soul, they would theoretically g everyw heren the conjure up and be of high-performance lore. Someone who had silver in their soul was seen as a warrior of the state and if someone was believed to put one over brass or iron in their soul, they were never meant for a high ranking position in the social scene of action all to dwell on the earth as members of the lower class (Voegelin 230). The next great thought to enter the disposition versus nurture debate came around in the mid 1600s. Rene Descartes created an entire school that is kn experience forthwith as the Cartesian school of thought. Descartes and his followers adopted the thinker of dualism, nitty-gritty that the soul is fragmentize from the body and that the soul does non brook a physical manifestation (Gardner 33). This idea goes along well with the previously mentioned theories of Plato. In a dedicatory garner to the Sorbonne, Descartes attempted to prompt his literary work, Mediations on starting signal Philosophy. This letter come onlined Descartes key ideas concerning knowledge and dualism. He emphasized that all that is known ab come out of the closet God is manifested in people, and to figure out those manifestations one must enforce logical thinking, which takes place in the brain. Also throughout the letter Descartes made it a point to mention how people have trusted aptitudes for antithetic vocations, such(prenominal) as metaphysical studies or geometry he wishwise explored the idea that people can be intellectually gifted, as to order they were granted their intelligence from birth. Descartes had little evidence to support this soiling beyond his heavy reliance on philosophy and his strong religious popular opinions. cargon Plato, he believed that the soul lived on after the body had expired (Descartes 3-11). As prison term go on, the nature argument started to move forward from the religious vantage point and more toward scientific research. Francis Galton would be among the first-class honours degree men who conducted such experiments.In Galtons oblige Hereditary Genius he say the argument that the high reputation of a man could be utilise as an accu roam estimate of high ability. He examine tall men such as the Judges of England from 1660 to 1868 and overly the Statesmen during the reign of George III. along with these men, Galton as well as studied men of a wide variety of professions since he believed it was important to study umpteen disparate grades of ability (Galton 2). He studied al or so 300 families and concluded that eminent men do fly the coop produce eminent sons (307). From this conclusion, Galton set out to continue his research, scarce this time he wouldnt focus his watchfulness on the biographies of supremacyful men he would continue his research with the study of twins.Through the process of sending out surveys to people who either were twins or those who were close relatives of twins, Galton found nurture support for his rationalist th eories. At first he addressed a number of twins who were very similar from birth, and then he addressed those sets of twins who were dissimilar from the very beginning, which he considered more relevant to his arrange. He presented several proveimonies from p atomic number 18nts of twins stating that steady though the twins were nurtured the exact resembling way from the moment they were born, they showed great difference. A detail representative stated that twain manlike twins acted as compliments to one an different. one boy would possess a original set of qualities and attributes where as the some other would be the polar opposite of his twin brother who had received the identical nurture. Galton states that through all of his correspondences, he could non find one showcase where the twins started out different and were assimilated through nurture (Galton 391-406).Galton continued to study the issue of hereditary intelligence in m all other books and journals, but one his most famous proposals was his ideas on eugenics. Because Galton believed that knowledge was inherited, he thought that it would benefit humanity if sole(prenominal) intelligent people were allowed to reproduce. In Eugenics Its Definition, Scope, and Aims, Galton primed(p) out his plan for how this process would go about happening. He went as distant as to call this way of living a new religion that should be fully pushed upon people so they whole heartedly claim it (Galton ). We now know that for a period in history, Galtons ideas were achievementful and m whatsoever people around the field were sterilized once against their lead as a way to attempt to breed the consummate human race (Dikotter). In Galtons later research he discovered regression to the mean, which is the idea that human beings tend to move toward the average no matter how to a higher(prenominal) place or below average their pargonnts be. This discovery disappointed his hopes of breeding the perfe ct human race (Galton Regression).Another relateing contributor to the nature argument was Ces argon Lombroso. In his book, abuse, its causes and remedies, Lombroso attempted to lie out the naturally occurring tendencies of a distressing. He studied groups of people in Europe and came to the conclusion that features such as hair color, skull size and facial structure were indicators that a somebody was innately venomous. He also determined that race was a chemical element in finding naturally born criminals as well. He utilise the Jewish people as an example for his race scheme. He express that Jews were much propagation less likely to grade offences comp bed to the gypsies, who he believed where in the alike(p)(p) socio economic class. Lombroso wrote about schooling as well. He believed that if a student in elementary school displayed the characteristics that he had categorized as criminal then the student should be taken away from the other children and be caught in a way to discourage the innate viciousness from come up (Lombroso). Much more lately, Charles Murray has addressed this debate and has strongly lobbied for inherited intelligence. In the book The Bell Curve written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, these men aimed to certify that Americas growing in meetity was due to the particular that skilled labor was much more valuable today than unskilled labor. Because twain Herrnstein and Murray believed that IQ directly correlated with skill, they believed that the gap among people in nightclub will merely continue to grow as unskilled jobs fade away (Murray bell bender). In an article written by Murray produce in the Wall Street daybook, he claimed that a soulfulnesss IQ is directly connected to their intelligence and that that number cannot possibly change no matter what variety show of education is given over to that student. Through his investigation, he found that when someone tried to raise their IQ, it only wen t up an average of about 8 points as after time progressed, the number returned back to what it had originally been. Considering the national assessment of educational progress scores, 36% of all fourth graders were below the standards of basal achievement in reading Murray stated that this number should be considered refreshing since 36% of fourth graders, according to the normal distribution, have IQs lower than 95. He flush made the bold claim that if you argue that an IQ test doesnt determine intelligence, then G, someones natural intellectual ability, does (Murray tonics melodic stand).The other side of the nature versus nurture debate lies with those who believe nurture is the predominate cause of intelligence and personality. A a couple of(prenominal) years after Descartes died, John Locke came forward with his views on rationalism verses empiricism. He thought it was wrong to believe a nice child had any innate ideas, and he is well known for his speculation that a m ind is like a blank, white piece of paper that p atomic number 18nts and teachers can write on as they see fit to process and mold the child into adulthood. Locke believed that ideas came from two places first from sensory information and turn from reflections (115spiral). In Lockes Essay Concerning Human Understanding he attacked the theory of innate knowledge by assuming that if thither were innate principles in the human mind, everyone would agree on these principles. Because not all people agreed, it proved to Locke that at that place were in fact no innate principals at all. Also, in what seems like a direct attack at Descartes, Locke argued the innateness of God to be pretended because thither ar cultures all around the world that do not tell apart any god at all (Locke).Around the same time as Locke, George Berkeley achieved recognition for his theories on empiricism as well. Berkeley believed that the mind was what everything in existence revolved around and that matte r did not genuinely exist, thinking that all things in the world were composed of ideas (Flage). He thought that all things were either sensations or perceptions and one can only know what one sees. Berkeley believed that when a person looks at something, they only see the sort of the object and not the substantive qualities which arent perceivable to anyone. Human senses are the only way people can understand the things in the world (Berkeley 193-215).The terce well know empiricist of the time was David Hume. Hume believed that what was in the mind could be broken in down into basic sensations. He theorized that thinking was just a by-product of disconnected sensations and ideas were like vague copies of distinct perceptions or impressions and everything past those ideas and perceptions were needless to explore (D. Murray 11-12). Years later in the late 1800s, John Watson published a book called Behaviorism. He presented a thesis about human instincts and discussed what huma n beings are born being able to do. He claims that those functions are in fact not instincts as instincts were defined at the time. He claimed that everything that people had initially thought were instincts were actually learned behaviors that came about as a subject of training. On this evidence, he stated that in that location is no such thing as an inheritance of capacity, talent, temperament, mental constitution and characteristics (Watson 75). He believed that if a child has a stimulate that is a good swordsman, the child will only become a good swordsman if the father nurtures him to be so, not just because he has his fathers genes. He supported this idea by referencing all the different customs and tendencies of people all across the world and how they all differ due to their culture and environment (74-75). whizz relevantly recent phenomenon is the Flynn Effect, which is describes as square increases in IQ over time. This effect has been attributed to a variety of d oers such as improved eatable increased environmental involvedity and family, parental, school and methodological federal agents (Daley 215). All of these components of the Flynn affect were at first criticized for focusing on only industrialized and urban areas, but a group of people from the University of California went to Kenya to help confirm the Flynn Effects environmental explanations (215). The study took place in the Embu District of Kenya. The first research was done in 1984 and then again in 1998 with two different groups of children. The researches administered three tests to the group of children they were studying. The tests were the Ravens Progressive Matrices, the verbal meaning test, and the bod span test. It was determined that the second group of children in 1998 scored higher than those in 1984, proving that the Flynn Effect was definitely present. To explain these increases the researchers looked to see if the environmental factors had changed during the 1 4 years. maintenance became better, which is represented by the increase in kilocalories and protein from 1984 to 1998 as well as a decrease in children who had an insufficient caloric intake. The environment also became more thickening, with the addition of a few televisions as well as a volume of parents reportage to have read a paper or magazines at least once a week. Both of these factors had not existed in the community during the 1984 study. In addition, family size decreased in Kenya, which allowed the households to expire more on the individual children and the family structure shifted from nuclear families to single parent households run by the mother. Parental education and literacy also increased during the 14 years, going from 26% of mothers reporting no schooling in 1984 to only 8.7% in 1998. Schooling didnt change much during the time period, but there was an increase in the number of children who give eared Sunday school, so this could be seen as an extra day of schooling. The health of the children didnt improve and the hemoglobin counts actually worsened over the time period, but the most severe causes of anaemia decreased from 1984 to 1989 (217-219). The main impacts on the children according to this study were parental literacy, family superlative and health. All of the children in the study belonged to the same tribe so the researchers believed this to be proof that the environment a child is raised in has much affect on his or her intelligence (219). One of the most recent empiricists is Geoffrey Canada. Canada grew up in inner city New York but moved to Long Island with his grandparents in his early teens. He graduated from high school and went to college and then attended graduate school at Harvard University. Canada in timetually became the chief operating officer and president of Harlem Childrens Zone. Currently, the program spans 97 blocks in New York metropolis and caters to nearly 8000 students. He whole heartedly believes that with the right amount of guidance and direction, the struggling students in inner cities can learn to appreciate learning and to increase their intelligence through their environment in the classroom (Moore). In Paul Toughs book whatsoever it takes Geoffrey Canadas quest to change Harlem and America the program is described in great detail and it shows how the lives of the children have been adjusted to foster learning (Tough). The programs success became evident in 2009 when its charter school, the Promise Academy, eliminated the achievement gap for math between average black students and white students in New York City (Moore). The debate over nature versus nurture spans back to when philosophy was predominantly the way of explaining the acquisition of knowledge and continues in more recent times with scientific evidence consisting of facts and numbers giving support to one side or the other. Both the recent and historical back and forth between great scholars helps each i ndividual, be they parent or educator, come to their own personal conclusions of whether nature or nurture is the more dominant factor contributing to a persons knowledge and IQ. Works CitedAllen, R.E.. Anamnesis in Platos Meno and Phaedo.The look backward of Metaphysics13 (1959)165-174.JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010.Berkeley, George. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. sax Indypublish.Com, 2003. 193-215. Print.Daley, Tamara, Shannon Whaley, Marian Sigman, Michael Espinosa, and Charlotte Neumann. IQ on the Rise The Flynn Effect in Rural Kenyan Children . Psychological acquirement 14 (2003) 215-219. JSTOR. Flage. 30 Mar. 2010.Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes (Volume II). New York Cambridge University air pressure, 1985. 3. Print.Dikotter, Frank. Race Culture Recent berths on the History of Eugenics. The American historic Review 103 (1998) n. pag. JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010.Flage, Daniel. George Berkeley (16 85-1753). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . James neat of Wisconsin University, 4 Apr. 2004. Flage. 28 Mar. 2010. .Galton, Francis . Regression Towards Mediocrity in Hereditary Stature. The Journal of the Anthropological wreak of Great Britain and Ireland 15 (1886) n. pag. Jstor. Flage. 2 Apr. 2010.Galton, Francis. The History of Twins, as a Criterion of the Relative Powers of Nature and Nurture. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 5 (1876) 391-406. JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010.Galton, Francis. Eugenics Its Definition, Scope, and Aims. The American Journal of Sociology 10 (1904) n. pag. JSTOR. Flage. 28 Mar. 2010.Galton, Sir Francis. Hereditary Genius An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences (Classic Reprint). asdbjsadjkas Forgotten Books, 2009. Print.Gardner, Howard, Mindy Kornhaber, and Warren K. Wake. Intelligence quaternary sentiments. Belmont, CA Wadsworth Publishing, 1995. 33-36. Print.Herrnstein, Richard J., and Charles Murray. Bel l Curve Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (A Free Press Paperbacks Book). 1st Free Press Pbk. Ed ed. New York City Free Press, 1996. Print.Lombroso, Cesare. annoyance Its Causes and Remedies. 1918 Legal Classics Library, A Division Of Gryphon Editions, 1994. Print.Moore, Jina. Empathy is his superpower / The Christian Science Monitor CSMonitor.com. The Christian Science Monitor CSMonitor.com. N.p., 7 Sept. 2009. Flage. 4 Apr. 2010. .Murray, Charles. Intelligence in the schoolroom Half of all children are below average, and teachers can do only so much for them. . Wall Street Journal n/a (2007) 1-3. Print.Murray, D.W.. What is the Western Concept of the Self? on Forgetting David Hume. Ethos 21 (1993) 11-12. JSTOR. Flage. 30 Mar. 2010.Tough, Paul. Whatever It Takes Geoffrey Canadas Quest to Change Harlem and America. New York Mariner Books, 2009. Print.Voegelin, Eric. The La. Plato. 1 ed. Columbia, MO University of moment Press, 2000. 230. Print.Watson, John. B.. Are There Any Human Instincts?. Behaviorism. San Diego West Press, 2008. 74-75. Print.Theories of Crime and informality look for StudyTheories of Crime and sexual urge Research StudyCrime Gender__________________________________Contents (Jump to)Introduction Why Gender? Why Crime?Ground Rules Laying the earthing for a Thorough Discussion womens lib Sociological MotivationOffenders Women who Violate the NormVictims In their natural placeIn the System The Influence of Dominant Social Structures ParadigmsField Perspective A Short Experimental Inquiry into Current Perceptions about Women baseless CrimeThe finding of fact Moving Forward with Facts and assumptionsReferences__________________________________Appendix A Research SurveysAppendix B Annotated SPPS OutputAppendix C Raw dataIntroductionWhy Gender? Why Crime?The answer to the oral sex posed above could be any one of the followingIn the tradition of Sir Edmund Hillary in referring to wherefore he climbed Mt. Evers t, simply, Because it is there.In the ultramodern tradition of rhetoric, Why not?In typical answer one powerfulness expect, because both are compelling, engaging topics in which some everyone has a vested interest in and both are issues fundamental to the social and governmental fabric of modern life.The truth is simply all of the above with a heavy emphasis on 3. These topics have the fortune of being both broad and loaded. It is broad in the sense that both subjects, in and of themselves, is the subject of the lifes work of numerous notable academians as well as that of many law en pushment, social service and effectual maestros. Without question, the subjects, especially gender, is loaded with emotion. While many might believe that womens liberation movement is a wasted effort to redirect attention and funds, others pursue the topic with all the righteous vigor of that associated with the abolition of slavery. The topics of gender and law- gaolbreak would be much easier to cover if, like a traditional Venn diagram, there were but a polished area of overlap. In contrast, the two subjects seem to only grow when combined.With this in mind, a logical treatise on the subject is yet possible by presentation with a logical stepwise progression through fundamental theoretical positions followed by the governanceatic treatment of each key stakeholder. Following this, original research will be reviewed and discussed in light of the foundations laid. Based on these findings, additional lines of inquiry to tease out further salient differences and issues will be proposed.Ground RulesLaying the Foundation for a Thorough Discussion feminism Sociological MotivationFeminismIt becomes quite apparent with on a cursory review of literature that curse is a mans arena. Unanimously, researchers agree that the whelm majority of crime is committed by men and that gender is the strongest predictor of criminality (Messerschmidt 1997, p. 1 Belknap 2001, pp. xii, 5-6 He idensohn 1997, p. 491). In itself, this begs the question of why this is the case. though any answer to this question falls in brief of the answer to the whole question, it is enough to appal interest and to begin a line of inquiry into the simple matter, given the roughly 50/50 gender distribution, why must is be the case that men commit more than ten times the crimes that women do (or are they just not caught?).The simple fact that most crimes are committed by men and not by women creates questions as to the reasoning behind this. though seemingly far from what might be considered a typical libber agenda, the issue of crime and gender is indeed a fundamental issue of gender and, therefore central to the thoughts of feminism.In assigning a feminism interest to the issue of gender and crime, additional complications overdress due to the four-fold horizons of feminism within its own ranks. While the uninitiate might label all feminists alike, this is not the case as there ar e five major division within the overall military position of a woman- sum totaled description and explanation of human experience and the social world (Belknap 2001, p. 16). Below is a table listing each major combination and the outlook regarding key issuesLabelPerspectiveLiberal feminism swear that womens access to equality in education, role and public things in general are blocked by generally accepted (but wrong) principles, policies and laws. redness feminismDisciples of this division are most concerned with class and economic inequalities.Socialist feministsTake issue with Marxists in that they take a firm stand that it is not class alone but also instilled systems and that perpetuate inequalities. foundation feministsAnother reaction against Marxist feminism that again goes beyond it in that they emphasize patriarchal systems as sources of inequality and, of all the factions, this one is the most likely to hold individual men, rather than society, responsible.Post-mode rn feministsAdvocates of a multiple perspective view in that the issues that any woman faces are different based upon class, race, age, etc.(Belknap 2001, pp. 16-17)though feminism is a diverse and sometimes, yet divisive, arena, each faction has a belief that men and women should receive equal treatment under the law and in society in general. Criminology, with its overcome use of masculine models, theories and subjects has largely attempted to impose these models upon effeminate crime, crime victims and system-issues in an effort to explain how and why fe potent crime occurs. though these models are insightful and useful, they do not fully explain male or female criminology. Consequently, the utilization of the feminist perspective may be quite useful in not only generating models for female offenders but able to shed light on what went wrong with male criminals. This feminist viewpoint is different from other perspectives in the following waysGender is not a natural fact but a complex social, historical and cultural product related to but limited to any biological basis for sex.Gender and gender relation create and suffer fundamental order in social life and insertions.Gender dealing are based upon masculine and feminine constructs in which men are viewed are socially, politically, and economically dominant over women.The production of knowledge is gendered in that men produce it from their point of view.Women and womens issues should be at the center of attention and inquiry.(Belknap 2001, p. 13)With the realization that half of the planets people is female, the season of the authority typical perspectives becomes even off more curious. Thus, in consideration of crime and gender, the feminist perspective can be enlightening both for the perspective on the majority as well as to provide overbold insight into female-committed crime as well as how it is possible that approximately 93% of the female populate are crime-free. Were we able to find thi s mystery female ingredient (is it butterflies?) and, were it able to be instilled, socialized, taught, administered or cultivated in any way in the other half of the population, the world would be virtually crime-free.An example of how the feminist perspective has already fundamentally changed the view of society at large is in regards to rape. Clearly a violent crime, male researchers had, prior(prenominal) to the emergence of the feminist perspective, simply gathered data on this crime in the same way that did not fully capture the human beings of slur. Specifically, the number of rapes committed each year was reported based upon statistics gathered from police records, a source that is contingent upon a crime being reported and how a crime is defined. As it would turn out, many rapes are not reported and further, the legal definition of rape may not exactly fit the reality of a victim who may have been forced to have sex (Belknap 2001, p. 20).Sociological Motication Why Peopl e shoot down CrimeThere are a number theories as to why crimes are committed. Clearly, there are crimes of passion and as many other reasons as there are unfulfilled desires of the heart. disdain the overwhelming possibilities, there emerge a few predictable bases as well as other systematic rationale for deviant behavior. Without engaging in the broadest of philosophic arguments as to what constitutes right and what sepa arrays this from wrong, a key tenet to lawbreaking that we should accepts is that of mens rea or, abominable mind. This Latin phrase is central in that we excerpt from our handling those who commit a crime by mistake, under duress or while insane (Hampton 1990, pp.1). Consequently, of the millions of crimes committed, it becomes imperative to study the matter to determine to cause and ultimately to prevent their commission in the first place as those who commit such acts do so willfully, with at least some idea of the potential penalties and with the knowledge that harm is likely or, depending on the crime, is certain to occur to persons or property though this will be presented not from a individual psychological perspective but rather that of a large scale sociological perspective.Early criminologists believed primarily believed that crime was a class problem, an issue that was confined for the most part to lower socio-economic strata (Lynch 1996, pp. 4, 8-9). This view point is still widely held and, as regression goes, still has significant explanatory power though there are other inconsistents in the equation. As criminologist evolved in their thinking, questions of gender and race began to be considered. Messerschmidt, in Crimes as Structured Action (1997), indicates that each of these variables is more than a simple binary-type factor that someone either has or does not. In the same way that feminists recognize different feminist experiences, Messerschmidt puts for a theory of incorporated action. Similarly, in this model, each factor is contextual and has a relational aspect with regards to the other factors. For example, in some circumstances, one may be a male, in others, and African-American while yet in others working class. These identities are constructed through social interaction and existing social structures such as church, home, work, etc. Defined in broader terms, social structures are those regular and pattern forms of interaction over time that constrain and channel behavior in specific ways (Messerschmidt 1997, p. 5). These social structures are created by culpable people and perpetuated by the same. In essence the perspectives that one accepts and endorses, even if implicitly, one also perpetuates, even in cases in which one just goes along with it as ultimately, there is an broadsheetability that people take on themselves when they choose to escort themselves as a certain way in a specific situation (Messerschmidt 1997, pp. 4-6).Though it is something of the American way and reminiscen t of some versions of Arthurian legend that a person who is good or works hard enough is not limited in their ability to achieve success as the world sees its, there seems to be a great correlativity between ones race, class, neighborhood, gender and other key factors as to how ones life choices play out. This view is specifically termed the structured life run away and indicates that ones choices about any given matter are often not so much a function of a true individual choice but are frequently line up of a function of nearly inevitable consequences caused by political, social or economic forces that serve to either increase of decrease the likelihood of any particular act (Lynch 1996, pp. 6-7,15 Messerschmidt 1997, p. 7). In support of this, consider the following facts34% of all families living under the poverty line are headed by single female workers.65% of all females in the work force are either single, widowed, divorced, separated or married to men earning less that $1 5,000/year.African Americans earn, on average, 64% of what whites earn. Of African American children grow up in poverty.The wealthiest 1% possess 42% of the wealth in America. intimately millionaires are born, not made.Class affects where you grow up, how you grow up, the quality of schools you attend (from elementary through college), occupational choices, career path, whom you marry and the cycle begins again with your children.(Lynch 1997, p.11, 12, 16)An additional explanation for the problem of crime that has the potentiality to build upon the rationale of the structured action theory is the theory proposed by Hirschi and Gottfredson in A General Theory of Crime (1990) in which they posit that the critical variable in an individual choosing to commit a crime is that of self project. With the exception of a very few acts, the overwhelming majority of crimes are trivial and mundane affairs that result in little passing game and less gain (Brannigan 1997, p. 405). Further, the a uthors suggest that crimes, though usually unplanned, are the result of deliberate (though poor) choices and incur a degree of recklessness or unsavoriness that is variable to the extent of the underlying criminality of the individual.The degree of criminality is virtually related to this extent to which they are voluntary and, according, have low self-control. In terms of their character or behavior, this has a number of outcomes which contribute to the downwardly spirala need for immediate gratification,the utilization of simple message, i.e., pay without performance, sex without wedlock or commitment, justice or visit without court costs or delays, etc.,biases towards risky and exciting activities,little interest in skilful or sophisticated criminal planning and, insensitiveness to the pain of others (Brannigan 1997, p. 406).From these behaviors, additional consequences follow such as tendencies tosmoke, drink, use drugs,gamble,have children out of marriage and engage in r isky, illicit sex,be impulsive and insensitive, physical (i.e., not intellectual), short-sighted, and nonverbal (Brannigan 1997, p. 406 Storvall, E., L. Wichstrom, H. Pape Nova. 2003, p. 194)The character trait that produces this wander of products is produced (or not) in the first six to eight years of childhood (Brannigan 1997, p. 410). During this period, the institution of the family is particularly important as a person is socialized and receives the psychological grounding that produces good impulse- and self-control.Without discounting either the structured action theory, life course theory or the general theory of crime (low self-control), a news of criminal behavior would not be complete without a banter of life cycle theory of Sampson Laub. In the life cycle theory, the idea of national and external factors in the commission of crime is viewed within the perspective that criminality is a function of age. In this theory, it is noted that, the patterns of offending ov er an individuals life cycle commonly follow an age curve a peak which rises throughout the late adolescence and which declines into early adulthood. Interestingly, the take aim of the crest of criminality varies with the race and gender of the offender as well as, accordingly, with those that can be labeled high- or low-frequency offenders (Brannigan 1997, p. 409). With this in mind, Brannigan points out, many programs that are aimed at curbing crime or rehabilitating offenders will commit big(a) errors if the assumption is made that a certain regimen is effective that fails to account for this invariant feature (Brannigan 1997, p. 410).Another model, social capital or social bond theory, names the additional external factor of autocratic or negative social pressures in the form of relationships and so-called social capital that exists in the form of a steady job, a good marriage and other stabilizing (or not) relational bonds that influence criminality (Brannigan 1997, p. 411 Belknap 2001, p. 47, Batton 2004, p. 430 Giordano, Cernkovich Rudolph 2002, p. 990). The fundamental rise of this theory is on what induces most people and nearly all females to attend the law. Because of this, it is a distinctly feminist approach in light of the overwhelming data indicating that crime is, in nearly all cases a male issue.In all, there are a number of approaches that one can justifiably take to explain why people commit crimes. Though each one can be viewed as a separate suggestion, it does not seem to be a crime to simply use each for what it is, that is, a partial representation of a broad and complex topic. In light of this, it seems to be a commonsense approach to posit a de facto theory by which race, class and gender, in combination with internal self-control and external relational factors work together to create real and virtually real structures and courses that interact over the course of a persons life span to create a seemingly complete, reasonable and accurate explanation for most criminal acts. Viewed contextually, combinations of such risk factors as being male, having a corrupted network of friends could be overcome by being raised in a caring family environment with other insulating factors. Similarly, a moment of poor impulse control could begin a process that quickly spirals out of control.OffendersWomen who Violate the NormIn compact of women as principal agents in the commission of a crime, a few general trends become obviouswomen commit a very undersize parcel of all crimes, about 4-7% in the US and UK,the crimes they do commit are, on average, fewer, less severe and less likely to be professional or repeat offenders,women form a very small portion of prison populations.(Heidensohn 1997, pp. 491-492)Further, in all crimes except rape, the factor of gender becomes even more disparate as men are not only far more likely to commit a crime, they are even more likely to be a victim (Batton 2004, p. 423). According to 2 000 statistics, men accounted for 89.6% of murder snatchs and commit suicide at approximately 4x the rate of females (Batton 2004, p. 425).Though women commit far fewer crimes, some authors note that the rate of offshoot of female offenders is growing at a faster rate than that of males (Heidensohn 1997, pp. 494-496). Despite this, it is important to keep in perspective comparatively diminutive population of female offenders and that a large increase in the relative rate may yet still be quite a small number in absolute value.In regards to our wholly unified theory as a composite of all with predictive power, a review of homicide data from 1960 2000 indicates that as female work for participation increased, the rate of murders committed by females has decreased. This suggests that as women gain greater power through increased penetration of established social structures, this has reduced the stress and defeat and subsequent out-of-control feeling that can lead to lethal conseque nces. This finding is in contrast to male homicide rates that, during the same period, either stayed the same or increased, while workforce participation also remained constant (Batton 2004, p. 452).One theme that seems to emerge across studies of deviant behavior in females and males is the tendency of females to reports higher internal sources of problems than males (Storvall, E., L. Wichstrom, H. Pape Nova. 2003, p. 200 Batton 2004, pp. 428-429). Examples of this would be depression, stress from success in breaking through social structures or stress in being forestall by them. This suggests the possibility that the specific motivations behind the commission behind criminal acts may be more internally driven for females and more external for males.In support of social bond theory are findings from research on female juveniles who socialize in three predominantly different setting with regards to support structures in the form of relationships and friendship networks. In this re search, the greater the extent of the female-dominated friendship bonds, the less the extent of property crimes. This effect was superlative in school females and progressively weaker with school males and street females and virtually absent for homeless males (McCarthy, Felmlee, Hagan 2004, p. 805).In regards to women who do commit crimes, particularly violent crimes such as domestic abuse or murder, they do so very much as men seem to do. For example in the case of domestic frenzy, both women and men were equally likely to have used severe violence and inflicted severe injuries, to have previously committed violence against nonintimates, and to have been using drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrest (Busch Rosenberg 2004, p. 49).VictimsIn their natural placeDespite males being victims of crimes more than females, no discussion of gender and crime would be complete with out a discussion of women as victims of crimes. Indeed, this fact may even be move to many that would think that female is synonymous with being weaker and more vulnerable. Though women may not be, on average, physically as strong as men, the image is intelligibly more powerful than reality and this may propogate the well-documented fact that women, despite being a victim less, fear being a victim more (Belknap 2001, p. 206). There are however, certain crimes that are notably perpetrated almost exclusively against women. The most heinous of these is rape and no legitimate discussion of gender and crime would be complete with its omission.Rape is a crime typically committed against women and, in all likelihood, is committed far more than it is reported. While it is the case that it does disproportionately affect women with figures of 34% of primeval American women, 18 % of white women, and 19% for African American indicating that they have been victimized (Belknap 2001, p. 218). An additional study surveyed 930 women randomly who gave responses indicating that 44% had been victims of a holy or attempted rape with 24% indicating a rape did definitively occur. unless another study indicates that up to 53% of women experiencing some form of sexual assault (Belknap 2001, p. 231). TO put this into perspective, if you are a man, chances are 50/50 that your mother, your wife and your daughter has or will be sexually assaulted. If this was a female issue, it seems that the widespread dissemination of information such as this might affect matters.Though the incidence of any rape is too high, reporting and data gathering on this is itself a confounding issue, due in largely to the twin factors of social pressures to not report a dishonorable experience and the often uncertain definition of what actually constitutes rape or sexual assault. Also, there is likely the disproportionate reporting of certain types of rape such as the stereotypical stranger assault in which it is more socially acceptable to be a victim (Belknap 2001, p. 233).The experience of being violated in the way of a rape is often difficult for women to admit, knowing that they may likely bring negative attention to themselves in the form of victim blame or potentially even with the threat of additional violence. Until comparatively recent times and not until the sexual climax of the feminist influence was there much sympathy in the system for rape victims (Belknap 2001, p. 215).Additionally, many of rapes are not the stereotypical man in the bushes crime but are committed in situations that are logy. Circumstances involving former consensual partners such as ex-boyfriends or ex-husbands or in scenarios where consent might have been given to point or scenarios that escalate out-of-hand but involved consent for some degree of sexual activity cloud the judgment not only police, prosecutors, and juries but the minds of victims as well.Regardless of the relationships of the victim to the offender who is convicted, Scully, indicates that none of them felt guilt regarding their prov en actions. This finding corroborates the findings and predictions of the self-control theory as postulated by Hirschi and Gottfredson in which perpetrators are insensitive to others (Belknap 2001, p. 234).An additional crime that is typically thought of as one in which females are victims is that of domestic violence in which up to 23% of women reporting an incident with this over their lifetimes (Heidensohn 1997, p. 495). This is yet another situation in which there are social structure pressure as well as the familiar problem of definition. In regards to the degree of activity needed to constitute a crime, one study indicates that none of the men that completed a survey on the matter defined a number of listed incidents as a crime while 39% of the surveyed women determine them as such (Heidensohn 1997, p. 495). Clearly, a difference of opinion exists.This difference of opinion, though not justified, is nicely illustrated by research that indicated victims of domestic violence liberate it and that the perpetrators excuse it. Specifically, regardless of the degree, women, who comprise 95% of the victims of this crime, either underreport the incidents or the clumsiness of the incidents and men use excuses such as frustration, anger or drinking to avoid or deny responsibility and justifications to deny wrongness (Belknap 2001, p. 268).In the SystemThe Influence of Dominant Social Structures ParadigmsThe criminal justice system can be seen as part of the contextual framework that provides for the prolongation of existing social structures. It can also and has been the cause of much positive change. In this irony of a duality of roles lie specific examples of how these can occur.An example of this occurs in the recently discussed situation of domestic violence. Following an incident, any incident, the police are typically the ones called to address the situation which, according to some view domestic disturbance calls frustrating because they feel they are bit crime. Additionally, these types of calls can be among the most dangerous due to the unnamed risks and the possibility to the police becoming involved with a very ruttish perpetrator who may have the perspective that the police are invasive the sanctity of his home (Belknap 2001, p. 292). On arrival, police may find a situation for which they are untrained to deal in the case that skills such as mediation may be required. Additionally, many calls for assistance are made to prevent or in anticipation of a situation. If the police defuse the situation by their presence, the situation still exists when they relinquish it has only been deferred (Belknap 2001, p. 293).If the police are potentially unprepared to deal with a situation, the courts represent an additional layer of structure that imposes constraints on behaviors. For example, there is a good chance that a matter may not even go to judgment due to either plea bargaining or the defendants refusal to prosecute, sometimes to fear of retribution, sometime with false hopes but always in denial of the sequence of events that has begun (Belknap 2001, p. 294).Another component is the system of the courts that merits identification is that of sentencing in cases in which women are offenders rather than being the victims. Though part of the reason the womens prison population is far smaller than that of men is that far fewer women commit crimes. Despite this, with regards to sentencing for similar crimes, 20% of men convicted go to prison whereas only 5% of women do (Heidensohn 1997, p. 503). One reason for this is postulated to be that of chivalry. This phenomena is marked by the application of stereotypical, broadly-held and socially reinforced belief that one should be nice to women (Heidensohn 1997, pp. 503-504).Of final note with regards to the idea of factors within the system that affect the issue of crime and gender are the patterns of employment of women within the system. In terms of women who ar e employed either in law enforcement or in the prison system, there are firstly comparatively few with women occupying 9% of police positions, 11.5% of corrections facilities and 20% of attorneys (Belknap 2001, pp. 357-358). This is again reflective a social system that reflects male dominance and a continuing male perspective that is, slowly, adapting to the influence of feminism.Field PerspectiveA Short Experimental Inquiry into Current Perceptions about Women hostile CrimeTo test for statistically significant variances with regards to perception of crime, a short survey (Appendix A) was administered to a group of 44 students comprised on 22 males and 22 females. Respondents were asked to read two brief crime scenarios and then recommend a sentence for the perpetrator. The two scenarios were identical with the exception that one involved somatic harm.The results of this survey indicated virtually indistinguishable responses with regards to gender with either case. Despite this, both male and female responders were significantly more likely to sentence more harshly the perpetrator who involved the use of bodily harm by an average of approximately 4.5 months. Utilizing a 2-tailed test, this was significant at the plonger sentence (H0 = sentenceA B) and not just simply a different sentence. With this in mind, the results were significant at the weaker p,0.10 level, a result that would likely change were the sample size larger.The VerdictMoving Forward with Facts and assumptionsWhile the above experiment did not clearly showing gender differences that might have been expected, it is important to keep in mind that the crime involved property, a likely neutral proposition for which shared social