COPS last night slammed a baying mob who urged a suicidal lad to jump 60ft to his death from a multi-storey car park. Police negotiators had spent three hours trying to talk Shaun Dykes, 17, down from the ledge.
But a crowd gathered opposite and began goading Shaun, who was depressed at a relationship break-up.
Some yelled, "Get on with it" and "How far can you bounce?" before he fell, dying instantly.
Witnesses in Derby said adults were watching with their children.
Cops are investigating and Supt Andy Hough called it a "shocking reflection on society".
Rob Howard, head at Heanor Gate Science College which Shaun attended, said: "I wonder what value some people put on human life."
Shaun's parents, of Kilburn, near Derby, were too upset to comment.
The police stated that the behaviour of the crowd was a reflection of a sick society. How would a social psychologist explain the behaviour of the crowd?
The video below is an ITN news report of the incident.
"Some fear that such cases could lead to the acceptance of genetic determinism — the idea that genes determine the behaviour of an organism — in criminal cases.
"90% of all murders are committed by people with a Y chromosome — males. Should we always give males a shorter sentence?" says Steve Jones, a geneticist at University College London. "I have low MAOA activity but I don't go around attacking people."
Farahany points out that prosecutors could use the same genetic evidence to argue for tougher sentences by suggesting people with such genes are inherently 'bad'.
A comprehensive article on genes and aggression from the New Scientist that focuses on the role of MAOA in aggression. One thing the article makes clear are the implications of a biological approach to explaining aggression for the nature nurture debate and free will and determinism:
"Bayout's history of mental illness got him a soft nine-year sentence. The defence team managed to reduce this by a further year on appeal, arguing that carrying the MAOA-L gene predisposed Bayout to violence. This is the first time that behavioural genetics has affected a sentence in a European court. But it is not the first instance of lawyers trying the "my genes made me do it" defence, which is now the subject of heated debate".
You may be able to see drawings and paintings by patients with mental disorders at the Royal Bethlem Museum but you can see paintings and drawings by some of America's major serial killers at the FBI's 'Evil Minds Research Museum'. According to this post at Mindhacks you can see 'Killer Clown' paintings by John Wayne Gacey and other examples of serial killer art.
"An overactive dopamine reward system in the brain may help explain why psychopaths pursue rewards without regard for consequences, according to new research published this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience".
"The debate whether it’s nature or nurture that dictates your life has raged since the time of Darwin. But the latest DNA testing and our understanding of genetic action, is sending us into a new era.
Jonica Newby steps into the future by taking a DNA test not yet available to the public. The test will reveal whether she has the double gene for depression. If she does, science says she will be prone to severe depression during stressful times.
The story captures the moment when the news is delivered and discusses the implications of knowing your genetic destiny.
The link between genes and behaviour is being closely studied in Dunedin, New Zealand. Similar attempts over the last 20 years have failed – but this team did something unusual. They cross-referenced the genes with the person’s background – with extraordinary results.
Their first discovery has been hailed as a gene for violence. We explain how it works – people who have one version of the MAOA gene are not readily able to damp down their stress response in the brain. But it’s only a problem if they have a stressful childhood – most people with the wrong gene/environment combination have ended up in jail for violent crime.
And now, the same team has found a gene for depression. It involves a different neurotransmitter – in this case using the serotonin system – but the same applies; combine a certain gene with stressful life events, and these people are far more likely to develop depression.
The debate between nature and nurture may soon be declared a tie.
Combine the two and it seems you may have a powerful predictor of human behaviour. The discovery will change society forever from our legal system, to healthcare and insurance and even perhaps what it means to be human".
"Studies from around the world have reported that men are more jealous of sexual infidelity than emotional infidelity. And women are the opposite—they’re more jealous of emotional cheating than sexual cheating. Experts often lean on an evolutionary cause for this gender difference: Men can never be sure they are the baby-daddy and women are most concerned with securing a genuinely loyal father to care for the children".
Or do they...?
A short article (and 60 second podcast) from Scientific American on a recent study that suggests things may be a little more complicated.
If you study the aggression topic you have to use social learning theory to explain how people, especially children, learn to be aggressive to deal with problems and achieve their objectives.
But, you can also use it to explain how other behaviour, like addictive behaviour, can also be learnt. This can be through direct observation of role models in the social environment or indirect observation. The video clip is an old ad that suggests smoking cannabis can be learnt through direct observation of role models.
Smoking, drinking and drug use can also be learnt through vicarious observation: role models in the media may influence peoples behaviour. Recent research has found that drinking in films may cause people to drink more.
You can always use one theory or explanation to evaluate another theory or explanation. Social learning theory is useful for this, so learn it well and practice using it to explain a variety of behaviour.
One recent research study found that elevated levels of testosterone may have caused participants to behave pro-socially, this research study found the opposite effect:
"We conclude that elevated testosterone causes men to behave antisocially".
Elevated levels of testosterone may have different effects on the behaviour of men and women.
Read the Abstract of the study and turn it into AO2/A03 material for an essay.
This Horizon documentary The Ghost In your Genes investigates inheritance and how this may not be just due to D.N.A. and set in stone at conception but also how the experiences of our Grandparents and Parents may influence our physical development and some behavioural traits. Stress experienced by the mother may be transmitted to the fetus and switch on genes that change that child's stress response: an experience like 9/11 might lead to the transmission of something similar to post-traumatic stress disorder to the child.
The first part of the documentary explains the biology of inheritence and how genes are the basic mechanism of this process.
The relationship between Testosterone, masculinity, and aggression has been a source of debate for centuries. This article discusses the history of that debate and the link between testosterone and aggression. One point that many textbooks make about research on the link between testosterone and aggression is that this research has focussed on correlations between testosterone and aggression in males, experiments measuring levels of testosterone between aggressive males and non-aggressive males and animal studies using male animals. This may raise the issue of gender bias, a major problem in most psychological research. These studies may be androcentric: they may tell us something valid about the link between testosterone and aggression in males but not females.
However, some research has investigated the relationship between testosterone and aggression in women. This research suggests that women with high levels of testosterone are more dominant and aggressive than women with low levels of testosterone. It also suggests that some women may respond to threats, especially social challenges with the production of more testosterone and may engage in more aggressive and dominant behaviour.
The latest research suggests otherwise. Researchers at a University in Zurich conducted a study where they manipulated the level of testosterone in female participants and measured their behaviour in a game invoving the distribution of rewards. They found that testosterone led to an increase in fairness in the allocation of these rewards and concluded that the effect of testosterone is mediated by cognitive processes: what people think about testosterone influences how they behave not the basic biological effect of testosterone itself. The findings of this study concludes Professor Ashley Grossman:
"...puts hormones in their place. hormones provide a basic backdrop, but changes in levels will do little to behaviour compared to personality, culture and society".
Link to a detailed discussion of this research with some criticisms of how it has been reported in the media.... here
Social learning theory argues that behaviour is learnt through observing the behaviour of role models directly in the social environment and indirectly through the media. Bandura developed the concept of vicarious learning to explain how we can learn new behaviours through watching films and T.V. He conducted the Bobo doll studies to test his hypothesis that children can learn aggressive behaviour by watching a role model behave aggressively and be rewarded for that aggressive behaviour. One of his Bobo doll studies tested his hypothesis that children can learn to behave aggressively through vicarious learning: indirectly by watching role models in films and on T.V. Bandura modified his social learning theory and introduced cognitive processes to explain how vicarious learning worked. This Social Cognitive Learning Theory has been very influencial in explaining the effect of the media on aggression and aggressive behaviour.
Natural Born Killers the film by Oliver Stone focusses on the role of the media in causing aggression, aggressive violence and murder, especially serial killings. The film suggests that the murders by Mickey and Mallory the male and female killers in the film are due to the way the media reports and celebrates violence and serial killers. Like Dr Frankenstein the media is responsible for the creation of serial killers.
Some psychiatrists agree with this analysis and have backed this up with evidence of 'copy cat murders' after the media has reported cases of extreme violence.
However, Mickey claims that he is a natural born killer, he does what he does because it's innate, it's part of his nature:
"The Wolf don't know why he's a Wolf, the Deer don't know why he's a deer. God just made 'em that way."
Psychologists don't look to God for an explanation of behaviour like aggression but evolutionary mechanisms and genes and inheritance. Some psychologists now think that there may be natural born killers: psychopaths. After all millions of people watch T. V. and films like Natural Born Killers and don't go out and murder people.
The film also suggests that Mickey and Mallory may have been raised in an abusive environment. Watch the film. What do you think: is Mickey right he is a natural born killer or is the film director right it's down to the media. How about a Social Learning theory explanation? Being raised in an abusive environment and observing adults behave aggressively explains Mickey and Mallory's aggression?
Mark Brandon Read is better known as "Chopper". In 2000 a film based on his life was released. Chopper has claimed to have murdered 19 people, had his ears cut off in prison, and thinks using bolt cutters to cut off people's toes is humane. In the news clip below he rejects the suggestion by the reporter that he is a sociopath.
It's possible that Chopper is a psychopath. Recent research suggests that psychopaths are born to be psychopathic and their childhood experiences, family, and environmental factors play no role. The Hare psychopathy checklist has been developed to identify people with psychopathy. Most researchers now think that psychopathy is due to a neurological disorder. These findings raise serious legal and moral issues. If someone is born with a biological predisposition for aggression and aggressive behaviour can they argue that they are not responsible for their behaviour? How does this research influence the free will and determinism debates? Could Chopper claim that he is not responsible for his extreme aggression: he was born to be aggressive and violent.
The video below is an Equinox documentary that outlines the latest research on psychopathy.
Francis Galton conducted some of the first twin studies and was the first to publish research that used the expression nature versus nurture.
You can read an article about the basic twin study method and how twin studies try to identify and measure the role of genes in determining behavior here....
Twin studies have one major advantage. Given that monozygotic twins share the same genes and the same prenatal environment then if they are well designed and carefully conducted they can estimate how likely a physical characteristic or behavioural trait is inherited. However, it is difficult to find monozygotic twins that do not share the same childhood environment. This makes it difficult to control for the effects of that shared physical and social environment on the behaviour the psychologist is interested in. This is why psychologists are really interested in Monozygotic twins that have been separated in early childhood and reared apart. If both twins behave in the same or similar ways even though they were raised in very different environments then this can be interpreted as evidence that the behaviour is inherited and it does have a genetic basis.
The Krays were monozygotic twins and they were both aggressive and violent. Watch the film and decide which is the most important: the fact that they are monozygotic twins and share the same genes and prenatal environment or the physical and social environment that they were raised in?
Explain their aggression using the biological approach: they have inherited their aggression and it has a genetic basis. Back up your argument with evidence from twin studies research.
How would social learning theory explain the aggression of the Krays? Use this to evaluate a genetic explanation for their behaviour. Back up your argument with evidence from research. You could always conclude that it might be both genes and environment, that there is no real debate: it's both nature and nurture. Finally you could have a look at this...epigenetics.
What is it about lifts that make us feel so anxious? According to Dario Maestripieri in Paleolithic days "...murder was a socially acceptable way to get out of awkward social situations". An evolutionary approach to explaining lift behaviour.
Modeling has been at the core of Bandura’s thought ever since. At first, he says, this research was “knowledge pursued for its own sake.” But it led to his first opportunity to turn theory to practical use when Bandura was invited to testify before congressional committees about the effects of television violence on children. One result was that the Federal Trade Commission passed new advertising standards. Portrayals of children performing risky activities were no longer acceptable, and an ad for a headache medication that showed characters pounding each other with mallets had to be changed.
