Nature vs. nurture is an argument that has been going on for a long time in biology and criminology. People on one side say that its how you were raised, while others say that it is in your genes. Well how about a little bit of both? The idea that nature AND nurture shape us is more commonly believed in the general growth of a person. I think the same thing applies to criminology as well.

Nature is what we are born with. Mostly physical, but a lot of the personality traits we have are because we inherited them from a parent or other family member. I know I have my dad’s lack of patience and my mother’s procrastination. But it doesn’t always mean you are going to be stuck with all of your parent’s traits. Nature has a lot to do with physical traits, because most of us look like our parents.

Nurture is how we were raised and what types of experiences we had in our childhood. These experiences help shape the person we become when we are older. Nurture is really what molds your personality and makes you unique when comparing to other people.

So how does this relate to criminology? Criminologists will consider both when analyzing criminal activity. Nature and Nurture have a huge effect on criminality. Nurture brings us back to social learning theory and how criminal behavior is learned behavior. So if a child grows up around delinquent peers, chances are this can explain why they stole a pocket knife from the thrift store. Nature also helps with this because some personality traits. There have been studies that showed children that were adopted into good family homes with good morals, can still become delinquent. Upon further research, sometimes the delinquent child’s biological parent has been convicted of crimes themselves.

Its a debate that has gone on for a while, but a lot of criminologists agree that both have a lot to do with the criminality of a person. Comment below which you think has more of an impact on someone’s life.