More about my topic.

The specific question that I want to answer is whether nature or nurture is more important when explaining deviant or criminal behavior. I want to look at all the different aspects that can explain the behavior and explain why I think one is more important than the other. My working thesis statement would be that biology holds the answer to criminal behavior. I currently know a bit of information about the issue. I'm in a theory class and have learned about a few things in my other Criminology classes. Many Criminologists focus on social theories to explain crime due to bad research done in the biological aspect early in Criminology's history. However, with advances in technology, experts have been able to look inside the body for explanations rather than using body features to determine criminality like they did in the early 19th Century. I know that things like low self-control, low attention span, aggressiveness and sensation seeking can lead to this behavior as well. I also know that disorders like Bi-Polar and ADHD which are heritable contribute to criminality as well as serotonin levels. Other disorders such as psychosis, psychopathy and schizophrenia can also increase criminality There have also been studies done to show that environment toxins and some things we eat can influence our genes in a way that can alter our normal behavior for a period of time. an example of this is what came to be known as the Twinkie Defense, when a guy murdered his wife I believe and then used the defense that he was depressed which caused him to eat unhealthy things that his body wasn't used to altering chemicals in his brain making him act uncharacteristically.  I still need to find out the exact genes that help contribute to criminality and how these genes affect people. I need to look at the level of influence that the environment has on your genes and how much that can change your risk of being deviant. I also need to learn what other biological things can contribute to crime and why some inheritable diseases do. Arguments that oppose mine are things like parents influence behavior more, peers have more of an impact on why we do things, socioeconomic status and social disorganization explain deviant behavior better and formal and informal controls can explain criminal behavior in a broad sense. I've already looked at the books Understanding Violence, Biology and Crime, The Criminal Brain: Understanding Biological Theories of Crime, Criminology A Brief Introduction, and Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. The articles that I've already looked at are All in the Family and Evidence of Genetic and Environmental effects on the Development of Low Self-Control, and H.J. Eysenck in Fagin's Kitchen: the Return to Biological Theory in 20th Century Criminology.