The Future of Criminology | Brian Boutwell | TEDxSaintLouisUniversity
Summary
TLDRThe speaker argues that criminology has been misguided by an overemphasis on environmental factors in explaining crime, neglecting genetic influences. Citing studies on identical twins and adopted children, the talk suggests that genetics play a significant role in human traits, including criminal behavior. The speaker advocates for a biosocial approach to criminology, integrating biology and social sciences, to improve treatments and prevention strategies, leading to a more effective and humane criminal justice system.
Takeaways
- 🩸 The speaker acknowledges the need for a 'bloodletting' in the field of criminology to address deep-rooted problems.
- 🌐 The issues within criminology are not isolated but have spread to other social sciences like sociology, psychology, and economics.
- 🧬 The traditional approach to studying crime has been to focus solely on environmental factors, neglecting genetic and biological influences.
- 🔍 The speaker argues that scientists should be open to changing their views in light of new evidence, but this is not always the case.
- 🤔 The historical figure Cesare Lombroso is mentioned as someone who considered both biology and environment in understanding crime, despite being now largely discredited.
- 🧬🌿 The speaker emphasizes that both genetic factors and environment contribute to phenotypic variation, including behaviors like criminality.
- 👥 Research on identical twins raised apart and adopted children raised together provides evidence that genes play a significant role in behavior.
- 🧬 A meta-analysis of twin studies across 39 countries showed that all human traits are heritable, challenging the notion that environment is the sole predictor of behavior.
- 🔍 The speaker points out that ignoring genetic factors in social science research can lead to incorrect conclusions about cause and effect.
- 🛤️ Criminology is at a crossroads and must decide whether to continue with the status quo or embrace a bio-social approach to study crime.
- 🌟 The future of criminology lies in becoming a bio-social science, integrating fields like behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the talk?
-The main issue discussed in the talk is the outdated guiding principle in criminology that focuses solely on environmental factors when searching for the causes of crime, neglecting the role of genetics and biological factors.
What does the speaker suggest is the solution to the problem in criminology?
-The speaker suggests that the solution is to integrate biology and genetics into criminology, making it a bio-social science to better understand the causes of crime.
Why does the speaker mention other social sciences?
-The speaker mentions other social sciences because the problem of neglecting biological factors is not confined to criminology but has also affected sociology, psychology, and economics.
What is the significance of Cesare Lombroso's work in the context of the talk?
-Cesare Lombroso's work is significant because he believed that both biology and environment mattered in understanding crime, which aligns with the speaker's argument for a bio-social approach in criminology.
What is the thought experiment the speaker asks the audience to consider?
-The thought experiment is to imagine cloning two individuals and placing them in different environments to see how similar or different they are after decades, highlighting the impact of genetics versus environment.
What does the speaker find fascinating about identical twins raised apart?
-The speaker finds it fascinating that identical twins raised apart are remarkably similar in intellect, personality, and even small idiosyncrasies, suggesting a strong genetic influence.
Why does the speaker's personal experience with adoption resonate with the research on adopted children?
-The speaker's personal experience resonates because he and his adopted brother were raised in the same environment but had significant differences in personality, intellect, and interests, illustrating the impact of genetics.
What was the groundbreaking finding of the meta-analysis published in Nature Genetics?
-The meta-analysis found that all human traits are heritable, with no trait having a weighted heritability estimate of zero, indicating that genetics plays a role in all human characteristics.
What is the potential consequence of ignoring genetic factors in social science research?
-Ignoring genetic factors can lead to incorrect conclusions about cause and effect, making research findings unreliable and potentially leading to a confounded understanding of human behavior.
Why is it crucial for criminology to embrace a bio-social approach according to the speaker?
-Embracing a bio-social approach is crucial because it allows criminology to adapt to the changing scientific landscape, improve treatments, prevention efforts, and rehabilitation strategies, leading to a more humane criminal justice system.
What challenges does the speaker foresee for biosocial criminology?
-The speaker foresees that biosocial criminology will encounter pitfalls and challenges, such as needing to course-correct and navigate potential objections, but believes that these are part of the scientific process and that the direction is correct.
Outlines
🔍 The Issue with Traditional Criminology
The speaker begins by acknowledging that the first part of the talk might be uncomfortable, as it will challenge the current paradigm in criminology. Traditionally, criminology has focused on environmental factors as the primary drivers of crime, relegating biological factors like genetics and hormones to a secondary role. This approach has been ingrained in the discipline for decades and is taught to students. However, the speaker suggests that this guiding principle is outdated and incorrect. They argue that scientists, who are supposed to be open to new evidence, sometimes resist changing their views, leading to stagnation in the field. The speaker also points out that the problem is not confined to criminology but has spread to other social sciences. They introduce the idea that both genetic and environmental factors are crucial in understanding crime, using the example of identical twins raised apart to illustrate the significant role of genetics.
🧬 The Power of Genetics in Human Traits
The speaker shares their personal journey of understanding the role of genetics in human behavior, starting with the surprising similarities between identical twins raised apart. They then contrast this with their own experience of being adopted and noticing the differences between themselves and their adoptive brother, despite growing up in the same environment. This leads to a discussion about a groundbreaking study published in Nature Genetics, which found that all human traits have a heritable component. The speaker emphasizes the importance of considering genetic factors in social science research, as ignoring them can lead to incorrect conclusions about cause and effect. They argue that much of the existing knowledge in criminology could be flawed due to unmeasured genetic influences.
🛤️ The Future Path for Criminology
In the final paragraph, the speaker outlines the critical decision point that criminology faces. They warn against continuing with the status quo, which they believe will lead to obsolescence and failure to adapt to new scientific advancements. Instead, they advocate for embracing biosocial sciences, including behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology. The speaker argues that criminology must become a bio-social science to survive and thrive. They suggest that this approach will lead to better treatments, prevention efforts, and rehabilitation strategies, ultimately resulting in a more humane criminal justice system. Despite acknowledging the potential challenges and difficulties, the speaker remains optimistic about the direction forward, likening it to a compass pointing true north, even though the path may be fraught with obstacles.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Criminology
💡Environmental Factors
💡Genetic Factors
💡Phenotypic Variation
💡Identical Twins
💡Adopted Children
💡Behavioral Genetics
💡Molecular Genetics
💡Evolutionary Psychology
💡Biosocial Criminology
💡Heritability
Highlights
The science of crime has been guided by the belief that environmental factors are the primary causes of crime.
The speaker argues that this guiding principle is outdated and incorrect.
Criminology students are taught that the environment is the sole determinant of criminal behavior.
Identical twins raised apart show remarkable similarity in traits, challenging the environmental determinism theory.
The speaker shares a personal anecdote about being raised with an adopted brother to illustrate genetic differences.
A meta-analysis of twin studies across 39 countries shows that all human traits are heritable.
Ignoring genetic factors in social science research can lead to incorrect conclusions about cause and effect.
The speaker calls for criminology to become a bio-social science to avoid obsolescence.
Bio-social criminology offers tools to advance the field into a golden age of science.
Criminology must adapt to incorporate behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology.
Refining our understanding of crime's causes will lead to improved treatments and prevention strategies.
The speaker compares the journey of biosocial criminology to a compass, acknowledging potential challenges ahead.
The potential benefits of biosocial criminology are vast and affect everyone.
The speaker emphasizes that there is no reason not to embrace bio-social sciences.
The talk concludes with a call to action for criminology to evolve and incorporate biological factors.
Transcripts
the first part of the talk is going to
feel a bit like a bloodletting right but
it's a bloodletting with a purpose
because the problems that face our
discipline admit of a solution and by
the end of the talk I'll tell you what
that solution is but along the way other
fields should pay attention because the
malady that plagues our discipline has
it been quarantined to our borders it's
bled over into sociology psychology
economics all branches of the social
sciences
luckily the remedy for us is the same as
the remedy for them so what's the
problem well for decade upon decade now
the science of crime has been guided by
a single edict when you're searching for
the causes of crime
you should look only amongst the
environment things like genes brains
hormones whatever effect those things
may have they come second to social
processes educational attainment poverty
this has been the guiding force of our
field it's what we teach our students
even this very semester now along the
way I'm going to talk about some reasons
why that guiding edict is outmoded and
wrong but surely if there's any amongst
us who can change their mind who can
pivot to a new direction when presented
with new evidence it must be scientists
unfortunately that's not always the case
as the famous physicist max plunk once
pimply remarked science advances one
funeral at a time see the problem is
once certain dogmas and dogmatic people
root themselves into the field of
particular scientific field it often
does take as plunks suggested a string
of eulogies to dislodge
now in a bit of plunky and irony one of
the founding fathers of Criminology
italian physician Cesare Lombroso also
believed that biology and the
environment mattered when you're trying
to understand where crime comes from but
in the wake of Lombroso eulogy came not
in advance but a regression he's now our
fields laughingstock Lombroso
unfortunately for him was both ahead of
his time and a product of it many of his
ideas about crime were wrong but he was
asking the right question why are people
different and is the question we're
still asking today and lucky luckily for
us it's an elegantly simple question
that we can put into an equation and
solve to get the right answer and it's
the only equation in the talk I promise
so if we're interested in why people
differ all right we can look no further
than these two factors if we're trying
to explain phenotypic variation so
variation the things we can see hair
color eye color height weight behavior
personality that variation is a product
of genetic factors and the environment
taken together these two factors genes
and our experiences explain why
individuals in the population are taller
than each other shorter than each other
more outgoing more personable and even
more violent and aggressive but this is
not the equation that criminology
students learn this is the equation that
criminology students learn the
environment is all that matters this is
the one I was taught and for so very
long I was convinced that this had to be
an accurate reflection of the world but
that started to unravel and so I want to
tell you a bit about how that happened
so I want you to do a thought experiment
with me imagine that we could clone two
individuals make them identical to each
other
and put them in different environments
from birth even and then decades down
the road after they had time to develop
we could examine them see how similar or
how different they are now for a wealth
of reasons both ethical and practical we
can't run this experiment but as luck
would have it nature and some rare
circumstances have allowed us to examine
just this type of research question and
that comes in the form of identical
twins raised apart after being separated
at birth as it turns out these
individuals are remarkably similar to
each other not just in their intellect
and personality but even the small
idiosyncrasies that we feel like make us
uniquely us these individuals often had
in common now this was a big development
for me and very fascinating but the the
research point that really stuck in my
mind was the mirror opposite of
identical twins separated at Birth and
reared apart and it had to do with
research pertaining to adopted children
raised together these individuals share
no DNA in common
only an environment now the reason this
struck home was because I lived that
research design my brother and I were
adopted at a very young age and with the
benefit of hindsight I can look back and
see all of the differences between us
that were always there brothers in every
sense of the word except in the
biological sense we loved each other
deeply but our personalities our
intellects our interest in our hobbies
very different despite decades together
in the same home this was a bit like
tumbling down a rabbit hole all of the
information I had been taught the
equation that I was led to believe
explained all of the human differences
we observed in the science of crime it
didn't seem to hold anymore but surely
there were some things that were beyond
the reach of genes something well that
belief unraveled entirely for anyone
still holding it
this past year in one of the most
remarkable papers I have ever seen
published in the journal Nature Genetics
and I want to tell you just briefly what
these valiant researchers found so
meta-analysis which is just a large
study of a bunch of studies and this
particular meta-analysis examined twins
we've conducted a meta-analysis of
virtually all twin studies published in
the past 50 years on a wide range of
traits and reporting on more than 14
million twin pairs across 39 different
countries a truly Herculean undertaking
so what did they find
our results provide compelling evidence
that all human traits are heritable not
one trait had a weighted heritability
estimate of zero now just let that wash
across your synapses for a second there
is virtually nothing that is beyond the
reach of genes now why does this matter
for criminology or psychology or
sociology or any other branch of the
social sciences well to understand why
let's look at a basic social science
research design so these boxes are
variables right things that we think
predict one another calls in effect if
you will so perhaps as a psychologist
we're interested in whether or not
corporal punishment or spanking
influences behavioral problems it'd be a
very reasonable guess there is a
mountain of evidence to support it
perhaps as criminologist we're
interested in whether parenting effects
influence criminal behavior later on in
development again a good guess is a
mountain of evidence suggesting that
these two things correlate with each
other in the correlation certainly seems
causal but here's what we often ignore
it genes and we've just seen good
evidence that genetic effects are
pervasive and here's the problem what
happens if they're there
and we don't look for them and we don't
control for them well in 2014 my
colleagues and I wanted to examine that
question and a study led by my good
friend dr. JC Barnes we examine the so
what if you will of genetic effects what
if they're there so what do they matter
well as it turns out if genes influence
the traits that you're interested in and
you ignore them it matters in fact in
inject just a little bit of unmeasured
genetic influence into your study and
all of the sudden your findings will
look very different and in some cases
what seems like cause and effect it's
just an illusion it goes away
now we should note that as a discipline
we've been trying very hard for decades
now we've amassed an incredible amount
of knowledge regarding what correlates
with crime but that issue of unmeasured
genetic influence that I just talked
about what that means
in reality is that all of the knowledge
we're sitting on could very well be one
huge confounded mess until all of the
studies are redone using designs like
twin studies that can pull apart genetic
and environmental influence we have no
idea what they mean now as a field we've
come to yogi Berra's famous fork in the
road we have to make a decision two
paths are presented to us now one is the
status quo we can move ahead we can do
our research publish our findings fund
our grants teach our students win awards
maybe even influence a policy or two but
that would be disastrous and I'll tell
you why because going down that path
will mean obsolescence
it will mean that we fail to adapt to a
changing scientific landscape and even
worse it could mean extinction as other
fields that are less hostile to biology
race past us in the study of crime so
what next
there aren't many biosocial
criminologists in the world and I think
it's fair to say that we are not well
regarded amongst the larger constituency
of criminology but the tools that we
offer and the tools that we use on a
daily basis come with it or bring with
it the advantage of being able to
catapult ourselves into a golden age of
science the new sciences of human
behavior or rather of human nature
behavioral genetics molecular genetics
neuroscience and evolutionary psychology
are the answer to the question of where
we need to go next
criminology simply must be a bio social
science if it hopes to survive now why
does that matter
more broadly well as we refine our
knowledge of where crime comes from our
treatments will improve our prevention
efforts will get better our
rehabilitation strategies will become
ever more effective honing in on the
true causes of crime will lead
inexorably to a more humane criminal
justice system just like honing in on
the two causes of diseases has led
inexorably to a more humane and more
effective science of Medicine so what
are the benefits everything and who
benefits everyone there's simply no
reason not to be a bio social science
now is this guaranteed to be an easy
road and it sounds all very rosy right
now but it's not guaranteed to be an
easy path and it's oscar-winning
portrayal of President Lincoln Daniel
day-lewis uses the analogy of a compass
a compass can point you true north but
it can offer you no advice about the
chasms and the swamps and the deserts
that you inevitably will encounter along
the way biosocial criminology will
encounter some pitfalls we will have to
course-correct
but that's the nature of any science so
there's no guarantee of an easy path
there's no guarantee that we won't
encounter swamps and chasms and deserts
but despite all of that despite all of
the potential problems at least we'll be
headed north thank
you
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