Warrior Gene

1. Some of the biggest supporting research for the idea of the “criminal gene” comes from the work of neurobiologist Dr. James Fallon. Dr. Fallon is the head of the anatomy and neurobiology school of medicine at UC Irvine. His research suggests that there is a group of genes common in some people that make them much more prone to violence. He calls these the “warrior genes.” To support this theory of a warrior gene, Dr. Fallon has researched cultures that have been plagued with famine, war, etc. He believed that there would be dramatic levels of the warrior gene found in these populations due to the fact that it’s survival of the fittest, and if you are going to survive in an environment like that then you need to be assertive and dominant.

Some of the research talked about in this book was twin studies. Researchers would compare identical twins that grew up in the same environment. This means that they would share most of their genetics as well as their environment. The research found that the concordance rates among the identical twins were much higher than those of other siblings. This is a strong piece of evidence in support of the “criminal gene.” On the other hand, there are many studies that focus on environmental and societal factors, stating that there is no “criminal gene.” The basis for the evidence pointing to crime as a genetic factor lies in twin studies. Many think that because of the high concordance rates in identical twins it means that crime is genetic. However, there is just no logical way you can arrive at that. Did you grow up doing the exact same things, eating the same foods, playing the same games, and watching the same TV shows as your siblings? Of course not, the fact is, there are so many confound possibilities when it comes to twin studies that it’s nearly impossible for a factual conclusion to be