1. Is it experience and/or genetics that creates and
impacts an individual
By: Saajan Patel
Michelle Hover
Erika Davidson
Jasmine Peña

2. 44 Thieves Study (Bowlby,
1944)
 Aim: To investigate the effects of maternal deprivation on people.
 Procedure: Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who were referred to a
child protection program in London because of stealing- i.e. they were
thieves. Bowlby selected another group of 44 children to act as ‘controls’.
 He interviewed the parents from both groups to state whether their children
had experienced separation during the critical period and for how long.

3.  Findings: More than half of
the juvenile thieves had been
separated from their mothers
for longer than six months
during their first five years.
In the control group only two
had had such a separation.
He also found several of the
young thieves (32%) showed
'affectionless psychopathy'
(they were not able to care
about or feel affection for
others). None of the control
group were affectionless
psychopaths.

4.  Conclusion: Bowlby concluded that the reason for the anti-
social behavior and emotional problems in the first group
was due to maternal deprivation.

5.  My Case study summary:
Christiansen's (1970,1974) twin case study is in
favor of the genetic aspect of crime. Christiansen
examined criminality through a random sample of
Danish twins. The results showed a significantly
higher scoring of concordance in MZ twins vrs the DZ
twin. The MZ twins being at 33% concordance on
several levels of criminality against the the DZ twins
at 11% of concordance.

6. Genetics vs. Experience
 Dean Byrd’s study focused on identical twins,
non-identical twins, non-adoptive siblings, and
adopted siblings and his results were 52%
concordance rate for identical twin which means
there are 48% unaccounted to genetics that
could be a result of experience. Because
identical twins share the same genetics then if
one twin is homosexual the other twin should
be so it could not be due to genetics
homosexuality.

7.  Negatives: -Gene is not specific
-unaware of how greatly the genes influences
whether or not a person will be homosexual
-Similar gene was not found in female
homosexuals

8. Definition of Experience
 Dictionary definition: The fact or state of
having been affected by or gained knowledge through
direct observation or participation
 Our definition: Experience is the different
events in one’s lives that influences how they mature

9. TOK WHEEL
Ways of Knowing:
Perception: How you view your
experience (Five senses)
Reason: Motives behind actions
(personal examples)
Emotion: Because of genetics and
experience people are more prone to
become emotionally distressed
Language: culture plays a part in
our language (experience)

10. Areas of Knowledge
 Mathematics: Statically evidence used in
psychological studies
 Natural science: Biological/Genetics
 Human Science: Experience
 Ethics: Stereotyping, Judging

11. Conclusion
 With the support of our case studies and other studies, it is genetics
and experiences combined that affects the different aspects
[ Characteristics, IQ, Perception of the world, Reasoning, Processing,
Emotion Response] of a human being

12. Counter argument
 It could solely be genetics that
influences an individual
 It could solely be experience that
influences and individual

13. Sources
 http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/geneticofhomosexuality.
 http://faculty.uml.edu/jbyrne/heredityandcrime.pdf
 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/experience
 http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html