Discussion #2

ENA Theory.html

ENA Theory

ENA theory more or less “straddles the fence” in terms of nature and nurture. The basic premise of the theory is that criminal activity is learned from being exposed to and having it modeled by others (nurture); however, ENA theorists also hold that the desire or motivation to commit criminal acts is biological or instinctual. In other words, ENA is founded upon evolutionary (learned/nurture) and neurological (nature) concepts.

 

The support for the belief that criminal activity is learned or a result of evolution is that rehabilitation is effective with some criminals. However, there are other criminals, like serial killers, who do not respond favorably to rehabilitation or retraining efforts and ergo, ENA theorists maintain that the urge or desire to continue in criminal activity is not learned, but innately infused within the person’s biological make-up and evolution is at the root of this.

 

The overall basis for ENA’s biological or nature perspective is that mankind has evolved in terms of what females desire in future mates – the mate to be a strong provider. Therefore, the strong male providers have, over multiple generations, continued to evolve into stronger and more competent providers, which in turn has increased the competition to be referred to as the strongest and best. This competition can and has led to criminal behavior, particularly concerning victimization – the learned part of behavior.

 

The implication of ENA theory is centered upon the issue that the majority of criminals are males. However, the explanation for female criminal behavior is similarly based on the concept of competition for the most successful provider serves as the motivator to commit criminal activities given the biological factors are present as well as the nurturing effect of having criminal behavior modeled. In other words, females who have the biological tendencies to commit a crime and observe other females’ criminal behaviors resulting in attracting strong providers, leads to their commission of crime due to competition just like the males.

 

Interestingly, ENA theory focuses more on the prevention of criminal behavior. Each of the preventative approaches involves the use of drugs that are designed to modify or alleviate the bio-neurological factors that are believed to cause deviant behavior as well as the inclusion of rehabilitation and retraining of those who have already committed crimes. However, ENA theorists do support the concept of long-term imprisonment of those who have committed serious and or heinous crimes to limit their contributions to the gene pool of society.