Antisocial activities, such as aggression, psychoticism, and the tendency to rape and murder, is a severe problem in society. Although researchers still relate this activity to one’s personality and environmental factors, geneticists are taking a closer look at the correlation between these types of behaviors and the length of AR-CAG repeat lengths in males. From a geneticist view, it is hypothesized that the shorter the CAG repeat length, the more AR activity there will be. The androgen receptor, AR, is activated by testosterone or dihydrotestosterone. These hormones control the development of male characteristics. Higher levels of testosterone have been linked to aggressive behavior in numerous studies. The length of the CAG repeat …show more content…
The CAG repeat varies in length from 8 to 35; 21 being average. Shorter repeat lengths have been found to be related to increased dominance, high verbal aggression, and a lack of assertiveness. The study on the CAG repeat length found a significant difference between the lengths in the inmates, convicted of violent crimes, and the control group. The control had relatively average CAG repeat lengths, whereas the population of violent offenders had considerably shorter CAG repeat lengths. The experiment explores the correlation between AR-CAG repeat length and the tendency to commit violent …show more content…
This difference conveys a strong correlation between a short AR-CAG repeat and violent, criminal behavior. However, the evidence only shows a correlation within the three populations that the samples were taken from. There is not enough evidence to suggest a correlation between short AR-CAG repeats and violent behavior throughout the entire male species since the samples were centralized to one region of the world. One cannot assume that the results will be the same in other regions of the world. This study did provide enough information for the experiment to be replicated. This allows one to discover if the results are only valid in the particular region the study took place in, or if the results can be replicated in various parts of the world. The method of collecting the samples in the experiment was appropriate, however it could be improved for future studies in order to reduce bias. For instance, after collecting the samples, randomization should be applied when extracting the raw data from each sample. The researchers shouldn’t know whether or not each sample belongs to the control group or the group of violent offenders. Sometimes data can be unintentionally manipulated to match what is expected from the results. By making each sample unknown as to which group the sample belong to, bias is