A comment before the review itself
As you might've read in my blogpost, "I'm not AI, just neurodivergent", my then teacher accused me of using AI to write my review for my final project and then refused to talk to me and answer my questions and attempts to fix the situation.
This is the review, translated from Spanish to English to the best of my ability. It has some mistakes and things I could've worded better, but I want to show everyone what was the kind of work I delivered and got dismissed.
Posted on Monday, December 9th, 2024.
A critical review of "The Faces of Violence" by Martha Dunhe
In the article, "The faces of violence", published by the UNAM magazine ¿Cómo ves? on April of the year 2000, a year after the Columbine Massacre, (the author) explores the causes and consequences of violence through different (science) branches. The author, Martha Dunhe, reviews multiple factors that contribute to violence. Among these factors:
Biological factors
Early experiences
Social influence
Dunhe cites a study that found brain anomalies in killers, like hyperactivity in the Cingulate Gyrus and under activity in the prefrontal cortex. These physiological differences might predispose some individuals to impulsive aggression or lack of empathy.
However, and how Martín Bonfil Olivera (2000) explains:
"What would happen if we discovered that a certain group of people, or the people who have a particular gene, are more prone to be violent? Should we lock them up, so we can prevent that behaviour? Or should we treat them as 'sick'?"
I, myself, share his worries about associating certain genes or brain activity as the (sole) causes of violence. According to Bush et al (2005), Castellanos et al (2002) and Willis & Weiler (2005), (all of them references by the Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium), people with ADHD have less volume on their dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and regions connected to it, including the Cingulate Gyrus. NEPSA Neurological Rehabilitation (2017) mentions that people with type 3 ADHD present an elevated activity on the Cingulate Cyrus, which causes inflexibility. As Martha Dunhe explained:
The CG acts as a brain transmitter, which helps it to change from a thought to the other. When it isn't working right, the person is trapped in a single idea, to which (the person) returns constantly", which is exactly the main characteristic on people with type 3 ADHD.
However, and while the CADAH Fundation (2017) acknowledges that aggressiveness is one of the the more prevalent symptoms in ADHD, these kind of behaviour appear as a response, and the sociocultural factor is the main thing that influences aggressive behaviour.
The American Association of Psychiatry, considers "child and teen aggressiveness" as: "Severe Transgressions to the norms: Run away from home, return home late or past midnight, skip classes, etc". How many people, who were deemed "aggressive", were just people who tried to keep themselves safe or prevent dangerous situations at school?
Dunhe arguments that childhood stressful experiences, like abandonment, abuse or constant stress, as well as a constant exposition to pain and violence, can alter children's brain development and cause them to become more aggressive once they reach adulthood. In the case of children or people with ADHD, their symptoms make them stand out and more prone to be harassed. Even family members can treat them in a contemptuous way because of their differences.
The author explores how the influence of violence in the media, specifically television, can be a factor that contributes to the normalisation of violence in society. Carlos Barrios Cachazo (2005) arrived to a similar conclusion, since:
"[...] the viewer that suffers a prolonged and excessive exposition to televised violence is at risk of adopting the aggressive behaviour that watches or 'learns', modifying their own conduct towards more elevated aggressive states."
In conclusion
The author stressed how violence is a complex phenomenon with multiple, interrelated causes. She encourages us readers to think by ourselves and act to fight violence, but she doesn't offer a concrete solution. It's worth mentioning that, this edition of the "¿Cómo ves?" magazine (april of the year 200), was full of articles centered around violence, its causes, charts, numbers, etc.
In general, "The faces of violence" is an informative article that makes us reflect, and offers us a more complete view about the causes and consequences of violence. Its multifaceted focus and her use of scientific evidence from back then, make this article convincing and interesting. It was published during a time where everyone wanted to seek out answers and put blame about the Columbine Massacre.
References
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Bonfil Olivera, Martín. (2000, abril). ¿Biolencia? (“La biología de la violencia). Revista ¿Cómo ves?. UNAM.
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