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This is a very complex
question, with a very long, convoluted answer. Let me see
if I can sum up the answer in a way that everyone will understand:
No.
No, no, no, no,
no.
Whew. Exhausted.
Complex answers like that always take it out of me.
This is a pretty
common genetics-related misconception that people tend to
have. The initial study about men with the XYY chromosome
combination suffered from some bad science. The study was
flawed (it didn’t have the proper controls in place),
and two of the scientists have since recanted their observations.
But why do people keep thinking that “XYY”= “psycho
dude”?
The idea of the
aggressive XYY man stays with us mostly because it’s
often used in TV and movies to examine the legal consequences
of someone biologically predisposed to violence. In many courtroom
dramas, the XYY “defence” still comes up to justify
the actions of some guy on trial for doing something stupid
and violent. But the smart judges throw out the chromosome
predisposition defence, and sentence the XYY guy to 15 Big
Hugs from Someone Nice.
Wanna learn more? Check out the glossary:
X
Chromosome
Y
Chromosome
Also, check out this article on XYY Men
March 2009
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