The Use of Behavioral Genetics in the Justice System IntroductionA complex and relatively new field of study, behavioral genetics is particularly interesting because it sheds light on the inner workings of a favorite subject: ourselves. Human behavioral genetics is broadly defined as the examination and characterization of genes as the basis for human behavior. The link between genetics and behavior was first recognized by Sir Francis Galton, a 19th-century scientist and cousin of the world-famous Charles Darwin, who studied the inheritance of mental abilities of close relatives and family members (Stigler, 2010). Since then, genetics has been linked to many more behavioral phenotypes, from eating and mating activities to substance abuse, social attitudes, violence and mental abilities. Geneticists are able to study this by analyzing parallels in the physical and behavioral characteristics of families and populations (Rothstein, 2005). However, as in many other new scientific fields, the study of behavioral genetics and its implications have been the subject of increasing attention and controversy. While there are no conclusive results yet, it is likely that this genetic information could be used in areas such as education, employment, insurance and criminal justice. Because the results of this genetic research have the ability to influence such broad and important fields in our society, many people are concerned about the ethical, legal, and social implications that behavioral genetics raises. Who will be given access to this information and for what purpose? There is a delicate line between information that could be extremely useful in our society and information that could be used in a discriminatory and harmful way… half of the paper… specific genes by examining DNA (NCB) . This is often difficult because there are many genes involved and environmental factors that influence the phenotypic behavior displayed. Associations between a genetic variant and a behavioral trait have been found, but have not been successfully replicated by other researchers (NCB). Both linkage and association studies are used when studying behavior, but because linkage studies are less applicable (because behavioral traits do not separate in a simple dominant and recessive way), association studies are more commonly used . According to the Nuffield Council of Bioethics, association studies “compare the frequency of a particular genetic variant in a case cohort (a group of people with a particular behavioral characteristic) with a set of controls (a similar group of people who do not show the feature).”