A controversial claim that New Zealand Maori have a “warrior gene” that makes them violent has been debunked by science.
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Maori don’t have warrior gene: research
A controversial claim that New Zealand Maori have a “warrior gene” that makes them violent has been debunked by science.
View post:
Maori don’t have warrior gene: research
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The headline is misleading and Hook is attacking a strawman without refuting the research on MAO-A. The warrior gene (low activity variant of MAO-A) occurs in all populations.
1. It was shown in a study on europeans by Moffit (2002) that as adults, 85 percent of the severely maltreated children who also had the gene for low MAO A activity developed antisocial outcomes, such as violent criminal behavior,” says Moffitt. “The combination of maltreatment and the genetic variation magnified the odds by nine times.”
2. Low levels of the MAO A enzyme may help explain why some abused children are more likely to develop aggressive or criminal behavior, but Moffitt stresses that it does not explain why people are violent: “Low levels of the enzyme did not predict antisocial outcomes in the whole population. It’s relation to aggression only emerged when we considered whether the children had been maltreated.”
3. Dr Lea simply observed that the low activity variant varied in frequency between different worldwide ethnic groups.
4. Accordingly, a greater proportion of some groups may be at risk if exposed to maltreatment.
5. Dr Hook does not appear to be denying this. Instead he’s attacking an argument that Lea never made in the first place.
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