The Impact of Temperature on Murder Rates in NYC
Julia Glatman, Rachel Musheyev, Hannah Tetreault
Our project is about investigating the relationship between average monthly temperature and monthly murder rates. We want to understand this relationship in order to potentially add to society’s understanding of how weather affects people. We check the weather on a daily basis and it impacts some basic decisions we make, such as what clothes to wear and whether or not we want to go outside that day. But does weather make humans decide on a more malicious act, such as the choice to murder?! Our project looked at data from three years (2017-2019) and made graphs to analyze whether or not there was a correlation between the two variables. Although a loose correlation was found, our research poses questions for future studies involving this topic, whose results can be applied in the field of psychology and in the court of law.
Hey guys!! This topic is as fascinating as it is hair-raising. As complex as human behavior is, patterns can still be found and plotted on a graph, which is really cool. I have always heard the phrase “don’t lose your cool”, but you guys really took the meaning to a whole new, scientific level – murder and temperature. Great job, I love it!!
Wow, amazing poster! I never thought there would be such a strong correlation between weather and murder rates but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I do wonder about that sharp decrease between July and August in 2017 though. That may have contributed to the weak correlation that year. I’m curious to see how the correlation will shift in future years. Great work!
This project is very interesting to me since this revolves around psychology and how the weather makes someone want to kill or not to kill. It goes to show how big an impact weather has on us in the smallest and biggest of ways, including murder. I want to see how this will change in the years to come due to global warming. Amazing!
Hey guys!! Your project is definitely one of the most interesting topics I’ve seen so far. It’s amazing to see how two fields of data that are seemingly unrelated actually have some really interesting trends and correlations. I also agree that your preliminary findings can lead to further research and implications, especially in the fields of psychology and law. Who knows, maybe 50 years in the future, your research may have spawned a whole new interest in human behavior and other fields that people never would’ve thought of!
Hi! I thought your project was really interesting, and I was actually surprised by the results. When reading the title, I expected murder rates to be higher in colder temperatures because of mood disorders like Seasonal Affective Disorder, where people become more depressed during specific times of the year. This generally happens in the winter and is attributed to the decrease in sunlight, slowing down the production of serotonin in those who are affected. Seeing that there is a positive correlation between temperature and murder rates puts this information into a different perspective, and makes me wonder if depressive symptoms have a negative correlation with murder rates. Could it be that these symptoms, which include a lack of motivation, cause people to act less often on their potential desire to commit violent crimes?