3. biological explanations: atavistic form

Question 1

what did lombroso suggest criminals were in his book l’uomo delinquente?

Answer 1

criminals were ‘genetic throwbacks’ , a primitive subspecies who were biologically different from non-criminals.

Question 2

explain what offenders were seen as according to lombroso

Answer 2

Offenders were seen as lacking evolutionary development, their savage and untamed nature meant that they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of society and would turn to crime.
Lombroso saw offending behaviour as natural tendency rooted in the genes of those who engage in it.

Question 3

explain the atavistic form

Answer 3

The offender subtype could be identified as being in possession of physiological ‘markers’ that were linked to particular types of offence. These are biologically determined atavistic characteristics which make offenders physically different.

Question 4

describe the atavistic characteristics

Answer 4

The atavistic form includes a narrow, sloping brow, a prominent jaw, high cheekbones, and facial asymmetry.
It also includes dark skin, extra toes/nipples/fingers.
There are other aspects such as use of slang, tattoos, and unemployment.

Question 5

AO3: give a strength of lombroso’s atavistic theory

LEGACY

Answer 5

Lombroso’s work has changed the face of the study of crime.
Lombroso has been hailed as the ‘father of modern criminology’ as he is credited in shifting the emphasis in crime research away rom a moralistic disclosure towards a more scientific position. In trying to describe how particular types of people are likely to commit particular types of crimes, his theory in many ways heralded the beginning of offender profiling.
This means that Lombroso made a major contribution to the science of criminology.

Question 5

give the psysical characteristic for the following offender types
1. MURDERER
1. FRAUDSTER
1. SEXUAL DEVIANT

Answer 5

1. MURDERER: Bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
2. FRAUDSTER: Thin and ‘reedy’ lips
3. SEXUAL DEVIANT: Glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips, projecting ears

Question 6

what did lombroso do and find?

Answer 6

Examined the facial and cranial features of Italian convicts, both living and dead, concluding there was an atavistic form key indicator of criminality.
In total he examined the skulls of 383 dead convicts and 3839 living ones, concluding 40% of criminal acts were committed by people with atavistic characteristics.

Question 7

AO3: give a limitation of lombroso’s atavistic theory

(contradicting evidence, Goring)

Answer 7

Evidence contradicts the link between atavism and crime.
Goring set out to establish whether there was anything physically atypical about offenders. After conducting a comparison between 3000 offenders and 3000 non offenders he concluded that there was no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with unusual facial and cranial characteristics.
This is a limitation because it challenges the idea that offenders can be physically distinguished from the rest of the population and therefore are unlikely to be a subspecies.

Question 8

AO3: give a limitation of lombroso’s atavistic theory

(poor control = confounding vaiables)

Answer 8

Lombroso’s methods of investigation were poorly controlled.
Lombroso failed to control important variables within his research. Unlike Goring, he did not compare his offender sample with a non-offender control group, which would have controlled for an assortment of confounding variables that may have equally explained high crime rates in certain groups of people. For example, research has demonstrated that links between crime and social conditions like poverty and poor educational outcomes, which would explain why offenders were more likely to be unemployed.
This means that Lombroso’s research does not meet modern scientific standards.