A Historical Perspective Flashcards
What’s nature vs nurture?
Nature - genetic
Nuture - environment
What was Lombroso’s view?
That there were physical features which offenders have which indicated they were less developed in an evolutionary sense than non-offenders.
What did Lombroso call the physical features that criminals had?
Atavistic.
Aim of Lombroso’s study.
To identify distinguishing physical features among criminals which set them apart as offenders based on biological principles.
What was Lombroso’s method?
He examined the features and measurement of nearly 4,000 criminals as well as the skulls of 400 dead criminals.
What were Lombroso’s findings?
Sloping brow, pronounced jaw, high cheekbones, large ears, extra nipples, toes and fingers.
What was Lombroso’s conclusion?
That these characteristics indicated that such people were more premature in an evolutionary sense.
Weaknesses of Lombroso’s study?
He did not use a control group in his research. He had a male biased sample. Goring (1913) failed to replicate his findings.
