AC 2.1- Biological theories of criminality Flashcards
general criticism of biological theories of criminality
Ignoring environmental factors - person may be born with increased aggression for example, but need an environmental trigger for them to commit a crime
A sample bias - not representative - researchers often use sample of convicted criminals - does NOT represent criminals who got away, not sound basis for generalising about all criminals
A gender bias - focuses on males so doesn’t explain female criminality
Crime is a social construct - what a crime is varies over culture and time - no sense in looking for universal explanations (as biological theories do)
Physiological theory - Lombroso - what does the theory state
criminals can be identified by their features and specific crimes are related to specific features
Came up with this idea by studying the bodies of criminals
Distinctive features include large jaws, high cheekbones, handle-shaped ears, acute eyesight
Flattened noses for thieves
What is Lombrosos theory on the female offender
The Female Offender (1897)
Males with five or more physical anomalies are marked as ‘born criminals’
Female criminals are also born criminals but they may be identified with as few as three anomalies
Lombroso concluded that female criminals were rare and suggested that they had not ‘degenerated’ in the same way as men because they had evolved kess due to the inactive nature of their lives
What did Charles Goring state in relation to Lombroso’s theory
Results from the study ultimately concluded that there were in fact no distinct physical abnormalities differentiating criminals from non-criminals
What are the strengths of Lombrosos theory
First study of crime scientifically - using objective measurements, crime previously seen as moral/religious issue
Research showed importance of looking at criminals history
helps us to focus on how we can help prevent further crime rather than pushing offenders to commit more -Arguing offenders were not freely choosing to commit crime
What are the weaknesses of Lombrosos theory
Research since Lombroso has failed to show a link between facial features and criminality
Lombroso failed to compare his findings on prisoners with a control group of non criminals - had he done so he may have found the same characteristics among the general population which would make his explanation invalid
By describing criminals as like ‘primitive savages’ - Lombroso equates non western societies with criminals this is a form of racism
Physiological - Sheldons theory - what does it state
Sheldon argued that somatotype (body type) is related to criminality: mesomorphs are more likely to commit crimes
Sheldon’s theory - What are the 3 somatotypes + describe them
Ectomorph - Thin, fragile, lacking fat + muscle, narrow hips, personality is self-conscious, thoughtful, emotionally restrained
Endomorph - Rounded, soft, fat, wide hips + lack muscle, sociable, relaxed comfortable and outgoing
Mesomorph - Muscular + hard-bodied, little fat + strong limbs, narrow waist, adventurous, inward-looking
Strengths of Sheldons theory
Glueck + Glueck found that 60% of the offenders in their study were mesomorphs
Most serious delinquents had most extreme mesomorphic body shape
Weaknesses of Sheldons theory
Glueck + Glueck found that criminality was best explained not by biology alone, but by a combination of biological, psychological + environmental factors
Criminals may develop a mesomorphic build as a result of needing to be physically tough to succeed - meaning CRIMINALITY CAUSES SOMATOTYPE
SOCIAL CLASS may have an effect on somatotype - working class people are most convicted offenders as they have an athletic build
LABELLING may play a part
Genetic theory - twin studies - what do they argue + give detail
genetic theories argue that crime has genetic causes - identical (MZ) twins are genetically identical, so if one is criminal we should find that the other is too
Family members share many of the same genes
If one member has ‘criminal genes’, it is likely his or her blood relatives will too
Identical twins (monozygotic) share exactly the same genes
Identical twins - both developed from same fertilised egg
Christiansen’s study (1997) - evidence for twin studies
- what was it + what did it find
3586 twin pairs in Denmark
52% concordance rate between MZ twins
Among dizygotic twins there was only 22% chance
what are the Strengths of twin studies
Because MZ twins are genetically identical, it is logical to examine whether their offending behaviour is also identical
Ishikawa and Raine found higher concordance rate for identical than non identical twins
what are the weakness of twin studies
Studies show 50% or less concordance and if genes were the only cause of criminality the identical twin studies would show 100%
Higher concordance rates between twins could be about other factors
Parental influence/influence of closeness of identical twins
Not all twins are the same
genetic theory - adoption studies - what do they compare/say
Compares adopted children both to their biological parents and to their adopted parents. If both adopted children and biological parents have similar criminal behaviour this would suppport a genetic explanation
what did mednick et al find
Sons more likely to have a criminal record if parents had a criminal record - 20% concordance rate
A smaller proportion (14.7%) had a criminal record if their adoptive parent had one
what are the strengths of adoption studies
reallife application
Overcomes issues with twin studies - can separate influence of genes and eviroment
Parents are primary influence onto children - biological + adopted - in theory identifies between nurture and nature
Some correlation with biological parents having criminal records
what are the weaknesses of adoption studies
Adopted children are often placed in an environment similar to the one they would have been brought up in
Many children not adopted immediately and early time with biological parents could have an effect
genetic theory - Jacob XYY theory - what did it argue
Some males may have an extra Y chromosome which may cause violent behaviour
Some crimes may be related to chromosomal abnormalities
Sex is determined by the pattern of a person’s sexy chromosome - XX - woman XY man (not part of the argument)
Jacobs XYY theory - what was his study
Studied imprisoned criminals in psychiatric hospitals
XYY men tend to be tall and well built + of lower intelligence - more aggressive
XYY men are over-represented in the prison population
15/1000 sufferers in prison vs 1/1000 in the general population
Strengths of Jacobs XYY theory
Found correlation between between XYY syndrome and offender imprisoned for violent behaviour
Price + Whatmore found correlations between syndrome + property crime
What are the weaknesses of Jacobs XYY theory
The importance of the syndrome as a cause of crime is over exaggerated - XYY males are tall and well built and therefore labelled by courts as a ‘violent offender’ this means that they are more likely to get a prison sentence for a violent crime - and therefore be overrepresented in samples drawn from prisons
Syndrome cannot explain much crime as only 1/1000 people have it
XYY males - overrepresented in prison due to low intelligence so likely to get caught
Brain injuries and disorders theory - what is it
Injuries disorders + diseases of the brain may cause it to malfunction in ways that change personality, morals, self control, leading to criminals behaviour
What are the 4 main areas of the brain?
Prefrontal cortex - emotional processing, the conflict between rational + emotional choices
Frontal lobe - Controls impulsivity
Parietal lobe - Processing sensory information
Occipital lobe - Visual processing
