AC 2.1 Biological Theories of Criminality Flashcards
1
Q
Two Physiological Theories (physical features)
A
- Lombroso - facial features
- Sheldon - body types
2
Q
Lombroso’s Born Criminal Theory
A
- early biological explanation
- criminals are ‘genetic throwbacks’ - biologically different
- failed to evolve - atavistic
- cannot cope in society due to savage and untamed
- distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics
3
Q
Lombroso’s research
A
- criminals both living and dead
- 40% of the crimes were accounted for by physical characteristics
4
Q
3 Features of a Criminal
A
- general criminal
- murderers
- sex offenders
5
Q
General Criminals
A
- large/forward projection of the jaw
- high cheekbones
- flattened or upturned nose
- low slopping forehead
- large ears
- dark skin
6
Q
Murderers
A
- bloodshot eyes
- curly hair
7
Q
Sex offenders
A
- thick lips
- protruding ears
8
Q
Atavistic meaning
A
not as evolved as others (failure to evolve)
9
Q
Lombroso’s Strengths
A
- first person to give criminology a scientific credibility + heralded beginnings of offender profiling
- several pieces of research suggests that less attractive individuals are more likely to be considered guilty
10
Q
Lombroso’s Weaknesses
A
- lack of control group - no comparisons can be made between criminals and non-criminals
- not everyone with atavistic features is a criminal and not all criminals have them
- based on biology and ignores other factors
- scientific racism - DeLisi (2012) indicated many atavistic features defined are specific to people of African decent
11
Q
Sheldon’s Somatotype Theory
A
- agreed with Lombroso that criminal behaviour is linked to a person’s physical form
- specifies with body shape
12
Q
Somatotype 3 features of a criminal
A
- Ectomorph
- Mesomorph
- Endomorph
13
Q
Ectomorph
A
- self-conscious, fragile, inward looking, emotionally restrained, and thoughtful
- narrow shoulders and hips
- thin face and high forehead
- thin narrow chest and abdomen
- thin legs and arms
- very little muscle/body fat
14
Q
Mesomorph
A
- adventurous, sensation-seeking, assertive, domineering, enjoy physical activity
- broad shoulders and narrow hips
- large head
- muscular body
- strong forearms and thighs
- very little body fat
15
Q
Endomorph
A
- sociable, relaxed, comfortable, outgoing
- wide hips and narrow shoulders
- a lot of fat on body
- a lot of fat on upper arms and thighs
- slim wrists and ankles
16
Q
Sheldon’s Research
A
- studied photographs of college students and delinquents
- rated them on how mesomorphic body shape was on a scale of 1 to 7
- results - students mean = 3.8
delinquent = 4.6
17
Q
Sheldon’s Research Strengths
A
- number of other studies confirmed a small association between body build and criminality
- good sample size (200) and controlled condition of non-offenders to compare results to
- Glueck + Glueck (1956) found that in a sample of delinquents 60% were mesomorphs, non-delinquents sample only 31%
18
Q
Sheldon’s Research Weaknesses
A
- doesn’t take into account people’s somatotype is not fixed, bodies can change throughout their lives
- Sheldon’s explanation of criminality is based on biology and ignores other factors.
19
Q
Two main genetic theories
A
- XXY theory
- Twin and Adoption studies
20
Q
Features of XYY chromosomes
A
- emotionally immature
- socially immature
- learning problems
- speech problems
- more aggressive
- more violent
- 7cm taller than the average man
21
Q
Chromosome statistics
A
- studies estimate that there are 1 in 1000 men with XYY in society
- studies suggest that there are 15 in 1000 prisoners with XYY
22
Q
XYY syndrome Strengths
A
- Jacob et al found association between XYY syndrome and offenders imprisoned for violent behaviour
23
Q
XYY Syndrome Weaknesses
A
- only focuses on biologically
research only in prison + mental health hospitals - low generalisability - only explains criminality in men
24
Q
Difference between monozygotic and dizygotic
A
- MZ - identical twins, share same genes
- DZ - non-identical twins, separate, only share womb
25
why do criminologists use twin studies
- allow to look at identical twins
- if a direct link between genes and crime we can assume if one twin is criminal so will the other
26
why do criminologists use adoption studies
- compares adopted children to both their biological and adopted parents
- if found that adopted person's behaviour is more similar to birth parents than their adoptive, would support a genetic explanation
27
Two supporting studies
- twin studies - Christensen (1977)
- adoption studies - Crowe (1972)
28
Twin studies - Christensen (1977)
- studied over 3500 twin pairs in Denmark
- found a 52% concordance rate between identical twins
- dizygotic there was only a 22% concordance rate
29
Adoption studies - Crowe (1972)
- compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record to a control group of adopted children whose biological mother did not have a criminal record
- found mothers with a criminal record, 50% of adopted children had criminal records by 18
- control group, only 5% of adopted children had a criminal record by the time they were 18.
- suggests regardless of changed environment children seemed biologically predisposed to criminality.
30
2 areas of the brain that have a role in criminal behaviour
- pre-frontal cortex
- Amygdala
31
How pre-frontal cortex is linked to criminal behaviour
- linked to impulse control
- abnormality in this area may mean a person is less able to control what they do = criminal behaviour
- associated with antisocial personality disorder
- APD have reduced emotional responses + lack of empathy for feelings and others
- many convicted criminals have APD.
32
How amygdala is linked to criminal behaviour
- reduced amygdala functioning
- involved involved in fear, aggression and social interactions
- individuals with dysfunctional amygdala activity show increased aggression and lack of fear of consequences of this aggression, leading to violent + criminal behaviour
33
Case Study - Charles Whitman
- father was abusive
- enrolled in an army
- had a brain tumor near the amygdala
- killed mother and wife
- campus sniper - killed 14 + injured 31
- often yelled at wife + had urges to hit her
- composed a suicide letter
34
Brain Abnormality - Evaluation - Raine et al (1997):
35
Raine's Research - 4 main predictors for becoming violent
- birth complications
- low resting heart rate
- poor function in the brain
- bad habit in pregnancy
36
Raine's Research - in how many years does brain-imaging allow us to predict whether individuals are going to commit a violent offence:
- 3-4 years
37
Raine's Research - what discovered about people who have a reduced volume of their amygdala:
- 4X more likely to commit a violent act in 3-4 years
38
Raine's Research - what does he mean about the neuro-ethical dilema:
- the idea of do you intervene because of brain abnormality before committing crime - is it unethical
39
