Ac 2.1 Describe Biological Theories Of Criminality Flashcards
What does The term physiological mean?
Physical Form → Form of The body or brain. Physiology is The study of how The Human body works.
Can we judge someone based on their appearance?
No
Weakness - judgemental
Making claims about peoples behaviour based on immutable characteristics (things they have No control over) can lead to bad things such as racism.
What did Lombroso study to support his Theory?
In 1876 he studied 3,389 alive and 383 dead criminals
He measured size and other parts of the body.
He found that 40% of Criminal acts could be accounted for by their physical characteristics.
* * Didn’t have A control group so had nothing to compare The criminals to **
What was lombroso’s innate criminality theory?
He believed criminality was inherited so someone’s likelyhood of becoming A Criminal was a innate, inherited characteristic- you cannot do anything about it.
Criminality is passed down from generation to generation
Lombroso thought you could identify criminals based on physical features
Murderers had “ cold, glassy stares, bloodshot eyes and big hawk like noses” and rapists had “jug ears” - these physical features were inherited meaning criminality is innate.
What was lombroso’s evolution and atavism Theory?
Atavism is something ancient or ancestral
Lombroso saw criminals as atavistic- an earlier primitive stage of evolution.
Lombroso thought atavistic People were pre-social, unable to control their impulses and had A reduced sensitivity to pain (criminals had Lots of tattoos)
Physical features criminals had according to lombroso ?
Sloping forehead
Receding chin
V long arms
Heavy jaw
High cheek bones
Eye defects
Abnormal teeth
Extra fingers or toes
Wrinkles
What characteristics do atavistic People have according to Lombroso?
Pre-social
Unable to control impulses
Reducer sensitivity to pain -Lots of tattoos
Long arms - behaved like savages or apes
Some evidence to back up lombrosos theory?
Study in A University in China produced research that suggest facial features can identity A criminal.
ID photos of 1,856 Chinese men were entered into an Al program - half had A previous conviction
Correct identified 83% of The criminals
Wrongly identified innocent Men as criminals 6% of The Time
What were The main principles of Sheldon theory?
Link between body type and criminality
Link between biology and personality
Which somatype did he suggest was most likely to become criminal?
Mesamorphs -High testosterone levels
↓
Rectangular, muscular, sturdy
Did glueck and glueck support Sheldon theory? What were their findings?
Found support For SheldonS theory that mesamorphs were more likely to commit crime
Studied juveniles- found mesamorph somatype higher representation among delinquents
Ratio 1:2
Is this theory still relevant?
Lost popularity in The 1960’s -started being seen as prejudice and discriminative
What is somatotypology?
A System of catagorisation where individuals are assigned according to their bodily physique
These types had typical personalities that corresponded with them.
What are The 3 somatotypes?
Endomorphic
Mesomorphic
Ectomorphic
What body type is endomorphic?
Fat and soft
Easy way to remember- enDO → do → donut → fatter body
What body type is mesomorphic?
Muscular and hard
More prone to commit violent and aggressive acts
Easy way to remember- Mesomorph →M → muscle
What body type is ectomorph?
Thin and fragile
Least likely to commit violent and aggressive acts.
What is The personality of an endOmorph?
Relaxed, comfortable, good - humoured, even tempered, sociable, tolerant
What is The personality of a mesomorph?
Adventurous, assertive, competitive, fearless, aggressive
What is The personality of an ectomorph?
Anxious, self conscious, artistic , thoughtful, quiet, private, introverted
What else did Sheldon theorise?
Body types could be used to predict behaviour
Criminal behaviour may have A cause link to body type
Predicted mess morphs would be more likely to be criminals _ based on biological and social reasons
