Ac 3.2 biological

Question 1

Physiological - Lombroso - strengths

Answer 1

• first person to study crime scientifically as it was previously seen as a religious or moral issue
• his later work took into account some social and environmental factors
• his theory helps to prevent future offenders from committing rather than just punishing them when they do so

Question 2

Physiological theories - Lombroso - weaknesses

Answer 2

• research since has shown that there is no link between facial features and criminality
• he failed to compare his findings to a control group of non criminals which means that he lacks validity
• it can be seen as providing a self fulfilling prophecy as it labels people who may have a particular facial feature as criminal
• suggests that criminality is innate

Question 3

Physiological theories - Sheldon - strengths

Answer 3

• other studies have replicated Sheldon’s work, Glueck and Glueck found that 60% of criminals were mesomorphs

-most serious delinquents in Sheldon’s sample were mesomorphs

Question 4

Physiological theories - Sheldon - Weaknesses

Answer 4

• Glueck and Glueck found that criminality is best explained by a combination of factors (biological, psychological and environmental) not just biologically
• criminals may develop a mesomorphic body type as a result of criminality e.g., have to be physically tough to succeed. So, criminality causes somatotype not the other way round.
• social class may have an influence on their body type e.g., working class men may be mesomorphs because of their manual jobs
• mesomorphs are labelled as criminals so may cause a self fulfilling prophecy and police may target and convict these people due to the associations.
• doen’t explain those ectomorphs and endomorphs that commit crimes
• doesn’t explain whether mesomorphs commit crimes other than violent ones

Question 5

Genetic theories - twin studies - strengths

Answer 5

• because MZ twins are genetically identical we can see whether criminal behaviour is also identical
• Ishikawa and Raine found a higher concordance rate for identical twins that non identical twins

Question 6

Genetic theories - twin studies - weaknesses

Answer 6

• if genes were the only cause of criminality then the concordance rate of MZ twins should be 100%
• higher concordance rates between MZ twins may be due to a shared environment e.g., home, school etc
• parents may treat identical twins more alike than they do non identical which may produce similarities in behaviour
• identical twins may feel closer than non identical ones do which ay produce similarities in behaviour
• we cant measure the effect of just genetics without any environmental factors
• in early studies there was no DNA testing so we cant say that the twins studied were in fact 100% genetically identical

Question 7

Genetic theories - adoption studies - strengths

Answer 7

• overcome the problem with twin studies as we can measure the effect of the environment
• allows us to see the impacts of nature and nurture
• they give some support to genetic explanations as it was found that adoptees were more likely to become criminal if their biological parent(s) were

Question 8

Genetic theories - adoption studies - weaknesses

Answer 8

• Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that adoption studies show that genetics have little effect on criminality
• adopted children are placed in homes that are similar to their birth families. These similar environments may influence behaviour e.g., same class, ethnicity etc
• many children aren’t adopted immediately after birth so spend some time with their biological families which may cause criminality in future life

Question 9

Genetic theories - XYY syndrome - strengths

Answer 9

• Jacob et al found an association between XYY syndrome and offenders imprisoned for violent behaviour
• Price and Whatmore found some links between the syndrome and property crime
• testosterone is linked to higher levels of aggression and violence so having this extra Y chromosome means that the individual has more testosterone

Question 10

Genetic theories - XYY syndrome - weaknesses

Answer 10

• even if someone has this syndrome, it cannot be proved that it was the cause of their violence
• XYY males are said to have lower intelligence so they may just be easier to catch and therefore over represented in statistics
• XYY males are tall and well built so fit the violent offender stereotype so may get targeted by police/courts so are more likely to be convicted, over representing the statistics again
• the syndrome is very rare so cannot explain all violent crimes
• this syndrome only affects males so doesn’t explain female criminality

Question 11

Brain injuries and disorders - strengths

Answer 11

• in some cases brain injury/disorders have led to a change in behaviour and personality leading to criminality e.g., Phineas Gage
• there are some links between abnormal EEG readings and psychopathic criminality
• prisoners are more likely to have a brain injury than non prisoners

Question 12

Brain injuries and disorders - weaknesses

Answer 12

• crimes caused by injury or disorders are rare so cannot explain all criminals behaviour
• it is not clear that. abnormal EEG readings are linked to psychopathies criminality as some psychopaths have normal EEG readings and some normal people have abnormal EEG readings
• a brain injury may be a result of their criminality not the cause e.g., they got into a fight

Question 13

Biochemical explanations - strengths

Answer 13

• sex hormones, blood sugar levels and substance abuse can affect mood, judgment and aggression
• testosterone levels and criminality both peak at around the same age suggesting the hormones affect criminal behaviour
• alcohol reduce self control which may lead to criminality, particularly violent behaviour
• crack cocaine has been strings linked to violent crime
• biochemical factors are taken into account by the courts e.g., if a mum kills her baby as a result of post natal depression then it can be used as a partial defence or pre menstrual tension has been accepted as a defence for some shoplifting cases

Question 14

Biochemical explanations- weaknesses

Answer 14

• biochemical processes may require an environmental trigger so the biochemical may not be a direct cause
• Scarmella and Brown found testosterone levels don’t majorly affect aggression levels
• Schalling found testosterone linked to high levels of verbal abuse, not physical

Question 15

Overall criticisms

Answer 15

• biological theories ignore environmental factors, it may give them the characteristics to be criminal but they still require a trigger
• studies usually look at convicted criminals so ignore those who got away with the crime so they findings cant be generalised to all criminals
• most biological research focuses on males so doesn’t explain female criminality
• what counts as a crime varies between cultures and over time so its hard to find universal explanations