AC 3.2 Evaluation of biological theories

Question 1

What are the strengths of the Lombroso theory?

Answer 1

-Lombroso was the first person to give
criminology a scientific credibility
-Charles Goring (1913) did find a low-order
intelligence in convicts, which suggests some
base to criminality
-His work heralded the beginning of offender
profiling

Question 2

What are the weaknesses of the Lombroso theory?

Answer 2

-Lack of accuracy due to possible
disfigurements
-Not everyone with atavistic features is a
criminals and not all criminals have them
-Extremely deterministic and assumes that we
cannot escape destiny

Question 3

What are the strengths of Sheldon’s theory?

Answer 3

• A number of other studies have confirmed that there is a small association between bodily build and their criminality
• A good-sized sample (200) was used and, importantly, Sheldon had a control condition of non-offenders (students) to compare the results to
• The criminal groups were more mesomorphic

Question 4

What are the weaknesses of Sheldon’s theory?

Answer 4

• Could not really explain how ectomorphs and endomorphs can also be criminals
• Does not take into account that people’s somatotype is not fixed. People’s bodies changed throughout their lives
• If a mesomorph’s shape is considered criminal, do courts think this too? The judicial system may treat them more harshly, increasing the likelihood that they will officially be labelled as criminal.

Question 5

What are the strengths of the XYY theory?

Answer 5

-Jacob et al (1965) found that a significant
number of men in prison had XYY sex
chromosomes instead of the normal XY
-Adler et al (2007) indicated that it is possible
that aggressive and violent behaviour is at
least partly determined by genetic factors

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of the XYY theory?

Answer 6

-Studies have found that genetic
abnormalities are widespread throughout the
general population and therefore do not
explain aggression
-Focusing too heavily on genetics ignores the
behaviourist approach

Question 7

What are the strengths of twin studies?

Answer 7

-These studies are natural experiments, as
the biological relationships between the
twins
is a naturally occurring variable
-Christiansen (1977) supports the view that
criminality does have a genetic component
-The results if twin studies have helped in the
prevention of vulnerable disorders

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of twin studies?

Answer 8

• Early twin studies were inadequately
  controlled and lacked validity as to whether
  the twins were DZ or MZ, which was based
  on appearance not DNA
  -The small sample involved in twin studies
  may not be representative of the general
  population
• If twins are brought up in the same
  environment criminality could just as easily
  be related to nurture as to genetics

Question 9

What are the strengths of adoption studies?

Answer 9

• As adopted children are exposed to a
  different environment to their biological
  family, it is easier to separate genetic and
  environmental factors
  -Studies have concluded that there is a
  correlation between adopted children and
  their biological parents

Question 10

What are the weaknesses of adoption studies?

Answer 10

-The age of adoption may mean the adopted
children have already been influenced by
either their natural parents or their foster
environment
-Information about a biological family is not
always available
-The adoption process is not always random,
as often children are placed with children
similar to their biological parents