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Crimonology > AC2.1 > Flashcards

AC2.1 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two biological theories?

A

Physiological and genetic

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2
Q

What are the two physiological theories and who were they by?

A

Criminal atavism - Lombroso
Somatotyping - Sheldon

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3
Q

What are the three genetic theories?

A

Twin studies
Adoption studies
XYY Sydrome

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4
Q

What was Lombrosos theory of criminal atavism?

A

That some people are born with an innate predisposition to crime ie. their biology causes them to be criminal

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5
Q

What did Lombroso calls those who had atavism?

A

Homo-delinquents who are less evolved

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6
Q

What did atavism affect?

A

The behaviour of a person but also their facial and cranial features

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7
Q

What two principle markers did Lombroso find most common in those with atavism?

A

Strong jaw
Heavy brow

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8
Q

Name 5 atavistic features:

A

Strong jaw, heavy brow, twisted nose, excessive cheekbone, excessively long arms, excessive wrinkles on skin, large/protruding jaw, large chin, receding forehead, strongly developed cheeks, left handedness, and other defects (third nipple)

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9
Q

How many features did Lombroso say males and females had to have to be considered atavistic?

A

Males - 5 or more
Female - 3 or more

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10
Q

What supporting research does Lombrosos theory have? Explain they key elements of the research:

A

Lombroso (1876) - studied 383 dead criminals and 3,839 living prisoners to see how many atavistic features they had. 40% of the participants had a range of atavistic features, which is a significant correlation between atavism and criminal behaviour

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11
Q

What does Lombrosos study suggests about atavistic people?

A

They are less evolved, causing them to be more aggressive and less intelligent

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12
Q

What four crimes did Lombroso go onto identify different types of characteristics for different crimes?

A

Theif, murderer, sex offenders, women offenders

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13
Q

What are the three strengths of Lombrosos theory?

A

Supporting research - more credible
‘Father of modern criminology’ - first person to study crime and criminals in a scientific way and enhanced our understanding of crime
Practical applications - if the theory is accurate, identifying and targeting criminals will become easier

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14
Q

What are the three weaknesses of Lombrosos theory?

A

Reductionist - very simple explanation for a very complex behaviour and failed to consider the influence of other factors
Can’t explain all crimes and criminals - only 40% of criminals had atavistic features what about the other 60%? - limited application and usefulness
Deterministic - doesn’t take into account free will and moral/religious values
No control group - the findings were flawed and when research was done by Goring with a control group, he failed to replicate Lombrosos findings

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15
Q

What was Sheldon’s theory of Somatotyping?

A

The idea that criminal behaviour is linked to a persons physical form but more specifically their body shape

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16
Q

What are the three body shapes from Sheldon’s theory?

A

Ectomorph
Endomorph
Mesopmorph

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17
Q

What were the physical and personality features of an Ectomorph?

A

Physical - Thin, fragile, lean, lightly muscled, small shouldered
Personality - Self-conscious, private people, emotionally restrained, thoughtful

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18
Q

What were the physical and personality features of an Endomorph?

A

Physical - Soft body, underdeveloped muscles, round physique, difficulty losing weight
Personality - Sociable, relaxed, hedonistic( self-indulgent and engaged in the pursuit of pleasure)

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19
Q

What were the physical and personality features of a mesomorph?

A

Physical - Muscular, athletic, excellent posture, easy muscle gain, thick skin
Personality - Courageous, adventurous, aggressive, domineering, indifferent to what others think

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20
Q

What supporting research did Sheldon’s theory of somatotyping have?

A

Sheldon’s (1949)
Gleuck and Gleuck

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21
Q

What happened in Sheldon’s research study?

A

Studied 200 college students and 200 delinquents some of which were criminal. He analysed photos of the participants and rated them on a level of mesomorphy, ectomorphy, and endomorphy on a scle of 7.

22
Q

What did Sheldons research find?

A

The delinquents and criminal delinquents had a higher mean mesomorphy rating than the non-criminal students

23
Q

How does Sheldon’s theory explain criminal behaviour?

A

Mesomorphic people are more self-assertive and thus more liekly to engage in criminal activity. Sheldon also believed that the mesomorphic build reflects high testosteron levels which may result in higher levels of aggressiveness

24
Q

What are the three strengths of Sheldon’s theory of somatotyping?

A

Range of supporting research - Sheldon + Glueck and Glueck, adds reliability
Qaulity of supporting research - Sheldon had a control group unlike Lombroso
Practical application - aid criminal investigation and prevent crime by targeting those with mesomorphic samatotype

25
Q

What are the three weaknesses of Sheldon’s theory of somatotyping?

A

Fails to acknowledge that somatotypes aren’t fixed and can change
Not all criminals are mesomorphs - John Wayne Gacy - can’t be generalised, less credibility
Only establishes correlation between mesomorphy and criminality, fails to provide a definitive cause

26
Q

What two types of twins are there are which one is identical and what is non-identical?

A

Monozygotic twins - identical
Dizygotic twins - non-identical

27
Q

What is the overview of twin studies?

A

Genetic theories have used studies of MZ twins as a way to test their theory of criminality by examining the concordance rate of twins

28
Q

What is concordance rate?

A

The chances of two people sharing the same characteristics, traits or behaviours

29
Q

Why do twin studies help researchers?

A

Because they can determine whether genetics or environmental influences have caused the behaviour

30
Q

What is the concordance rate of criminality in both sets of twins?

A

MZ twins have a higher concordance rate of criminality than DZ twins

31
Q

What supporting research is there for twin studies?

A

Christiansen(1977)
Ishikawa and Raine(2002)

32
Q

What happened in Christiansen’s research study and what were the results?

A

Studied 3586 twins and found a 52% concordance rate between MZ twins; that is if their twin had a conviction. But DZ twins had a lower concordance rate of 22%

33
Q

How can twin studies explain criminal behaviour?

A

There is a clear genetic influence on criminal behaviour

34
Q

What two strengths support twin studies?

A

Natural experiment - no manipulating of the variables and high ecological validity
Range of supporting research - Christiansen + Ishikawa and Raine, more credibility

35
Q

What are the four weaknesses of twin studies?

A

Difficult to separate genetic factors from environmental factors - reductionist
Not conclusive - if genetics was the sole cause then the concordance rate would be 100%, reduces credibility and usefulness
Concordance rate isn’t necessarily caused by purely genetic factors - nature vs nuture
Methodologically flawed - Christiansen had a small sample size so limited generalisability

36
Q

What is the theory overview of adoption studies?

A

Researchers have used adoption studies to test for a genetic cause of crime. These studies will examine the concordance rate of criminality in adopted children in comparison to their biological parents and adopted parents

37
Q

What supporting research is there for adoption studies?

A

Crowe(1972)
Hutchings and Mednick(1975)
Mednick et al.(1984)

38
Q

What happened in the research study done by Mednick in 1984?

A

4000 adopted danish men compared their criminal records to their biological parents and their adoptive parents. There was no correlation found between the convictions of adoptive parents and the child but there was between the child and their biological parents

39
Q

What was the percentage of children with a criminal record when their biological parent was a criminal but their adoptive parent wasn’t?

A

20%

40
Q

What was the percentage of children with a criminal record when their biological parent wasn’t a criminal but their adoptive parent was?

A

14.7%

41
Q

How can adoption studies explain criminal behaviour?

A

The findigns of Mednick show that criminal concordance rate for biological parents and their children is 20% and is higher than adoptive parents and the child which was only 14.7%. This suggests that genes have a large part to play in criminal behaviour

42
Q

What are two strengths of adoption studies?

A

A reliable source of supporting evidence - Mednick(2984) increased credibility
Separates the gene influence from the environmental influence

43
Q

What are two weaknesses of adoption studies?

A

Methodologically flawed - fails to consider that children can be adopted when they are older and have already grown up in the same environment as their biological parents
Reductionist - fails to acknowledge other explanations - overly simplistic

44
Q

What is a chromosome?

A

Threadlike strand composed of DNA

45
Q

What are the two types of chromosome? What do they mean?

A

Autosomal - non-sex chromosome
Sex - determines your biological sex (XX - female, XY- male)

46
Q

What is XYY syndrome and how do they test for it?

A

Using karyotyping, it has been scientifically proven that some biological males have the XYY syndrome, a rare chromosome disorder where they will be born with an extra Y chromosome

47
Q

What supporting research is there for XYY syndrome?

A

Jacobs et al(1965)
Price and Whatmore(1967)

48
Q

What happened in the research study of Jacobs? What results were found?

A

She examined 198 prisoners for chromosomal abnormalities by testing blood sample. She found that 7 members of the group has XYY syndrome, indicating that 3.5% of the prison population has XYY compared to only 1% of the general population having XYY

49
Q

What supporting case study was there for XYY syndrome?

A

John Wayne Gacy - violent and sexual offender who was said to have XYY

50
Q

How can XYY syndrome explain criminal behaviour?

A

It’s believed that having an extra Y chromosome will impact the temperament and behaviour of individuals. They are more likely yo have an explosive temper, hyperactivity, defiance and anti-social behaviour. Jacobs theorised that people with XYY syndrome were more aggressive due to the increased testosterone levels

51
Q

What are 3 strengths of the XYY syndrome theory?

A

Wide range of research and real life examples - Jacobs + John Wayne Gacy, more credibility
-Modern research - Adler et al. established a clear correlation between genetics and aggression
-Scientifically proven to exist - karyotyping proves XYY and makes it more credible and useful

52
Q

What are three weaknesses of the XYY syndrome theory?

A

-Can only be used for a small percentage of crimes - 7 of the 198 prisoners had XYY
-Can only be applied to biological males - limited application
Ignores environmental factors - reductionist
-Evidence to refute the claim of the theory - Theilgaard - increased impulsivity but not directly aggression

Crimonology (6 decks)

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