Atavistic explanation of offending behaviour(Historical Approach) Flashcards
What is the historical approach summarised
Early biological explanation
Individuals are born with innate criminal personalities and facial characteristics
What did Lombroso suggest
Offenders lack evolutionary development - don’t fit into society leading to crime
Offenders genetically predisposed to become criminals
Innate characteristics(facial features) making them different from normal people
What are physiological markers
Biologically determined characteristics that make criminals different from others
Give examples of physiological markers
Strong prominent jaw
High cheekbone
Facial asymmetry
What facial features are associated with murderers
Curly hair
Bloodshot eyes
Long ears
What facial features are associated with sexual deviants
Swollen, fleshy lips
What facial features are associated with fraudsters
Thin lips
What non physical characteristics did Lombroso suggest criminals had
Unemployed
Tattoos
Use of criminal slang
How did Lombroso gain his evidence
Post mortem examination of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones
What did Lombroso conclude
40% of criminal acts can be accounted for/linked to atavistic characteristics
What did Kretschmer suggest
Studied 4000 criminals
Proposed 4 somatotypes associated to crimes
Leptosome/asthenic - Tall and thin - Petty thieves
Athletic - Tall and Muscular - Violent crimes
Pyknic - Short and fat - Crimes of deception
Dysplastic - Varied characteristics - Crimes against morality
Evaluate the atavistic explanation of offending behaviour
Scientifically racist - Delisi stated Lombroso’s characteristics describe those of African descent
Doesn’t take into account those who have the characteristics due to factors e.g. disabilities
Research has methodological issues - Goring studied 3000 criminals/3000 non criminals and found no link between characteristics and crime
Biologically deterministic
