bio appr Flashcards
positivism?
“Italian school”
-Arose during 19th century
-Attempt to apply scientific method (positivism) to understand crime and criminals
-Application of ‘science’ to understand society more generally
-Understanding how the human body works (darwin’s theory, gregor mendel)
-Rejected the primary assumption of the Classical School (cost-benefit, free will)
Individuals have total free will over their actions
-Views criminality as deterministic or inherently tied to biological or genetic features (outside of control, determined for you)
Out of an individual’s control
-Criminality is a ‘disease’ like any other and can be subjected to the same methods of studying, understanding, and curing (based on factors outside of control )
-Based largely on cesare lombroso (1835-1909) who directly analyzed and measured the physical characteristics of prison inmates and soldiers (the criminal man, the female offender)
Phrenology?(craniometry)
-The shape of an individual’s skull can reveal aspects of their personality, level of intelligence, and likelihood of committing crime
Physiognomy?
-A person’s facial features/shape can reveal aspects of their personality, level of intelligence and likelihood of committing crime
Somatotyping?
-The belief that certain body types are linked to criminality (sheldon’s somatotypes)
Psychiatry?
Explored how the mental ‘defects’ or ‘unwellness’ of certain individuals caused criminal offending (via, psychopathy, criminal insanity, etc)
Atavism
-The notion that criminals are evolutionary ‘throwbacks’ who are less evolved than ‘normal’ humans.
Determinism
-The belief that decisions, actions, and choices are pre-determined based on factors outside our control
what was determinism used in support/justification for?
-The eugenics movement (less desirable people should be bred out of society)
-Forced sterilizations, castrations, and institutionalization
-General racism/ discrimination
-Severe cases → genocide, slavery, ethnic cleansing
what are some modern bio appr?
-seeing the world through the lens of positivism and biological determinism
-Tech developments have provided methods for researching the impacts of biological factors more effectively and with more validity
-Genetics, forensics, pharmaceuticals, neurology, body chemistry..etc
- our biology (broadly defined) shapes and determines our behaviour (directly and indirectly)
-Crime seen as something that is unnatural and therefore, something that can be cured, healed or otherwise ‘corrected’
-Certain traits, including those that may predict criminal behavior are believed to be inheritable
-Direct changes to our biology can influence our behav in drastic ways that can be both temporary or permanent
–> intoxication , certain medications, addiction, malnutrition, brain injuries..etc
does our biology cause crime?
-doesnt necessarily CAUSE crim behav but can definitely predispose one to crime
-Interplay w/ environmental factors
-Someone who has all the biological predictors of crime is not necessarily ‘destined’ to be a criminal
If environmental factors insulate them
-Typically assumes a micro level (individual) approach for understanding crime
twin studies?
-‘Purest’ method of studying biology since MZ twins share 100% of genetic makeup
-High Rates of concordance between MZ twins and criminal behav (and most behaviour in general)
-Suggests a strong genetic basis
adoption studies?
-Looking at the criminality rates of adopted children and comparing them to their parents (while taking environmental factors into account)
-Research indicates that adopted children with biological parents who were criminals are more likely to commit crimes themselves, despite being raised in diff environments
personality disorders and crime?
-fairly well-supported correlation between various personality disorders and crime
Bpd..etc
- have a strong genetic basis (and heritability)
-This may also apply to some psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, etc) and neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, etc)
body chemicals and crime?
-Certain chemicals, neurotransmitters, hormones, etc, have been shown to have a strong influence on an individual’s behav
-The levels and amount of these influencers in our bodies are determined by a mixture of biological, genetic, nutritional, and other factors
-‘Improper’ levels of these influencers can potentially lead to aggressive, violent, antisocial, or other concerning behaviors.
the lead-crime hyp
-Proposes a link between elevated blood-lead levels in children and increased rates of crime, delinquency, and recidivism later in life
-Individuals exposed to lead at young ages are more vulnerable to:
-Learning disabilities, decreased IQ, ADHD and problems w/ impulse control
-All of which may be precursors to criminal behav
-As the dangerous properties of lead became known, efforts to phase out leaded gasoline and lead based paint began (1970’s)
-Some argue that the phaseout of lead is partially responsible for the dropping crime rates starting in the 1990’s
