biological approaches Flashcards
what is the positivist school?
attempts to apply the scientific method to understand crime/criminals
criminality is deterministic/inherently tied to biological or genetic features
criminality is a “disease”
what ideas did the positivist school reject?
classical school idea that individuals have total free will over actions
what is phrenology?
shape of skull can reveal personality, intelligence, and likelihood of crime
what is somatotyping?
beliefs that certain body types are linked to criminality
ectomorph: skinny and antisocial
endomorph: fat and extroverted
mesomorph: fit and deviant
what is atavism?
criminals are evolutionary ‘throwbacks’ and less evolved humans
what is determinism?
belief that decisions, actions, choices, are premeditated
why are positivist approaches controversial?
it can be used to justify eugenics movement, forced sterilization, castration, institutionalization, genocide, slavery, ethnic cleansing, racism
what are the impacts on CJS of the positivist school?
criminal accountability (not guilty due to insanity plea)
crime as an ‘illness’ to be treated
emphasis on treatment
certain traits are inherent
what are biological approaches?
not a unified theory
general way of seeing the world through positivism and biological determinism
main assumption of biological approaches?
our biology shapes and determines our behaviour (directly/indirectly)
micro-level approach
crime is unnatural and curable
what sudden biological change can impact criminality/violence?
Traumatic brain injuries can alter the frontal lobe (responsible for controlling and regulating behaviour) and is susceptible to injury
strong correlation between injury and violent offending
how does drug use impact crime?
short and long term effects
ex. drinking/smoking during pregnancy
doesn’t cause - predisposes to crime
what did twin studies find?
‘purest’ method of studying biology
MZ twins share 100% DNA makeup
higher concordance between MZ twins and violent crimes
what did adoption studies find?
adopted children with biological parents who were criminals more likely to commit crime, despite environment
what do body chemicals have to do with crime?
some chemicals/hormones influence behaviour
depends on biological, genetic, nutrition
