Biological - Atavistic Form

Question 1

Explain Atavistic form

Answer 1

Lombroso 1876 Italian physician
• proposed criminals are genetic throwbacks
• primitive suspects biologically different to non-criminals
• lack evolutionary development - savage + untamed nature & impossible to adapt
• offending behaviour - innate tendancy

Question 2

Features Lombroso identified

Answer 2

• narrow brow
• prominent jaw
• high cheekbones
• facial asymmetry
• dark skin
• extra toes/fingers/nipples
• insensitivity to pain
• tattoos
• slang usage
• unemployment

Question 3

Explain lombrosos research

Answer 3

• he meticulously examined facial + cranial features of 383 dead convicts & 3839 living ones
• concluded 40% criminal acts could be accounted for by ppl w atavistic features

Question 4

Strength
- changed criminology

Answer 4

• Lombroso shifted the emphasis in crime away from moralistic to scientific
• in describing types of crime, he heralded offender profiling

Question 5

Limitation
- racist

Answer 5

• Many features ( curly hair, dark skin, wide nostrils) mostly found amongst African descents

Question 6

Limitation
- nature vs nurture

Answer 6

• suggests crime has a biological cause, genetically determined
• However, facial + cranial differences may be influenced by other factors (poverty/poor diet) rather than inherited