BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS - HISTORIC APPROACH / ATIVISTIC FORM

Question 1

What is the atavistic form?

Answer 1

The atavistic form is a biological approach to offending that attributes criminal activity to the fact that offenders are genetic throwbacks or a primitive subspecies of ill-suited to conforming to the rules of modern society. Such individuals are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics.

Question 2

Who talks about the historical approach to offending?

Answer 2

Lombroso

Question 3

What did Lombroso do?

Answer 3

Lombroso wrote a book called L’Huomo Delinquente, where he suggested that criminals were ‘genetic throwbacks’

Question 4

What do ‘genetic throwbacks’ mean?

Answer 4

a primitive subspecies who were biologically different from non criminals. Offenders were seen as lacking evolutionary development - their savage and untamed nature meant that they would find it impossible to adjust to the demands of civilised society and would inevitably turn to crime.

Question 5

What did Lombroso argue about atavistic characteristics

Answer 5

The criminal sub type could be identified as being in possession of particular physiological markers which are biologically determined (atavistic characteristics). These atavistic characteristics make criminals different from non-criminals.

Question 6

Give examples of atavistic characteristics

Answer 6

Cranial characteristics : narrow, sloping brow, a strong prominent jaw, high cheekbones and facial symmetry. Dark skin and extra toes, nipples or fingers!
Murderers – bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears
Sexual deviants – glinting eyes, swollen, fleshy lips and projecting ears
Fraudsters – thin and ‘reedy’ lips
All of them also had insensitivity to pain, use of criminal slang, tattoos and unemployment.

Question 7

Explain Lombroso’s research

Answer 7

Lombroso examined the facial and cranial features of hundreds of Italian convicts, 3839 living and 383 dead, and proposed that the atavistic form was associated with a number of physical anomalies which were key indicators of criminality.

Question 8

What did Lombroso conclude?

Answer 8

He concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics