Biological explanations of offending Flashcards
What does atavistic mean?
Primitive, naive, undeveloped, simple, rudimentary
What is the atavistic form explanation?
Lombroso suggested that there was distinct biological class of people that were prone to criminality. He believed that criminals are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics.
What did Lombroso believe about people with atavistic features?
Lombroso believed that these individuals were wild, untamed, uneducated and unable to fit in 1870s society and therefore they would inevitably turn to crime
What are 3 features of a thief according to Lombroso?
- Expressive face
- Manual dexterity
- Small, wandering eyes
What are 2 features of a murderer according to Lombroso?
- Cold, glassy stares
- Bloodshot eyes
What are 2 features of a sex offender according to Lombroso?
- Thick lips
- Protruding ears
What was Lombroso’s research?
In a study of 383 dead Italian criminals and 3839 living ones he found 40% of them has atavistic characteristics
Why does Lombroso’s research lack scientific rigor?
He did not use a control group to compare his participants against
What did Goring (1913) do and what does it say about Lombroso’s theory?
Goring (1913) carried out a study comparing over 2000 London convicts with a control group.
He failed to replicate Lombroso’s findings.
This weakens Lombroso’s theory.
Is atavistic form free will or determinism?
It is deterministic
As atavistic form states criminals’ behaviour is determined by their physiology what did Lombroso believe?
They were not to blame for their crimes
How does atavistic form lack value in the real world?
This deterministic approach does not align with the assumptions of modern society and the criminal justice system
What is eugenics?
Eugenics is a philosophy arguing that those who are born with genetic advantages should be allowed to breed for the good of society but those who are born with genetic disadvantages should be eliminated to improve the genetic quality of the human population
How does Lombroso’s theory have value?
Lombroso’s research does have value as although these atavistic features may not be characteristics to identify a criminal, it has shown that there is a way of identifying criminals through different characteristics
What did William Sheldon propose?
William Sheldon (1942) proposed a strong correlation between personality and somatotype(i.e., physique).
From a study of several hundred male physiques, he derived three body types:
- The ectomorph, characterized by a thin, wiry frame.
- The endomorph, heavy and rounded.
- The mesomorph, with a solid, muscular frame.
What personality was an ectomorph body associated with?
Introvert, quiet, fragile, sensitive
What personality was an endomorph body associated with?
Relaxed, sociable, tolerant, peaceful
What personality was an mesomorph body associated with?
Aggressive, assertive, and adventurous
What body type did Sheldon say the vast majority of criminals were?
Mesomorphs, one explanation for this is that a solid, muscular person becomes involved in crime at an early age due to their intimidating appearance
Why could Sheldon’s theory be plausible?
Certain individuals (e.g., the police) may make “snapshot” judgments about people, which may have implications for criminal behaviour
What do genetic explanations for offending state?
That offending behaviour is inherited as one or more genes predispose people to commit crimes
Where does evidence for the genetic explanation for offending come from?
Family studies and twin studies
What have family studies shown regarding the genetic explanation of offending?
Certain types of crime run in the family
What have twin studies shown regarding the genetic explanation of offending?
Higher concordance rates for offending in monozygotic twins compared to dizygotic twins
What were the findings from Raine’s 1993 study?
- 52% concordance rate for monozygotic twins
- 21% concordance rates for dizygotic twins
What is one gene that has been linked to offending?
MAOA
- causes a deficiency in monoamine oxidase A, an enzyme responsible for the metabolism of neurotransmitters such as serotonin (which has links to aggression)
What did Mednick, Gabrielli and Hutchings do?
Examined 14,427 adoptees and their biological and adoptive families to determine genetic and environmental influences on criminal behaviour
What were the findings from Mednick, Gabrielli and Hutchings’ study?
- 13.5% of adoptees that neither adoptive or biological parents had been convicted of a crime were convicted
- 14.7% of adoptees whose adopted parents had been convicted became convicts
- 20% of adoptees whose biological parents had been convicted became convicted
- 25% of adoptees whose biological and adopted parents were convicted became convicted
