Biological Explanations Of Offending - Atavistic Form

Question 1

Who came up with this approach?

Answer 1

Lombroso (1876)
Linked physiological features to criminal behaviour

Question 2

What criminal characteristics did he identify?

Answer 2

Narrow sloping brow
Strong prominent jaw
High cheekbones
Facial symmetry
Dark skin
Extra toes, nipples or fingers

Question 3

What different characteristics did he associate with each crime?

Answer 3

Murderers = bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears

Sexual deviants = glinting eyes, swollen fleshy lips

Fraudsters = thin ready lips

Question 4

What was Lombroso’s research?

Answer 4

Used post mortem examinations to study faces of living criminals

Made precise measurements of skills and other physical characteristics

In total he examined the skills of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones and concluded that 40% of comical acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics