Biological Explanations of Offending Behaviour - Atavistic Form Flashcards
What is the definition of the atavistic form?
An early biological explanation which proposed that criminals are a sub-species of genetic throwbacks that cannot confirm to the rules of modern society. Such individuals are distinguishable by particular facial and cranial characteristics. §
What was Lombroso’s theory?
That it is easy to spot criminals as they are not fully evolved, and are throwbacks to a previous evolutionary state. Criminals are born, not made.
What was Lombroso’s Research?
He based his theory on his own research using post-mortem examinations of criminals and studying the faces of living criminals. He made precise measurements of skulls and other physical characteristics. In total he examined the skulls of 383 dead criminals and 3829 living ones and concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by this.
What are some of the criminal characteristics?
Narrow, sloping brow
Strong jaw
High cheekbones
Facial asymmetry
Dark skin
What are the characteristics of murderers specifically?
Bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
What are the characteristics of sexual deviants?
Glinting eyes, fleshy lips, projecting ears.
What are the characteristics of fraudsters?
Thin and reedy.
How could Lombroso’s theory be seen as supporting the eugenics movement?
Criminals commit crimes due to their genes, so if you get rid of the genes (euthanasia) you eliminate crime.
What is the strength - ‘father of modern criminology’
Collin (1989) credits Lombroso as shifting the emphasis in crime research away from a moralistic discourse towards a more scientific realm. Also, this heralded the beginning of criminal profiling.
What is the limitation - Delisi 2012
Delisi drew attention to the distinct racial undertones in Lombroso’s work. Many of the features that he identified are common in African people, and his description of them as uncivilised, primitive and savage reinforced the eugenic philosophies of the time. This means that it is possible that Lombroso simply had racial tendencies and that influenced his opinion on who could be committing crimes
What is the limitation - Goring (1913)
Goring set out to establish if there were any physical or mental abnormalities among the criminal classes, and after conducting a comparison between 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals he concluded that there was no evidence of a difference in cranial or facial characteristics. This is a limitation because it offers contradictory evidence without racial undertones.
