Biological Theories Flashcards
What are the biological theories of criminality
Lombrosos born criminal
Sheldon’s somatotypes
Jacobs XYY
Mednicks adoption study
What are the physiological theories
Lombrosos born criminal
Sheldon’s somatotypes
What are the genetic theories
Jacobs XYY
mednicks adoption study
Describe Lombrosos theory
Lombroso was an Italian psychiatrist and military doctor
Criminologist born in 1836. He was the founding father of the
biological approach to criminal behaviour and pioneered the use of
scientific methods in criminology. He conducted post-mortems on
the bodies of deceased criminals and discovered distinct physical
differences between the two. He emphasised human behaviour is
determined by biological factors beyond a person’s control. He
argued the physical shape of the head and face determined “THE
BORN CRIMINAL”
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Lombroso’s born criminal theory of criminality
Lombroso published a book in 1880 that argued that the criminal
is a separate species and a throwback to an earlier stage of human
development and evolution. These ‘evolutionary throwbacks’ had
atavistic (primitive) features that indicated a tendency to commit
crime.
Such features included:
1. Long arms
2. Wet lips
3.low sloping forehead
Lombroso’s study involved examining the facial and cranial
features of 383 dead criminals and 3,839 living ones. Lombroso
concluded that 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by
atavistic features. He also said that he could tell the type of crime
someone would commit based on their physical characteristics.
For example, murderers had curly hair whereas sex offenders had
thick lips and protruding ears. He also said that the ‘evolutionary
throwbacks’ were less sensitive to pain and often had tattoos.
Evaluate Lombrosos theory
This theory is extremely deterministic. It assumes that people are
simply born criminal. As a result, the theory disregards the
environmental factors which have been proven to influence
criminal behaviour.
Lombroso is known as the ‘father of criminology’ as he was the
first person to give criminology scientific credibility as he used
scientific methods.
Lombroso based his theory on the facial measurements of
hundreds of criminals and the skulls of deceased criminals. He did
not compare these results to a control group of non-criminals.
Lombroso’s theory encourages stereotyping and scientific racism.
DeLisi (2012) indicated that many of the atavistic features defined
are specific to people of African decent
A University in China has produced research that suggests facial
features really can give a criminal away. ID photos of 1,856
Chinese men (half were criminal and half were not) were entered
into an artificial intelligence programme. The programme correctly
identified 83% of the criminals based on ID photos alone.
Describe Sheldon’s theory
Sheldon (1949) created a theory which is based upon some of the
principles Lombroso first referred to. Sheldon believed that
criminal behaviour could be linked to a person’s physical form
rather than facial features. Sheldon used body measurement
techniques to link body type with personality traits. Sheldon
meticulously examined the photographs for 4,000 men showing
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the front, side and back view. In Sheldon’s view, certain body
types or somatotypes are linked to criminal behaviour. He
identified three somatotypes:
1. Endomorphs are rounded, soft and tending to fat, lacking
muscle or tone with wide hips. Their personality is sociable,
relaxed, comfortable and outgoing.
2. Ectomorphs are thin fragile and lacking both fat and muscle.
They are flat chested, with narrow hips and shoulders, a thin face
and high forehead. Their personality is self-conscious, fragile,
inward looking, emotionally restrained and thoughtful.
3. Mesomorphs are muscular and hard bodied, with very little fat
and strong limbs, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Their
personality is adventurous, sensation-seeking, assertive and
domineering, and they enjoy physical activity.
Sheldon used a correlation study and found that mesomorphs are
the somatotype most likely to engage in crime. They are more
likely to be attracted by the risk-taking it involves, and their
imposing physique and assertiveness can be important assets in
crime. Sheldon also found the somatotype least likely to commit
violent and aggressive acts where the thin and fragile ectomorphs.
Evaluate Sheldon
Glueck and Glueck (1956) found that in their sample of
delinquents 60% were mesomorphs, while in the non-delinquent
group there were only 31%.
The theory is extremely deterministic and assumes your
personality is influenced by your body type and therefore leads to
criminal behaviour. As a result, the theory disregards the
environmental factors which have been proven to influence
criminal behaviour.
Sheldon’s study used a good-sized sample of 200 subjects. Also,
Sheldon used a control group of non-offenders to compare his
results against. The use of a control group clearly demonstrates
the relationship between somatotype and criminality
The theory specifically focuses on one type of criminal. Just
because many criminals are mesomorphs, it does not mean that
all mesomorphs are criminals. Criminal offenders have come in all
shapes and sizes over the years. Sheldon’s theory does not really
explain how ectomorphs and endomorphs can also be criminals.
The theory does not take into account that people’s somatotype is
not fixed. People’s bodies change throughout their lives, and an
individual may be all three types at some point in their lives.
Sheldon does not detail whether this would lead to changes in
personality and therefore criminal behaviour.
Describe Jacob’s theory
The average human has 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 in total)
which makes up our DNA. To determine our biological sex, we
inherit 1 chromosome from our mother and 1 from our father.
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The chromosome inherited from our mother is always an X
chromosome. We then inherit either an X chromosome or a Y
chromosome from our father.
There are sometimes chromosome abnormalities which occur
during fertilisation. One abnormality is an extra Y (male)
chromosome. This is known as XYY syndrome and has been
labelled the ‘super male syndrome’. XYY syndrome is a genetic
disorder but it is not inherited (it does not run in families)
rather it is an error which occurs during fertilisation.The
characteristics of XYY syndrome include:
1. Increased levels of testosterone
2. Taller than average
3. Lower IQ
Jacobs et al examined 197 Scottish prisoners for chromosomal
abnormalities with a simple blood test. The results suggested
that men with XYY Syndrome were more aggressive and
potentially violent than the normal XY male. Jacobs also
discovered that XYY men are over-represented in the prison
population as a higher than average proportion of the inmates
were found to have XYY syndrome:
For every 1,000 prisoners 15 suffer from XYY Syndrome
For every 1,000 individuals in the general population 1
suffers from XYY Syndrome
Evaluate Jacob’s theory
There is conflicting research regarding the link between
aggression and XYY gene. Theilgaard (1984) researched the traits
of XYY men and compared them to XY men and found aggression
was not associated with the XYY men.
Since XYY males are rare, it is hard to prove this theory to be true.
These results have been collected from a very small sample only
15 were found in the prison population.
The methodology used in Jacob’s study is very scientific as she
used DNA analysis through blood samples to collect his
information. DNA analysis is the process of determining an
individual’s DNA characteristics.
Research shows that criminal behaviour can be a result of
environmental factors such as socialisation, parental relationships
and economic factors. This study does not take any of these
factors into account as these can affect behaviour also.
Other studies have supported Jacob’s genetic claims. Alder et al
(2007) indicated that it is possible that aggressive and violent
behaviour is at least partly determined by genetic factors
Describe Mednicks theory
Researchers have used adoption studies to test for a genetic cause
of crime. These studies compare adopted children both to their
biological birth parents and to their adopted parents. Adoption
studies seek to determine whether a behaviour/trait is a result of
genes inherited from biological parents (nature) or a result of
environment/upbringing provided by adoptive parents (nurture).
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The thinking behind adoption studies is that an adopted child
(especially if adopted soon after birth) shares the same
environment as their adoptive parents. However, the adopted
child shares the same genes as their biological parents. If we find
that the adoptees behaviour in regard to criminality is more
similar to their birth parents’ behaviour, this would support a
genetic explanation.
Mednick et al (1987) conducted an adoption study in Denmark
using 14000 adopted Danish men. They compared their criminal
records to their adoptive and biological parents. The results show
that if the son’s biological parents were convicted of a crime, they
were more than twice as likely to be convicted of a crime
themselves. However, if their adoptive parents had been
convicted of a crime, this had far less of an effect. Biological
siblings raised in differing environments had a 30% chance of both
committing a crime, while adoptive siblings (in the same
environment) had only an 8% chance of doing likewise. This study
supports a genetic explanation of crime.
Evaluate Mednicks theory
The adoption process is not always random as children are often
placed with parents like their biological families, therefore they
may be placed in an aggressive environment and this may
influence the child’s behaviour.
Adoption studies are considered the best way isolate the
influences of the environment from those of genetics. This allows
us to accurately see how much of a role gene play in determining
why some individuals are criminal and others are not.
There are difficulties in truly separating genetics from
environment. Children are rarely adopted immediately from birth,
so they may have spent time living with their biological parents.
As such environmental influences during this time may well play a
role in future criminal behaviour.
The adoption process is a rare one and therefore it is small sample
to study. Approximately there are 6,000 children a year being
adopted in the UK. Therefore, adoption studies are problematic in
terms of the representativeness of their samples. Most individuals
are not adopted, hence, individuals who are cannot represent the
criminality of the whole population.
Adoption studies are longitudinal studies. This means the same
child or group of children can be studied as they develop through
life. Therefore, characteristics (such as antisocial behaviour,
criminality, aggression etc.) triggered by genes throughout a
child’s life can be studied. This makes these types of studies more
reliable as they use data from throughout the child’s life rather
than over a short space of time.
