Biosocial Theories Flashcards
Positivism
Positivism is actually not a theory but a philosophy related to the use of science in regulating the world around us
The basic features are:
- Systemic observation
- Accumulation of evidence
- objective fact
- Deductive framework
What does it focus on (trait theory)
- Theories focus on the characteristics of the offender rather than on his/her circumstances
- Theories have always produced controversial debated but hard-to-ignore research on twins, for example, that shows a significant amount of behavioural concordance, even if separated shortly after birth and raised differently
As technology enhances our ability to identify biological correlates of human behaviour might give the approach more credibility down the road
What are Lombroso’s Contributions
- Lombroso’s most lasting contribution was in relation to the criminal justice system
- Classical theorists said punishment should fit the crime.
Born criminals should be incarcerated to protect society
- However, they should be treated leniently as they have no control over theoretical behaviour
Sociological Theories of crime and deviance
After biological theories were discredited, sociological theories began to dominate the field
- Remain dominant today
Differences in the social environment, explain crime
- Family, school, peer groups, community
Argue there are no individual differences between criminals and non-criminals
The re-emergence of individuals-level theories
Criminologists have begun to criticize the exclusive focus on social environments
Focus on individual differences and the influence of these differences on the likelihood of crime
Development of Trait theory
Sociobiology and criminology
- Biology, environment and learning are mutually interdependent
- Personal traits separate deviant for non-deviant
- Personal traits account for different responses to similar conditions
Contemporary Trait Theory
Criminality can be explained by individual difference
- Both biological and psychological
- May be genetic, neurological or chemical
Focus on basic human drives, not legal definition
- E.g., aggression, impulsivity
Traits work in combination with environmental and social factors
- Focuses on chronic offenders, criminal careers
The importance of examining individual/biological factors
- Biological factors can interact with the social environment to produce crime
- Influence how individuals respond to their environment
- Individuals may respond to the same environment differently - Individual traits may influence the social environment in ways that may increase the likelihood of crime
- May evoke responses from others and/or seek out risky peers/situations
- Failure to consider biological factors and individual traits may result in an inaccurate estimate of the effect of social factors on crime
Modern-Day Biological Theories-Biosocial
- Because of the importance of both the social environment and biology, modern work on biology on biology and crime is called biosocial
- Biosocial researchers will see the connections between environmental factors, biological factors, and individual traits
The Brain of a Violent Person
Has at least one geen on violence
Loss of brain function in the front, impulse control
Abuse (very severe, emotional, sexual)
If they have this, it doesn’t mean they will be a killer but have a superficial charm
Biocriminology
It is the study of the psychical aspects of psychological disorders
Brain waves disrupt nervous system functioning, biochemical abnormalities
- Biological and environmental factors influence the development of traits conducive to crime
- Traits conducive to crime influence the social environment in ways that increase the likelihood of crime
- Crime is most likely among individuals who possess traits conducive to crime and are in aversive environments
Applying theory to research
Glueck and Cluck examined the impact of biological, sociological, and societal factors in the explanation of crime
Sought to explain why people respond to different environments in different ways
Took a life-course approach examining how the causes of crime develop from childhood to adulthood
Unravelling Juvenile Delinquency
Glueck and Glueck examine a 195-matched sample of five hundred delinquent and five hundred non-delinquent boys
Delinquent from two juvenile reformatories in Massachusetts and non-delinquent from Boston public schools
Sociologists rejected the work, saying it was flawed methodologically and portrayed as biologically deficient
Argued we needed a multidisciplinary of crime
Should focus on a variety of factors that could cause crime, unlike sociological research
Ignores 2 facts
1. In every society, there are individuals who do not conform to the laws
- A difference exists in the responses of various individuals or classes of persons to many of the elements in the culture complex of a region
Argued that areas studied establish a region if economic and cultural disorganization that tends to have aa criminogenic effect on people, but these studies fail to emphasize that this influence affected only a selected group of people and not all the residents in that area
Do not explain why the criminogenic influences of these areas fail to turn the majority of its boys into persistent delinquents
Argue the varieties of the physical, mental, and social history of different people must determine the way in which people are impacted by their social environment
