Lombroso biological (atavistic form)

Question 1

strength ‘father of criminology’

Answer 1

Lombroso has been hailed as the father of criminology- he himself coined the term criminology. He is also credited as shifting the emphasis in crime research away from a moralistic discourse towards a more scientific and credible position.
Also, in trying to describe how particular types of people are likely to commit particular types of crime Lombroso’s theory in many ways heralded the beginning of offender profiling.

Question 2

weakness scientific racism
DeLisi

Answer 2

DeLisi questioned whether Lombroso’s legacy is entirely positive. Attention has been drawn to the racist undertones within lombroso’s work. Many of the features that Lombroso identifies as atavistic (curly hair, dark skin) are more likely to be found among African descent. in other words, he was basically suggesting that Africans were more likely to be offenders.

Question 3

weakness
Goring

Answer 3

Goring set out to establish whether there were any physical or mental abnormalities among offenders comparing 3000 offenders and 3000 non-offenders finding there was no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with unusual facial and cranial characteristic’s.
However, he did state that many that commit crime have a lower than average intelligence.

Question 4

weakness cause and effect

Answer 4

even if there are criminals who have some of the atavistic features that lombroso suggested, this does not mean this is the cause of their offending. facial and cranial differences may be influenced by other factors, such as poverty or poor diet, rather than inherited.
can also lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy for people.