Physiological theories Flashcards
What did Lombroso believe?
Criminals could be identified by their distinctive physical features
What are some of the features in criminals that Lombroso observed?
Jaw and Jaw line were larger, Eye sockets were bigger, prominent eyebrow arches and higher cheek bones
What is the term Atavistic?
an earlier, primitive stage of evolution
What were good things about Lombroso’s study?
Specific explanation: He attempted to scientifically study criminality rather than rely upon subjective opinion
Crime has a cause: caused by Physiology which offered an explanation for criminal behavior that he was able to prove through correlations between features and criminality
What were bad things about Lombroso’s study?
Lack of reliability: work has not be proven by other scientists which negatively of his findings
Ethnocentric views: has not been criticized for focusing on features that are not…
What did Sheldon believe?
Certain body types or ‘somatotypes’ are linked to criminal behavior
What are Endomorphs?
Rough body shape, lack of muscle and wide hips
Sociable and outgoing
What are Ectomorphs?
Thin, lacking fat and muscle
Self- conscious
What are mesomorphs?
Muscular, strong limbs
Sensation seeking
What were the good things about Sheldon’s study?
Supporting evidence: Gleuk and Gleuk replicated Sheldon’s work and found 60% of criminals had the mesomorph body type
Reliability: Sheldon conducted further research that replicated his findings that criminals were more likely to do mesomorphs
What were bad things about Sheldon’s study?
Causality: does body shape determine criminality or does criminality determine body shape?
Influence of social class: criminals are more likely to be working- class and therefore work in manual labor, impacting body shape
