Unit 2 - AC2.1 - Describe BIOLOGICAL theories of criminality Flashcards
What is a biological theory of criminality
how something within the biological structure of a person leads to criminal behaviour
what are the 3 biological theories
genetic explanations / physical theories / brain abnormalities
what are the 4 genetic explanation studies
osborn and west 1979 / christianson / mednick et al / jacob at al
(o&w)how many sons of non criminal fathers had convictions
13%
(o&w) how many sons of criminal fathers had convictions
40%
what is the name of the study into delinquent development
a Cambridge Longitudinal study
how many families were followed in the cam long study
397
what were the findings of the cam long study
half of the convictions from the 397 families were from just 23 families - the convictions were very concentrated of those families
what is the problem with the cam long study
its hard to separate the effect of genes and surroundings when families share the same environment
what study focused on chromosomes
JACOB ET AL
What is the name called when a male has an extra male chromosome (xyy instead of xy
super male syndrome
how many patients were studied in jacob et al
315
where was the study held
a special security hospital for developmentally disabled people in scotland
how many of the 315 males studied were taller and were WRONGLY characterised as being aggressive and violent and had an extra y chromosome
9
what is the weakness of jacob et al
a study Theilgarrd 1984 found no link between the extra chromosome and aggression , basically it’s WRONG
What is a physiological theory
these focus on an individuals physical form as an indicator of criminal behaviour
what are the 2 studies for physiological theories
Lombroso and sheldon (1942)
what did lombroso suggest in his study
criminals have similar features like prominent jaws, flattened or upturned nose, prominent brow ridges and large ears
what did Lombroso argue that humans were?
a separate species falling somewhere between modern and primitive humans
what did Lombroso propose from this observational evidence
violent criminals were throwbacks to less evolved human types, like PRIMITIVE SAVAGES
Did Lombroso say that criminals were born or made
born
what did Lombroso find from his post mortum on the serial murderer / rapist
a hollow part of the brain where the cerebellum should be
what sis Sheldon 1942 suggest in their study
mesomorph ( 8 ) body types are more likely to be criminal than ectomorphs ( I ) and endomorphs ( O ) body types
how many images of men did sheldon study
4000