Week 2 : Positivist & Biosocial approaches to crime

Question 1

Criminology…

Answer 1

Roots in 2 schools of thought:
1. Classical
2. Positivist

Question 2

Classical school of thought

Answer 2

• Ceasare Becaria (leading figure)
• Embraced the concept of free will
• Argued that most potential offenders would be deterred if 3 basic conditions were met…
  1. certainty of punishment
  2. Swiftness of justice
  3. Fair penalties proportionate to the severity of the social harm done

Question 3

Positivist school of thought

Answer 3

• Late 19th century, movement began that challenged the classical school of thought
• proposed that behaviour is determined, so, caused by factors that are outside of the control of an individual
• early positivist thinkers proposed that there are internal + external factors that can influence behaviour
• Internal = nature/biology and External = nurture/environment

Question 4

Determinism

Answer 4

Is a doctrine that denies free will while maintaining that our decisions are decided by predictable and/or inherent causes that act on our character

Question 5

Biological determinism

Answer 5

The idea that individual physical + mental characteristics are governed solely by heredity

Question 6

Physiognomy

Answer 6

• Ceasare Lombrosso, draws on Broca’s biological determinism
• popularized physiognomy… the (pseudo)science of character inferences based on physical appearances
• ‘born-criminals’

Question 7

Atavism

Answer 7

• Broca
• biological condition supposedly rendering an individual incapable of living within the norms of society

Question 8

Atavistic…

Answer 8

Characterize individuals who because of specific morphological (bodily) characteristics were considered throwbacks to some earlier period of human evolution

Question 9

Criminal stigmata… (atavistic criminal)

Answer 9

An asymmetric face, excessively large jaw, eye defects, large nose, large ears, receding forehead, long arms, swollen lips
ATAVISTIC CRIMINAL

Question 10

Phrenology

Answer 10

• Franz Joseph Gall was among first to develop theory of phrenology
• mental faculties + character (personality), including criminal tendencies, were reflected in the irregular surface of the cranium/skull

Question 11

Somatotyping

Answer 11

Attempts to draw connections between person’s behaviour or temperament and body type or physique

Question 12

Body types + temperaments

Answer 12

William Herbert Sheldon constructed corresponding body type + temperament relationships…

Question 13

Endomorphic

Answer 13

endomorphic = heavy set + soft in appearance, w/ smooth, soft skin + small bones
- Viscerotonic = extroverted, easy going + fond of the ‘good life’

Question 14

Mesomorphic

Answer 14

Mesomorphic = predominantly muscular, strong boned + lean
- Somotonic = assertive in manner + quite active in behaviour

Question 15

Ectomorphic

Answer 15

Ectomorphic = thin, pale + delicate w/ small bones, fine hair + sharp noses
- Cerebrotonic = Introverted complainers, insomnia + chronic fatigue

Question 16

Genetic research

Answer 16

• Positivists were inspired by the development of new methods of measurement (genetics testing)
• they were interested to investigate the possible link between criminal behaviour and an abnormal number of sex/gender chromosomes

Question 17

Genetic syndromes

Answer 17

XO: Turner syndrome (female)
XXY: Klinefelter’s syndrome = associated with degeneration of the testes, sterility, breast enlargement, tallness and thinness, social and/or school learning problems, alcoholism, frustration-based outbursts, and disabilities
XYY: Male condition known as super-male syndrome = incarcerated, very tall, introverted, violent, Richard Speck
OY: embryo dies

Question 18

Intelligence theory

Answer 18

• Stanford + Binet IQ test… criminals are 91-93
• Alberta ‘feeble minded’ women sterilized
• Intelligence doesn’t predict delinquency or crime as well as environmental factors

Question 19

Personality theory

Answer 19

Personality means ‘the relatively enduring, distinctive, integrated and functional set of psychological characteristics that results from an individual’s temperament interacting with [their] culture and personal experiences’
- Personality may have a biosocial foundation
- Hans Eysenck made the strongest link w his model of personality w/ 3 dimensions…
1. Psychoticism (most likely to be a criminal + high extroversion, difficult to socialize + less responsible to sanction)
2. Introversion
3. neuroticism

Question 20

Substance abuse theories

Answer 20

• alcohol can be a plea, not reliable but substance does increase extent + seriousness of any related crime

Question 21

Brain chemistry theories

Answer 21

• Endocrine imbalances
• Hypothalamus ‘food, sex, fight/flight’
• serotonin levels

Question 22

Body chemistry - hypoglycaemia

Answer 22

• Dan white 1980s
  -‘Twinkie defence’
• Murder + hypoglycaemia
• Low blood sugar produces too much insulin in the blood therefore reducing the individual capacity to effectively reason/judge their long-term consequences

Question 23

Epigenetics

Answer 23

• study of genetic modifications (e.g. environmental) factors that do not alter the DNA sequence but affect how cells ‘read’ genes, effectively turning them ‘on’ or ‘off’
• Lucas and associates…1992 recorded that by the age of 8 1/2, kids born preterm and/or fed formula, had an average IQ score of 8.3 points lower than those breastfed

Question 24

Vitamins theory

Answer 24

Excess/undersupply of C, B3 + B6 = antisocial behaviour

Question 25

Minerals theory

Answer 25

exposure/intake of cadmium, copper, lead, magnesium, maganaese, zinc has lead to learning disabilities, cognitive deficits + aggression

Question 26

Mednick’s biosocial theory

Answer 26

• all behaviour is triggered by the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• we are all occasionally prone to do things that violate the norms, values and rules of society
• Nurture: reason most of us do not follow through on these impulses is that we learn to control them as part of our socialization process and our desire to avoid punishment
• Nature: those whose ANS recovers quickly from fear can easily learn socially acceptable behaviour, but those whose ANS recovers slowly have troubleE

Question 27

Eysenck’s biosocial theory

Answer 27

• argue that being an introvert rather than an extrovert was an inherited trait + Introverts more antisocial behaviour
• Combined with autonomic and central nervous system characteristics, these biological factors affected the individual’s responsiveness to punishment and propensity for anti-social outcomes

Question 28

Moffitt’s biosocial theory

Answer 28

• Aligned w/ life course theory
• ‘the biological roots of antisocial outcomes are present before or soon after birth’
• congenital factors such as heredity + perinatal complications, poor nutrition + abuse produce neuropsychological problems in the infants nervous system