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biological theories
biological theories of criminality
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| what is a biological theory? | idea that people are born criminals due to biological differences that make them predisposed to crime |
| what is a physiological theory? | anything to do with their appearance |
| who was Lombroso? | Italian criminologist and known as 'father of modern criminology' |
| What was Lombroso's atavistic form theory? | criminals as 'biological throwbacks' to primitive ancestors such as physical characteristics,that made them a 'criminal' |
| examples of atavistic form features? | sloping forehead, long arms, large ears/ jaw or extra toes and fingers |
| link of the atavistic form to biological determinism: | biology determines behaviour- limited free will. |
| critiques of lombrosos's theory | racist- most common study on black people and theres a sampling bias as studies were only conducted in prisons |
| who was Sheldon? and what was he best known for? | American psychologist who was best known for the theory associating physique, personality and delinquency. |
| what are somatotypes? | Generalised body types placed into stereotypes |
| How would you describe an endomorph? | pudgy, gain weight easy, smooth skin, easy going |
| How would you describe an ectomorph? | thin, fragile, delicate, small nose/ face and often tired/ fatigued |
| How would you describe a mesomorph? | active, dynamic and assertive with tendency towards aggression, most likely to engage in crime |
| strengths of sheldons theory | early attempt to link biology and behaviour in criminology |
| limitations of sheldons theory: | oversimplification of human behaviour and reinforcing stereotypes |
| Which studies have been conducted to the study of the MAOA gene? | Finland study, where 800 prisoners were studied on and more of them had lower activity MAOA |
| What is the 'warrior gene'? | gene linked to lower activity o this enzyme (MAOA) resulting in increased impulsivity and aggression |
| The twin adoption studies are when what two types of twins are studied? | Identical and fraternal |
| What did Christian find out in his study of the twins? | higher concordence rates; for criminal behaviour in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic twins |
| How many pairs of twins did Christian study and where? | over 3500 pairs in Denmark |
| what are the implications of twin studies? | emphasise the role of genetics while also highlighting the interplay between genetics and environment |
| What are the limitations of the twin studies? | environmental cofounding: identical twins often share more similar environments then fraternal twins |
| what did Hutchings and Mednick find out in their study of adoption? | Studied adoptees in Denmark: adoptees with criminal biological parents were more likely to engage in criminal behaviour compared to those with non criminal parents. |
| What did Mednick find out in his solo study of adoption? | correlation between biological fathers criminal records and the likelihood o criminal behaviour in adoptees even when raised in a non criminal environment |
| What are the implications of adoption studies? | studies role of genetics and the interplay between them and environments |
| What are limitations of the study? | selective placement- often placed in similar socioeconomics |
| what ethical issues arise in the twin and adoptee studies? | privacy and consent |
| how might these studies perpetuate genetic determinism? | oversimplifying the complex interplay between genes and environment |
Created by:
hollymae