1 / 11

Biological Theories

Biological Theories. Are Criminals Fundamentally Different from Non-criminals?. Classical School No Biological positivists Yes. Emergence of Positivism. Scientific revolution Optimism about science soars in the1800s Empiricism replaces abstract speculation Knowledge through measurement

ncindy
Download Presentation

Biological Theories

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Biological Theories

  2. Are Criminals Fundamentally Different from Non-criminals? • Classical School • No • Biological positivists • Yes

  3. Emergence of Positivism • Scientific revolution • Optimism about science soars in the1800s • Empiricism replaces abstract speculation • Knowledge through measurement • Determinism replaces free will • Search for prior causes, de-emphasize choice

  4. Positivist Criminology in Born • Lombroso’s theory of atavism • Influenced by Darwin • Observed physical differences between criminals and non-criminals • Large jaw and cheekbones • Shifty eyes, “hard” expression • Hairy • Ears/head too large or too small • Criminals are throwbacks, atavists • Too primitive for modern society

  5. Heredity and Crime • Crime runs in families, twins (2x greater) • Physical and moral deficits are inherited • Eugenics: goal is to breed better humans • A scientific movement, 1910-1940 • To prevent the unfit from breeding • Can we control the selection process? • “the elimination of crime can be effected only by the extirpation of the physically, mentally, and morally unfit” (Hooton, 1939)

  6. Sheldon’s Biological Theories • Sheldon’s (1949): constitutional psychology • Body type and personality are related • Three somatotypes – separate scores • Endomorph (soft and round) • Mesomorph (muscular) • Ectomorph (lean) • Delinquents high in mesomorphy, low in ectomorphy

  7. Renewed Interest inBiological Criminology • Focus on hybrid explanations that combine sociology and biology • Soft determinism, limited free will

  8. IQ and Crime:A Persistent Finding • Offenders tend to have lower (verbal) IQ • To this day, the IQ-crime association remains largely unexplained • How might we explain the relationship?

  9. Testosterone:Booth and Osgood (1993) • High testosterone leads children to behave in ways that alienate others (aggression) • This leads to fewer social bonds, which over time, increase crime (control theory) • Conclusions: testosterone affects crime indirectly by reducing social bonds

  10. Ethical and Policy Issues • Blaming the victim

  11. The Shift to Positivism • Shift from rational choice to prior causes • Shift from punishment to rehabilitation • Shift from responsibility to medicalization

More Related