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Biological Explanations of Crime

Biological Explanations of Crime. Lombroso. Separate species or atavism. The born criminal. but, three main strands later considered biology environment psychology criminaloid opportunist. Separate species or atavism.

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Biological Explanations of Crime

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  1. Biological Explanations of Crime

  2. Lombroso

  3. Separate species or atavism

  4. The born criminal • but, three main strands later considered • biology • environment • psychology • criminaloid • opportunist

  5. Separate species or atavism • narrow brow, large jaw, high cheekbones, large ears, extra nipples and fingers etc • useful for the wild, but not for survival in civilised society • no morals • no remorse • no feelings • can't form relationships • view of female criminals as worse morals than males • different physical features • much nastier psychologically

  6. Methodological challenge • no control group • seen as too dogmatic, softened views • not all criminals seen as atavistic • some were suffering from mental abnormalities • Goring (1913) • 3000 convicts • 3000 non-criminals • no significant differences in features

  7. Sheldon

  8. three body shapes • ectomorph • thin, fragile • solitary, restrained, self-conscious • endomorph • fat, soft • relaxed, pleasure-loving, outgoing, gregarious • mesomorph • muscular, hard"athletic" • Criminals • high pain tolerance • no regard for others

  9. critical research by Cortes and Gatti (1972 • subjective definitionof delinquency • reclassified (Sutherland 1951) into legal definition and no significant difference between types • effect of social &environmental factors • differences may be due to • diet • social class • upbringing • hard manual labour • effect on others • psychological effect of beingtough looking • used to getting your own way • bullying • any research on somatotypes and soft crime?

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