Criminology - biological theories - Flashcards in A Level and IB Criminology

What are the two physiological theories for criminality?

Lombroso's theory of the atavistic form + Sheldon's theory of somatotypes.

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What are the key points of Lombroso's theory?

Ppl born with an innate predisposition for crime. They are less evolved, more primitive = atavism. Part of sub species = 'homo delinquents'.

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What is criminal atavism?

Atavism doesn't only affect behaviour but also facial + cranial features.
Two principle markers = Strong jaw + heavy brow.

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What is the supporting research for Lombroso's theory?

Studied the facial + cranial features of ~3,800 live criminals and ~380 dead. Concluding that 40% of criminal acts were committed by those with atavistic features.

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What are three other atavistic features?

- Dark hair
- Left handedness
- reduced sensitivity to pain

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What are the three strengths for Lombroso's theory of criminality?

* Research evidence- Butcher & Taylor - credibility + more useful explanation.
* First study of criminality - shifts away from religious pov to scientific.
* Application - can help prevent crime by identifying those prone to crime. (unethical)

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What are the three limitations to Lombroso's theory of criminality?

* Can not be applied to all crime/criminals - theory has limitations, reducing validity + credibility.
* Reductionist - complex behaviour reduced to facial features. (holistic approach = better)
* Findings = flawed - only looked at criminals.

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What are the key points to the theory of adoption studies?

Compares criminals to both bio + adoptive parents (nature vs nurture which causes criminality) - Where a criminal is more similar to their bio parents = nature; whereas when more similar to adoptive = nurture.

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What is one of the supporting research for the theory of adoption studies?

Hutchings + Mednick (1975) - studied 1400 adopted children - finding that a high % of boys with criminal convictions had criminally convicted parents.

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What is the second piece of supporting research for the theory of adoption studies?

Hutchings + Mednick (1984) - 4000 Danish men. comparing their criminal records with those of their bio + adoptive parents - finding a significant correlation between convictions with bio parents.

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How does adoption studies explain criminal behaviour?

Genes play a role - with environment having an effect - Mednick found that concordance rate of criminal convictions for bio parents + children = 20% compared to adopted with 14.7%.

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What are two strengths of adoption studies?

* Research support - Hutching + Mednick (1975/1984)
* More useful than twin studies - clearly separates genetic from environment - clearer explanation (with clear divide of factors).

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What are two limitations of adoption studies?

* Methodologically flawed - fails to consider later adopted children - limits the practical use as findings could be related to nurture as to nature.
* reductionist - fails to consider adoptive environment - holistic approach = better.

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Outline the main points of twin studies.

NS determines criminal behaviour. Therefore genetic inheritance causes criminal behaviour. Twin studies allow to evaluate whether its genetic or environmental causes.

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How does the twin studies suggest either an environmental/ or genetic link to criminal behaviour?

High concordance rate for criminality between MZ twins (100% DNA) compared to DZ = genetic.
However no concordance = criminality = environmental.

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What is the supporting research for twin studies?

Christianson - studied 3586 twin pairs. found concordance rates for criminality.
Male twins= 35% (MZ). 13% (DZ)
Female = 21% (MZ). 8% (DZ)

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How does this theory explain criminal behaviour?

Results show higher concordance rate between MZ twins compared to DZ twins = genetic link to criminality.

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What are two strengths of the twin studies theory for explaining criminal behaviour?

* Natural experiment - naturally occurring variables - high ecological validity - higher accuracy of theory.
* Evidence - Christianson - replicated by Ishikawa + Raine 2002 - increases credibility.

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What are the three limitations to the theory of adoption studies in explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Difficult to separate genetic + environmental factors - raised in same environment - reductionist (focuses on one cause)
* Results not conclusive - not 100% concordance rate - environmental contribution to criminality.

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What are the three limitations to the theory of adoption studies in explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Methodologically flawed - Christianson had small sample size - limits the extent of generalisability - limits practical use to explain criminality.

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What are the basic points for the XYY syndrome in explaining criminal behaviour?

XYY occurs in 1/1000 males. Criminals possess an extra 'y' chromosome ; which creates strong compulsions to commit violent crimes.

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What is the research support for the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?

Jacobs 1965 - 198 Scottish prisoners - used karyotyping to check for chromosomal abnormalities - 7/198 = xyy - 3.5% of prison pop. had xyy which is higher than the <1% in gen. pop.

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What is the real life research for the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?

John Wayne Gacy - claimed to have xyy syndrome - he assaulted, tortured + killed ~ 33 teenage boys + young men in the USA.

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How does this theory explain criminal behaviour?

XYY men = more aggressive, as extra Y chromosome = increased testosterone = more aggression, supported by research finding higher pop. of xyy men in prison than gen. public.

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What are three advantages to the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Range of supporting evidence - Jacobs / price + whatmore + John Wayne Gacy. (credibility).
* Modern research - Adler - established correlation between genetics + aggression.

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What are three advantages to the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?
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* scientific proof of existence - can be identified by conducting simple scientific tests (karyotyping)
factual existence = more credible + useful as an explanation.

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What are the three limitations to the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Can only explain small % of crime - Jacobs found 12/198 to have xyy without an explanation for the rest - focuses on violent crimes (less credible)
* Only applicable to bio males (with extra y) - limited application + less useful.

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What are the three limitations to the 'supermale' theory in explaining criminal behaviour?
3/3

* ignores environmental factors (such as nurture) - XYY may not be the cause, but instead upbringing - reductionist - limits usefulness.

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What are the key points to Sheldon's theory of somatotypes?

Criminal behaviour linked to physical form. Focussed on body shape rather than face (Lombroso). 3 somatotypes- Mesomorph, ectomorph , endomorph. Meso = more criminal.

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What are the qualities of the 3 somatotypes?

Meso - courageous; aggressive - muscular/ hourglass/rectangular shape.
Ecto - Self conscious; private - lean/ flat chested
Endo - Sociable; hedonistic - round physique/ difficulty losing weight.

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What is the supporting research for Sheldon's somatotype theory for criminal behaviour?

Sheldon - analysed 200 college students + 200 delinquents. Analysed body type based on the 3 levels of somatotype. Delinquents = higher mean rating of mesomorph (5.4). Students (3.8 meso)

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How does this theory attempt to explain criminal behaviour?

Muscular build of meso = more assertive= more likely to engage with crime. Meso = reflect high testosterone = more aggressive = more crime.

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What does modern research state about levels of testosterone and aggression?

Suggests that testosterone is not directly the cause of aggressive behaviour but instead linked to personality traits such as impulsiveness.

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What did the research of Glueck & Glueck show about mesomorphs?

Found a correlation between mesomorphs and criminality. 60% of the delinquent groups were mainly mesomorphic compared to 30% of the non delinquents.

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What are the three strengths for the theory of somatotypes as an explanation to criminal behaviour?

* Research - Sheldon + Glueck & Glueck
* Quality of research - used both criminal and non criminals (clear comparison) + large sample - scientific rigour + credible
* Practical application - unethical but could be used to prevent crime by looking at somat

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What are the three limitations to Sheldon's theory of somatotypes into explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Somatotypes not fixed + can change - due to lifestyle - criminals have less food and more time to exercise = meso. reduced credibility.
* Not all criminals = meso. Can't explain all criminals. John Wayne Gacy = endo. not meso. = low generalisability

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What are the three limitations to Sheldon's theory of somatotypes into explaining criminal behaviour?
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* Correlation but not definitive cause. Social factors could factor in. Self fulfilling prophecy (meso. ppl are more muscular and stereotyped<negatively>). Reductionist - only considers physiological factors. Holistic better.

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