AC2.1 Flashcards
(13 cards)
What are the 3 branches of biochemical explanations to crime?
Hormones
Blood Sugar Levels
Substance Abuse
Which railway worker had a personality change following a major brain injury?
Phineas Gage
Name 2 physiological theories of criminality?
Lombroso (Born Criminals)
Sheldon’s Somatotypes
What is Lombroso’s theory of ‘Born Criminals’?
Criminals are physically different from non-criminals
What are 3 physical differences Lombroso suggested criminals had?
Prominent eyebrow arches
Exceptionally long arms
Enormous jaws
What does Lombroso mean by ‘atavism’?
Lombroso said that criminals were atavistic, this means that criminals were humans that were more primitive than others and were unable to control impulses and conform to society
What are 2 strengths to Lombroso’s theory?
Lombroso took the first steps to looking at crime through a more scientific approach (viewed as the father of Criminology)
He essentially created the idea of criminal profiling
What are 3 weaknesses to Lombroso’s theory?
It’s deterministic
His research had no control group
It’s founded in racism (physical traits he stated were telling of criminals were overwhelmingly African, such as dark skin, curly hair, and protruding ears)
What is Sheldon’s somatotypes theory?
Certain body types are linked to criminal behaviour
What were the 3 body types (somatotypes) Sheldon singled out?
Endomorphs (pudgy, lacking muscle)
Ectomorphs (skin and bones)
Mesomorphs (muscular)
Which body type (somatotype) did Sheldon argue was most likely to engage in crime and why?
Mesomorphs, because they are more likely to be attracted to the risk taking involved in crime and their bodies are more suited to most crimes
What is a strength of Sheldon’s somatotypes theory?
His research was fairly good. He had a noteworthy sample of 200 and most importantly had a control group of non-offenders (students). Additionally further research into the link between body types and criminality has been conducted and a slight correlation has been found
What are 3 weaknesses of Sheldon’s somatotypes theory?
An individual’s body type can be subjective, there’s no numerical deciders between the 3
Lack of generalisability, difficult to apply these body types to women
Potential for confirmation bias and labelling
