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biological theories Flashcards

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1
Q

who looks at physiological theories?

A

lombroso

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2
Q

what type of theory is the physiological theory?

A

biological

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3
Q

who was lombroso influenced by?

A

charles darwin

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4
Q

what did lombroso theorise there was a ‘missing link’ between?

A

primates and the modern man

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5
Q

who was the first person to study crime scientifically?

A

lombroso

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6
Q

what does criminaloids mean?

A

occasional criminals

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7
Q

what does lombroso believe about criminals?

A

they are born criminals

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8
Q

what does ‘born criminals’ mean?

A

the offenders are not freely choosing to commit crimes

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9
Q

what did lombroso look at in criminals?

A

atavistic traits

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10
Q

what are atavistic traits.

A

physical traits or features believed to be inherited from primitive ancestors and potentially associated with criminal behavior

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11
Q

what does lombroso describe criminals as?

A

primitive savages

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12
Q

some examples of atavistic traits?

A

enormous (extended) jawbone, high cheek bones, handle shaped ears (too large or too small), wrinkled skin, prominent eyebrow arches, exceptionally long arms, large eye sockets, abnormal teeth, strange shaped head, beaked nose, extremely acute eyesight.

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13
Q

what did lombroso claim about different types of criminals?

A

they different facial features

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14
Q

what are the physical traits of a murderer?

A

cold, glassy stares, bloodshot eyes, and big hawk-like nose.

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15
Q

what are the psychical traits of a thief?

A

expressive face, manual dexterity, and small, wandering eyes.

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16
Q

what are the physical traits of a sex offender?

A

thick lips and protruding ears

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17
Q

why are criminals more likely to have tattoos?

A

they can stand pain

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18
Q

in addition to atavistic traits, what else did lombroso look at?

A

the conditions the crime was committed under

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19
Q

3 strengths of lombroso?

A

-first to study crime scientifically,
-showed importance of examining clinical history and records
-gave scientific credibility to criminology for first time
-argued environment, alcoholism, climate changes, lack of education may contribute to criminality
-argued offenders not freely choosing to commit crime- helped shift focus from punishment to prevention

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20
Q

3 weaknesses of lombroso?

A

-most traits listed failed to distinguish criminals from matched samples of non criminals
-research since lombroso failed to show link between facial features and criminality
-failed to compare findings of criminals to a non-criminal control group
-conclusions challenged by charles goring who found no significant physiological difference between his group of criminals and non-criminals

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21
Q

what did sheldon look at?

A

somatotypes

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22
Q

how many somatotypes are there?

A

three

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23
Q

what are the three somatotypes?

A

ectomorphs, endomorphs, mesomorphs

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24
Q

what does sheldon’s principal claim is the somatotypes more likely to commit crime?

A

mesomorphs

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25
what are ectomorphs?
tall and thin, with narrow shoulders and hips, self conscious, fragile, very little muscle and body fat.
26
what are mesomorphs?
broad shoulders, narrow hips, adventurous, thrill seeking , assertive
27
what are endomorphs?
wide hips, narrow shoulders, high body fat, sociable, outgoing
28
strengths of sheldon’s physiological theory?
-criminals had a higher mesomorphs rating than non-criminals -possible some of these correlations may be linked to testosterone levels
29
weaknesses of sheldon’s physiological theory?
overgeneralisation, lack of casual evidence, neglect of social influence, ethical concerns, bias
30
three genetic theories?
XYY, twins theory, adoption theory
31
who looks at the XYY theory?
jacob et al
32
what is the XYY theory?
men have an extra Y chromosome
33
what are people with XYY called?
supermales
34
what does jacob eat al claim about supermales?
they are more aggressive and potentially violent than other males
35
what did price and whatmore find about XYY males
males are immature and unstable with a strong tend an y to commit property crime
36
2 strengths of XYY theory
-provides a genetic explanation for certain. behaviours linking chromosomal abnormality and aggression -some studies show a potential correlation between XYY chromosomes and convicted criminals
37
3 Weaknesses of XYY theory?
- potential association does not mean cause -XYY men taller and more muscular- may cause labelling -might be related to associated low intelligence- more likely to get caught -syndrome is much rarer (1 in 1000 men) - can’t explain crime by women
38
what are twin studies?
a well known method for identifying a genetic basis of behaviour
39
what is the word for identical twins
monozygotic
40
what is the word for non-identical twins?
dizygotic
41
who studied the twins theory?
karl Christiansen
42
what did christiansen find about twins?
the chance of one twin engaging in criminal behaviour when the other twin was criminal was 52% in MZ twins and 22% in DZ twins
43
what does eugenics refer to?
the ‘improvement’ of genetic quality within the human population
44
when was the death penalty illegalised?
1969
45
what does eugenics mean?
people with desirable traits should reproduce with one another
46
what is vivitrol?
an injectable formulation of a drug for a person suffering from opioid dependency
47
how much vivitrol is injected and how frequently?
280mg/ 4 weeks
48
how is vivitrol a twofold method?
it blocks psychological cravings and receptors
49
how long do you have to be sober from opiates to take vivitrol?
7 days
50
pros of vivitrol?
- helpful to control cravings -twofold -works for opiates and alcohol -prevents relapse -non-narcotic and non-addictive
51
cons of vivitrol
-not very effective when taken on its own -can cause precipitated withdrawal if before 7 days -side effects
52
what is chemical castration used to treat?
sex offenders- rapists
53
is chemical castration effective?
effective in many cases where people willingly do the procedure have lost the desire to commit heinous crimes.
54
pros of chemical castration?
-reduces sex drives of predators -allows potential offenders to come forward and prevent their desires from occurring -used in current day and is effective
55
cons of chemical castration?
-invasive -takes months to reverse -can be used against innocent people -expensive -lengthy
56
57
what is chemical castration?
using drugs to reduce testosterone levels, which in turn lowers sex drive, sexual arousal, and sexual fantasies
58
why is chemical castration used?
reduce the risk of recidivism in some sex offenders
59
what does recidivism mean?
reoffending
60
pros of chemical castration?
-does appear to work, especially when it is used alongside psychological counselling -allows potential offenders to prevent ever assaulting someone
61
cons of chemical castration?
- can take months of hormone therapy to reverse -can be used against innocent people for the wrong reasons -takes 3-5 years to complete
62
what is eugenics?
the ‘improvement’ of genetic quality within the human population, people with ‘desirable; traits should reproduce with one another
63
64
what is the most well known case of eugenics?
nazi germany and the holocaust
65
what does eugenics suggest will happen to the world?
it would significantly improve the human race
66
who died nazi germany target?
mentally ill, disabled, jewish people of colour, queer people.
67
when was the death penalty iligalised in the uk?
1969
68
what is the death penalty?
legal punishment by execution of criminals
69
does the death penalty help to reduce crime?
many argue that the death penalty reduces criminality by creating fear around punishment and acting as a deterrent.
70
who was the african american boy wrongly sentenced to death?
George Stinney
71
cons of death penalty?
- ethical issues, convicting innocent people

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