forensics: biological explanations of offending- atavistic form

Question 1

what is atavistic form

Answer 1

a biological approach suggesting criminal activity is a result of criminals being genetic throwbacks (primitive subspecies), lacking in evolutionary development – they are unable to adjust to civilised society so turn to crime (this is inevitable)

Question 1

who developed the theory of atavistic form and when?

Answer 1

cesare lombroso in 1876

Question 2

why do we still study atavistic form when the theory has been discredited since?

Answer 2

we still study this because he was one of the first to establish a scientific basis for studying crime and laid foundations for modern offender profiling

Question 3

what physical characteristics did Lombroso suggest was an indicator of an atavistic criminal?

Answer 3

prominent jaw, narrow and sloping brows, high cheek bones, facial asymmetry and dark skin, extra toes / nipples

Question 4

atavistic characteristics for fraudsters

Answer 4

thin, reedy lips

Question 5

atavistic characteristics for murderers

Answer 5

blood shot eyes, curly hair and long ears

Question 6

atavistic characteristics for sexual deviant offenders

Answer 6

glinting eyes, swollen and fleshy lips and projecting ears

Question 7

what non-physical characteristics did lombroso suggest was an indicator of an atavistic criminal?

Answer 7

insensitivity to pain, use of criminal slang (easier for them to understand), tattoos and unemployment

Question 8

describe the procedure and findings of lombroro’s research; what does he conclude from this?

Answer 8

• lombroso studies facial and cranial features of italian convicts
• examined skulls of 383 dead criminals
• examined features of 3839 living criminals
• concluded 40% criminal acts accounted for by atavistic characteristics (less than the majority showed atavistic features)
• lombroso suggests it is possible to identify criminals from their physical characteristics, though this doesn’t mean causation - there could be a 3rd variable causing them to offend

Question 9

what is androcentric

Answer 9

describes a male perspective that minimises or excludes the female experience and perspective

Question 10

limitation : gender bias - what does androcentric mean? why is this a problem?

Answer 10

• lombroso had androcentric ideas about women; he believed women are : naturally jealous, insensitive to pain, passive and low in intelligence
• but women have material instinct, which neutralises negative traits, making them less likely to be criminals
• women who became criminals had masculine characteristics which are in a man, but creates a ‘monster’ in a woman

Question 11

strength of atavistic theory of offending behaviour?

Answer 11

lombroso brought science to the study of crime
- he based his ideas on empirical observation and detailed measurements
- called the father of modern criminology; moved focus from moral discourse to scientific methods

Question 12

limitation : how is this theory an example of scientific racism? why is this a limitation?

Answer 12

attention has been drawn to the distinct racist undertones within lombroso’s work
- many of the features lombroso identified as criminal + atavistic, such as curly hair and dark skin, are most likely to be found amongst people of african descent
- similarly, his description of the atavistic being as ‘uncivilised, primitive, savage’ would lend support to many of the eugenic philosophies of the time
- whether lombroso intended this to be the case or not is a matter of debate; though there is little doubt it is an uncomfortable and controversial aspect of his legacy

Question 13

what research did charles goring (1913) conduct? what does this suggest about the atavistic form theory of offending behaviour?

Answer 13

• charles goring (1913) set out to establish whether there were any physical or mental abnormalities among the criminal classes
• after comparing 3000 criminals with 3000 non-criminals, he found no differences except for the fact that criminals were smaller and had below average intelligence
• whilst the point about intelligence does offer some limited support to lombroso’s argument that criminals are ‘subspecies’, it does question the key element of his theory that criminals are different in terms of their appearance

Question 14

limitation : why were lombroso’s research methods poor? why is this a limitation?

Answer 14

• lombroso didn’t give the same attention to non-prisoners as he did for prisoners when studying their ‘atavistic form’
• no control group was used
• no consideration of confounds - correlation not causation