Unit 2 AC2.1 Physiological

Question 1

What does the physiological explanation assume about criminality?

Answer 1

Assumes criminality is a result of the criminal’s biological functioning (physiology).

Question 2

Lombroso

Answer 2

Described as the ‘father of criminology’. proposed there is a hereditary class of criminals who are in effect biological throwbacks to a more primitive stage of human evolution. said such criminals exhibit a higher percentage of physical and mental anomalies than do non-criminals. Their biology acts as a force of control and causes some people to offend, whilst others obey the law.

Question 3

Atavism and Stigmata

Answer 3

stigmata - physical abnormalities. not the causes of criminal behaviour, but symptoms of atavism.
Atavism - the reversion to a more primitive type.

Question 4

Lombroso evaluation

Answer 4

Deterministic - Means that there is a reason for criminality and that behaviour is thus predictable. As a result, interventions may be able to be put in place to prevent crime from occurring.
Argued as racist - It is considered offensive to compare criminals to “primitive savages” and to equate non-western societies with criminals.

Question 5

Lombroso stigmata examples

Answer 5

Flattened/hawk-like Nose Nose
‘Large, monkey like ears’
Curly hair

Question 6

Sheldon (1949)

Answer 6

American psychologist who observed the varieties of human body types and put forward the idea that there are 3 body types – somatotypes. examined 4000 photographs of young men. He rated each one on a scale of 1 to 7 on their resemblance to mesomorphy. found that many criminals prone to committing violent and aggressive acts were mesomorphic and were least likely to be ectomorphic.

Question 7

Somatotypes

Answer 7

Ectomorphs - thin and fragile.
Endomorphs - considered soft and fat.
Mesomorphs - muscular and athletic.

Question 8

Sheldon (1949) evaluation

Answer 8

Useful - The most serious offenders were mesomorphic showing a link. However, can result in possible bias in the criminal justice system If judges consider mesomorphs to be the criminal type, such people are more likely to be convicted. If people accept this theory, it may not be useful because it leads to stereotyping.