Unit 2 Biological Theories

Question 1

Physiological Theories

What is a biological theory of crime?

Answer 1

a theory that emphasises internal inherited traits as the most important factors that cause crime.

Question 2

Physiological Theories

Who is known as the ‘father of Criminology’?

Answer 2

Lombroso

Question 3

Physiological Theories

What part of the body did Lombroso study?

Answer 3

Phrenology and Physiognomy

Question 4

Physiological Theories

What is Phrenology?

Answer 4

the study of the shape and size of the skull

Question 5

Physiological Theories

What is physiognomy

Answer 5

the study of facial features

Question 6

Physiological Theories

What was the main conclusion that came from Lombroso’s 1876 study?

Answer 6

That criminals are physiologically different to non-criminals

Question 7

Physiological Theories

In what 3 ways did he find they were different?

Answer 7

atavistic,stigmata’s, and pathological

Question 8

Physiological Theories

What does atavistic mean?

Answer 8

less evolved - features of primitive men

Question 9

Physiological Theories

What is a stigmata?

Answer 9

brain ‘blemishes’ which indicate biological inferiority

Question 10

Physiological Theories

What does pathological mean?

Answer 10

offenders that suffer from sickness of the body and mind

Question 11

Physiological Theories

Where did Lombroso get the data for his study?

Answer 11

data from prisoners and autopsies on convicted criminals

Question 12

Physiological Theories

What were two features that Lombroso found the ‘criminal man’ had?

Answer 12

large jaw, hawk-like noses

Question 13

Physiological Theories

What features did Lombroso find sex offenders had?

Answer 13

thick lips and protruding ears

Question 14

Physiological Theories

What features did Lombroso find thieves had?

Answer 14

an aquiline face with eyes close together

Question 17

Physiological Theories

List the five criticisms of Lombroso:

Answer 17

-ignored social context/environmental factors
-control group did not represent any non-criminals, made assumptions of non-criminals
-deterministic(saying the criminals committing crime is completely out of their control)
-stigmatisation of criminals by saying they are ‘sick’ implying they need a cure
-old study which has been discredited by recent genetic studies

Question 18

Physiological Theories

What are eugenics?

Answer 18

the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits - aims to reduce human suffering by ‘breeding out’ disease, disabilities, and undesirable characteristics

Question 19

Physiological Theories

What did Lombroso say about the criminal woman compared to the criminal man?

Answer 19

-had a lower crime rate than men
-were less evolved than men

Question 20

Physiological Theories

What did Lombroso say about the criminal woman compared to a non-criminal woman?

Answer 20

-they had smaller brains and skulls
-had a larger hip to waist ratio

Question 21

Physiological Theories

What was Sheldon’s key theory about criminals?

Answer 21

that criminals are physically different from non-criminals (based on somatotypes)

Question 22

Physiological Theories

What is a somatotype?

Answer 22

underlying physique that is not changed by overeating or training

Question 23

Physiological Theories

What are the 3 body types Sheldon linked to criminal behaviour?

Answer 23

ectomorph,endomorph,mesomorph

Question 24

Physiological Theories

How did Sheldon get the data for his study?

Answer 24

he studied 400 boys in a residential rehabilitation home, gathered data from family backgrounds and monitored their growth for 8 years

Question 25

Physiological Theories

What body type is the most likely to be criminal based on Sheldon’s theory?

Answer 25

mesomorph

Question 26

Physiological Theories

How can an endomorph body be described?

Answer 26

fat

Question 27

# Physiological Theories How can a mesomorph body be described?

Answer 27

athletic

Question 28

# Physiological Theories How can an ectomorph body be described?

Answer 28

slim

Question 29

# Physiological Theories What are the percentages of what body types make up criminals according to Sheldon?

Answer 29

30% - endomorph 10% - ectomorph 60% - mesomorph

Question 30

# Physiological Theories Are Sheldon’s theories correctional or causational?

Answer 30

correlational

Question 31

# Physiological Theories List 2 problems with Sheldon’s theory?

Answer 31

-the conclusions correlate rather than the body types being the **cause** -other factors are likely to be involved (age,gender,environment)

Question 32

# Physiological Theories List 4 positives of physiological theories overall:

Answer 32

-scientific, first time quantitative data was used for criminals(rather than religious and moral reasons for crime) -medical, links medical reasons to crime, showing it may not always be a rational choice -treatment, born criminals could have a cure -somewhat reliable, mesomorphic body types are still criminal in recent studies

Question 33

# Physiological Theories List 4 negatives of physiological theories of crime overall:

Answer 33

-out of date research, crude ways of measuring and categorising offenders -lacking objectivity, conducted in a time of overt racial and gender profiling -correlational problems, criminal lifestyle may have caused the physiological issues -environmental problems, other factors of body and physical factors ignored (working class labourers will have particular body shape)

Question 34

# Genetic Theories What is a genetic theory?

Answer 34

The theory that inherited traits are the most significant factors that cause crime

Question 35

# Genetic Theories What are the two types of twins?

Answer 35

monozygotic, dizygotic

Question 36

# Genetic Theories What are monozygotic twins and how many genes do they share?

Answer 36

identical twins - all of their genes are the same

Question 37

# Genetic Theories What are dizygotic twins and how many genes do they share?

Answer 37

fraternal twins - half of their genes are the same

Question 38

# Genetic Theories What did the Christiansen study find about twins?

Answer 38

Studied 3586 sets of twins, found that 52% of Monozygotic twins and 22% of dizygotic twins both had criminal convictions

Question 39

# Genetic Theories What did the Crowe study find about adoption?

Answer 39

that if a biological mother had a conviction they had a 50% chance of having had a conviction

Question 40

# Genetic Theories what are 2 limits of twin and adoption studies?

Answer 40

-whether the environment can be accurately measured (monozygotic twins may be treated more similarly to dizygotic twins) -adoption studies may have ethical issues, offenders will be very less likely to adopt children

Question 41

# Genetic Theories What chromosomes apply for Jacob syndrome?

Answer 41

XYY

Question 42

# Genetic Theories What chromosome syndrome links the most to criminal behaviour?

Answer 42

Jacob Syndrome XYY

Question 43

# Genetic Theories Where was the study for Jacob Syndrome XYY?

Answer 43

Scotland

Question 44

# Genetic Theories What was found in the study for Jacob’s Syndrome XYY which was conducted in Scotland?

Answer 44

Jacobs Syndrome XYY occurred 20 times more among inmates in the scottish prison than it occurred in the general population.

Question 45

# Genetic Theories When was the Scottish Jacob Syndrome XYY study conducted?

Answer 45

1967-1972

Question 46

# Genetic Theories What are 3 common traits of Jacob’s Syndrome XYY?

Answer 46

-increased aggression -slower learning speed -taller than average height

Question 47

# Genetic Theories What did James Fallon accidentally find out?

Answer 47

that there were patterns in his own brain that correlated with psychopathic tendencies - showing that the physchopathic tendencies do not automatically mean they will become a criminal