Atavistic form

Question 1

Who founded the atavistic approach? What is it?

Answer 1

Cesare Lombroso in 1876,
Criminals are described as genetic throwback- a primitive sub species who are biologically different from non-criminals.

Offenders were seen by Lombroso as lacking and evolutionary development, meaning they are unable to deal with the demands of a civilized society and would inevitably turn to crime.

Question 2

Physiological and non-physical traits markers of criminals

Answer 2

Strong prominent jaws
Large Ears
High cheekbones
Heavy brow
Dark skin
Extra toes, nipples or fingers

Unemployment
tattoos
use of slang

Question 3

Physiological examples of murderers

Answer 3

Bloodshot eyes, curly hair and long ears

Question 4

Physiologocal examples of Sexual deviants

Answer 4

Glinting eyes, swollen, fleshy lips

Question 5

Physiological examples of Fraudsters

Answer 5

Thin and reedy lips

Question 6

Lombroso’s Research

Answer 6

He examined skulls of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones.

40% of criminal acts were accounted by people with atavistic characteristics.

Question 7

Limitation within the methodology of Lombroso’s research?

Answer 7

He did not use a control group in his research. Therefore although he found physical trends amongst his substantial group of offenders, he was not comparing them to a group of ‘normal’ controls. Therefore, it may be more likely that these physical features are coincidental and can be found amongst any people group of that size.

Question 8

Limitation with reliability with Lombroso’s research?

Answer 8

P: One limitation of the historical approach to explaining offender behavior is the lack of research support.

E: Goring (1913) attempted to replicated the findings of Lombroso by studying the physiology of London prisoners. Goring found no link between their behaviors and their physiology.

C: He concluded that the claims about atavistic form made by Lombroso, may not be cause of criminal behavior after all.

Question 9

What is the eugenics movement

Answer 9

Francis Galton 1880’s
Eugenics movement, not all people are born equal. The disadvantaged groups should not be allowed to breed for the good of society, whilst those without should be eliminated- breeding out undesirable characteristics such as disability and disease.

Question 10

Does Lombroso’s research support the eugenics movement?

Answer 10

Yes, due to it suggesting that criminals and ‘born’ and so this is an inherited trait, with particular criminals displaying certain physical anomalies or characteristics.

Question 11

Limitation with Lombroso’s research with regards to racism?

Answer 11

Scientific racism, some of the characteristics he identified are more prevalent in certain racial groups. However, this is still an issue today, Eberhardt found that stereotypically ‘black’ looking men were much more likely to get the death penalty in th eUSA than those who were less stereotypically black looking, even if they had committed very similar offenses.

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 which continues to overshadow criminology.

Question 12

Limitation with Lombroso’s research with regards to the interactionist approach.

Answer 12

Only focuses on th erole of nature and does not acknowledge the role of multiple factors.

Kaplan (1980) suggested that individuals who suffer societal barriers and poor interactions with members of society will suffer a decrease in self-esteem and an increase in frustration. Kaplan proposed that this is what causes people to turn to criminal behavior.

Therefore, the interactions approach to explaining offender behavior is much more accurate rather than merely claiming that atavistic form is the sole cause.