Criminology Chapter 05 Homework Modern Medicine Identifies Number What Are Termed

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Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

Lecture Notes

Chapter 5: Early Positivism: Biological Theories of Crime

Learning Objectives

5.2 Identify the key assumptions, propositions, and weaknesses of Lombroso’s theory of atavism

and the born criminal.

5.4 Evaluate the key propositions, concepts, and weaknesses of Sheldon’s body type theory, and

Chapter Outline

I. Introduction

i. This chapter examines the early formulations of scientific criminological

testing and theorizing, referred to as the Positive School of criminology.

ii. The emphasis on science in criminology started in the mid-1800s and

provided a basis for what continues today. We examine how the Father of

Criminology developed his theory as well as how IQ testing impacted the

field and policies.

II. Early Biological Theories of Behavior

i. After many decades of dominance by the Classical School, academics and

scientists were becoming aware that the deterrence framework was not

explaining the distribution of crime.

ii. This restlessness led to new explanatory models of crime and behavior—

Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

iv. In the early to mid-19th century, several perspectives were offered

regarding how to determine which individuals or groups are most likely to

commit crime.

A. Craniometry

i. Craniometry is the belief that the size of the brain or skull represents the

superiority or inferiority of certain individuals or ethnic/racial groups.

ii. Most studies by craniometrists showed that subjects of white, Western

European descent tended to be far superior to other ethnic groups in terms

B. Phrenology

i. Phrenology is the science of determining human dispositions based on

distinctions (e.g., bumps) in the skull, which are believed to conform to the

shape of the brain.

ii. Modern scientific studies show that perhaps the most vital part of the brain

C. Physiognomy

i. Physiognomy is the study of facial and other bodily aspects to indicate

developmental problems, such as criminality.

ii. At any time, other than the late 1800s, the importance of facial and bodily

III. Lombroso’s Theory of Atavism and Born Criminals

i. Lombroso’s Theory of Atavism and Born Criminals was informed largely

by Darwin’s theory of natural selection, Lombroso (1835–1909) created

Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

what is widely considered the first attempt at scientific theory in

criminological thought.

A. Lombroso’s Theory of Crime

i. The first edition of Lombroso’s The Criminal Man was published in 1876

and triggered an immediate response from most Western societies in terms

of both their ideas and policies related to crime and justice.

ii. Lombroso’s theory was largely based on certain groups and individuals

being “atavistic” and likely born to commit crime; atavism means that a

person or particular feature of an individual is a throwback to an earlier

stage of evolutionary development.

iii. Although Lombroso noted offenders like the mentally ill and

“criminaloids,” who committed minor offenses due to external

B. Lombroso’s List of Stigmata

i. According to Lombroso, the manifestation of more than five stigmata

indicates that an individual is atavistic and thus a born criminal.

ii. For the most part, stigmata consisted of facial and bodily features that

deviated from the norm—in other words, abnormally small or large noses,

iii. Beyond deviant physical features, Lombroso also threw in some

extraphysiological features, such as tattoos and a history of epilepsy (or

other disorders) in the family.

Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

vi. He even claimed that certain stigmata could be identified among groups of

anarchists, burglars, murderers, shoplifters, and so forth.

C. Lombroso as the Father of Criminology and the Father of the Positive School

i. He became known as the first individual to test his hypotheses through

observation, Lombroso is widely considered the Father of Criminology.

ii. His theory coincided with political movements popular at that time—the

Fascist and Nazi movements of the early 1900s.

iii. Lombroso is also considered the Father of the Positive School of

v. Determinism is the idea that most human behavior is determined by

factors beyond free will and free choice.

vi. The Positive School is based on the fundamental belief that factors outside

free will and choice—such as biological, psychological, and sociological

variables—determine the choices we make regarding all types of behavior,

especially decisions of whether or not to engage in criminal activity.

D. Policy Implications

i. Beyond the theoretical aspects of Lombroso’s theory, it is important to

realize that his perspective had profound consequences for policy as well.

ii. Under the banner of science, Lombroso was called in to determine the guilt

of certain persons in key criminal testimony, often during trial.

predictors of antisocial problems has implications to the present day.

vii. Perhaps surprisingly, such implications are more accepted by modern

medical science than they are in the criminological literature.

viii. Three decades after Lombroso’s work, criminologists began to question his

theory of atavism and stigmata.

IV. After Lombroso: The IQ-Testing Era

Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

i. Despite the evidence presented against Lombroso, his theorizing remained

dominant until the early 1900s, when criminologists realized that stigmata

and the idea of a “born” criminal were not valid.

ii. However, theorists and researchers were not ready to disbelieve certain

ethnic or racial groups were superior or inferior to others and a new theory

emerged based on a quantified measure originated by Alfred Binet in

France.

A. Goddard’s IQ Test

i. Goddard is generally considered the leading authority on the use and

interpretation of IQ testing in the United States.

ii. He used the IQ test he adopted from Binet’s model to examine immigrants

coming into the United States and proposed quite different assumptions

regarding intelligence or IQ than did Binet.

iii. Goddard is known for labeling this low IQ feeble-mindedness, which

actually became a technical, scientific term in the early 1900s referring to

those who had significantly below-average levels of intelligence.

B. Policy Implications

i. Regarding policy implications of his work, Goddard was proud of the

increase in the deportations of potential immigrants to the United States.

improved, despite his earlier assumptions that it was innate and static.

v. However, despite Goddard’s admission that his assumptions and testing

were not determinant of individuals’ intelligence, the snowball had been

rolling for too long and had gathered too much strength to fight even the

most notable theorist’s admonishment concerning the perspective.

vi. Sterilization

a. The sterilization of mostly females based on scores from

C. Reexamining Intelligence

i. For decades, criminological researchers realized the atrocities that had been

committed in the name of this theory and IQ was not researched much.

ii. In the 1970s, a study was published in which Travis Hirschi and Michael

Hindelang examined the effect of intelligence on youths.

iii. They found that even among youths in the same race and social class,

intelligence has a significant effect on delinquency and criminality; it

V. Body-Type Theory: Sheldon’s Model of Somatotyping

i. In the mid-1940s, William Sheldon’s theoretical perspective merged the

concepts of biology and psychology; he claimed that in the embryonic and

fetal stages of development, there is an emphasis on the development of

certain tissue layers.

ii. According to Sheldon, these varying degrees of emphasis are largely due to

heredity, which leads to the development of certain body types and

temperaments or personalities.

Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

iii. This theory, also known as somatotyping, became the best-known body

type theory.

iv. The first layer of tissue is the endoderm which includes the internal

v. Sheldon claimed that individuals who were endomorphic tended to be

jolly or lazy (viscerotonic).

vi. Persons who were mesomorphic (muscular) typically had a risk-taking and

aggressive temperament, called somatotonic.

vii. Last, individuals who were ectomorphic (thin) tended to be introverted and

shy, a personality type referred to as cerebrotonic.

viii. It was the middle group, the mesomorphs, who had the greatest propensity

for criminality, due to their risk-taking and aggressive dispositions.

ix. Subsequent studies showed that mesomorphic boys were far more likely to

xi. Recent theorists have gone so far as to claim that chronic offenders can be

identified early in life by the shape of the muscles in their pelvic region;

they claim that the most likely criminals (both male and female) can be

VI. Policy Implications

i. A variety of policy implications can be derived from all these theories; one

could first propose more thorough medical screening at birth and in early

childhood.

ii. Studies reviewed implicate numerous MPAs in developmental problems

iii. Other policy implications derived from the theories and findings of this

chapter involve implementation of same-sex classes to allow for more

focus on deficiencies shown to be specific to young boys or girls.

iv. A summary of what programs work best to reduce the long-term impact of

early physiological risk factors for criminality noted the importance of