Biological
Theories
The Earliest
Positivistic Theories
CESARE LOMBROSO
(1835-1909)
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PHYSICIAN
1876 WROTE, THE CRIMINAL MAN
ATAVISTIC CRIMINAL
EVOLUTINARY THROW BACKS
STIGMATA
INDICATORS OF THE BORN CRIMINAL
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DEVIATION IN HEAD SIZE AND SHAPE FROM
TYPE COMMON TO RACE AND REGION FROM
WHICH THE CRIMINAL CAME
ASYMMETRY OF THE FACE
EYE DEFECTS AND PECULIARITIES
EXCESSIVE DIMENSIONS OF THE JAW AND
CHEEK BONES
EARS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, OR OCCASIONALLY
VERY SMALL, OR STANDING OUT FROM THE
HEAD AS DO THOSE OF THE CHIMPANZEE
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NOSE TWISTED, UPTURNED, OR FLATTENED IN
THIEVES, OR AQUILINE OR BEAK-LIKE IN
MURDERERS, OR WITH A TIP RISING LIKE A
PEAK FROM SWOLLEN NOSTRILS.
LIPS FLESHY, SWOLLEN, & PROTRUDING
POUCHES IN THE CHEEK LIKE THOSE OF SOME
ANIMALS
PECULIARITIES OF THE PALATE, SUCH AS ARE
FOUND IN SOME REPTILES, AND CLEFT
PALATE.
CHIN RECEDING, OR EXCESSIVELY LONG, OR
SHORT AND FLAT, AS IN APES.
ABNORMAL DENTITION.
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ABUNDANCE, VARIETY, AND PRECOCITY OF
WRINKLES
ANOMALIES OF THE HAIR, MARKED BY
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HAIR OF THE
OPPOSITE SEX.
DEFECTS OF THE THORAX, SUCH AS TOO MANY
OR TOO FEW RIBS, OR SUPERNUMERARY
NIPPLES
INVERSION OF SEX CHARACTERS IN THE
PELVIC ORGANS
EXCESSIVE LENGTH OF ARMS
SUPERNUMERARY FINGERS AND TOES
IMBALANCE OF THE HEMISPHERES OF THE
BRAIN (ASYMMETRY OF CRANIUM)
SUMMARY
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HE CONSISTENTLY EMPHASIZED THE NEED FOR
DIRECT STUDY OF THE INDIVIDUAL, UTILIZING
MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL METHODS IN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC DATA.
HE BEGAN WITH THE BASIC ASSUMPTION OF THE
BIOLOGICAL NATURE OF HUMAN CHARACTER AND
BEHAVIOR:
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A. HE FIRST CONCEIVED OF THE CRIMINAL AS A THROWBACK
TO A MORE PRIMITIVE TYPE OF BRAIN STRUCTURE, AND
THEREFORE OF BEHAVIOR.
B. HE LATER MODIFIED THIS TO INCLUDE GENERAL
DEGENERACY OF DEFECTIVENESS.
C. HE NEVER CLAIMED THAT THE BORN CRIMINAL
CONSTITUTED MORE THAN 40% PROBABLY LESS, ONLY ABOUT
1/3 OF THE TOTAL CRIMINAL POPULATION
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WITH SUCCESSIVE YEARS OF STUDY,
DISCUSSION, AND CONTACT WITH CRITICS, HE
MODIFIED HIS THEORY AND METHOD
MORE AND MORE TO INCLUDE ALL KINDS OF
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL
DATA. THROUGH IT ALL, HE ALWAYS
ATTEMPTED TO BE:
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A. OBJECTIVE, IN METHOD, OFTEN STATISTICAL
B. POSITIVE IN THE SENSE OF DETERMINISTIC
C. FAITHFUL TO THE BASIC IDEA OF CAUSE AS A
CHAIN OF INTERRELATED EVENTS, NOT THE MORE
THE FEMALE OFFENDER 1909
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MOST WOMEN ARE NOT CRIMINAL
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THOSE THAT ARE, ARE MOST OFTEN
OCCASIONAL CRIMINALS
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BUT, SOME WOMEN ARE ACTAVISTIC
CRIMINALS
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HARDER TO DETECT THEN MEN
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MORE VICIOUS
EARNEST A. HOOTON,
HARVARD
ANTHROPOLOGIST
THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL: AN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY
1939
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Compared 14,000 Male prisoners to
3,203 non-criminal males
IN 19 OUT OF 33 MEASUREMENTS THERE WAS
A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
CRIMINALS AND CIVILIANS
CRIMINALS ARE INFERIOR TO CIVILIANS IN
NEARLY ALL THEIR BODILY MEASUREMENTS
LOW FOREHEADS, HIGH PINCHED NASAL
ROOTS, NASAL BRIDGES AND TIPS VARYING TO
BOTH EXTREMES OF BREADTH AND
NARROWNESS, EXCESS OF NASAL
DEFLECTIONS, COMPRESSED FACES AND
NARROW JAWS, FIT WELL INTO THE PICTURE
OF GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL INFERIORITY.
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PHYSICAL INFERIORITY IS SIGNIFICANT
PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE IT IS ASSOCIATED
WITH MENTAL INFERIORITY.
THE BASIC CAUSE OF THE INFERIORITY
(PROBABLY) IS DUE TO HEREDITY AND NOT TO
SITUATION OR CIRCUMSTANCE.
DARK EYES AND BLUE EYES ARE DEFICIENT IN
CRIMINALS, AND BLUE-GRAY AND MIXED EYES
ARE IN EXCESS;...EYEBROWS THAT ARE THIN
TO VERY THIN OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY.
TATTOOING IS MORE COMMON AMONG
CRIMINALS THAN AMONG CIVILIAN CONTROLS.
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THIN LIPS AND COMPRESSED JAW ANGLES
OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY; MARKED
OVERBITE LESS FREQUENTLY AMONG
CRIMINALS THAN CIVILIANS.
THE EAR OF THE CRIMINAL TENDS TO A
SLIGHTLY ROLLED HELIX, AND MORE
PERCEPTIBLE DARWIN'S POINT THAN THAT OF
THE CIVILIAN; ALSO MORE EXTREME
VARIATIONS OF EAR PROTRUSION, AND THE
CRIMINAL EAR TENDS TO BE SMALL.
LOW AND SLOPING FOREHEADS, LONG, THIN
NECKS, AND SLOPING SHOULDERS, ARE
SIMILARLY IN EXCESS AMONG CRIMINALS IN
COMPARISONS WITH CIVILIANS.
Why the appeal?
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“tall thin men, he claimed, tended to be
murderers and robbers,
whereas tall heavy men, besides killing,
were also prone to forgery and fraud.”
(Curran & Renzetti pg.34-35)
Look at Hooton’s book Why Men Behave
like Apes and Vice Versa (1940)
What is Wrong?
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Look at control group
Look at how crime is defined
Who are in Institutions
William Sheldon
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Somatotyping
VARIOUS BOOKS FROM 1936-1954
DEVELOPED BASED ON TISSUE LAYERS,
EMBRYOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY
ENDODERM
MESODERM
EXTODERM
DEVELOPED THREE PHYSICAL
AND TEMPERAMENT TYPES
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1. PHYSIQUE - ENDOMORPHIC:
RELATIVELY GREAT DEVELOPMENT OF DIGESTIVE
VISCERA; TENDENCY TO PUT ON FAT; SOFT
ROUNDNESS THROUGH VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE
BODY; SHORT TAPERING LIMBS; SMALL BONES; SOFT,
SMOOTH, VELVETY SKIN TEMPERAMENT
VISCEROTONIC:
GENERAL RELAXATION OF BODY; A COMFORTABLE
PERSON; LOVES SOFT LUXURY; A SOFTIE BUT STILL
ESSENTIALLY AN EXTROVERT
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2. PHYSIQUE - MESOMORPHIC:
RELATIVE PREDOMINANCE OF MUSCLES,
BONE AND THE MOTOR ORGANS OF THE
BODY; LARGE TRUNK; HEAVY CHEST;
LARGE WRISTS AND HANDS;
TEMPERAMENT - SOMOTONIC:
ACTIVE, DYNAMIC, PERSON;WALKS,
TALKS, GESTURES ASSERTIVELY;
BEHAVES AGGRESSIVELY
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3. PHYSIQUE - ECTOMORPHIC: RELATIVE
PREDOMINANCE OF SKIN AND ITS
APPENDAGES, WHICH INCLUDES THE NERVOUS
SYSTEM; LEAN, FRAGILE, DELICATE BODY;
SMALL DELICATE BONES; DROOPY
SHOULDERS; SMALL FACE, SHARP NOSE, FINE
HAIR; RELATIVELY LITTLE BODY MASS AND
RELATIVELY GREAT SURFACE AREA
TEMPERAMENT- CEREBROTONIC: AN
INTROVERT; FULL OF FUNCTIONAL
COMPLAINTS, ALLERGIES, SKIN TROUBLES,
CHRONIC FATIGUE, INSOMNIA; SENSITIVE TO
NOISE AND DISTRACTIONS; SHRINKS FROM
CROWDS.
Links
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http://www.kheper.net/topics/typology/somatoty
pes.html\
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/bodytype.htm
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http://www.sweattechnologies.com/~somatotyp
e
http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psyc
hology/crime_motivation/1.html
General Pedigree
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Criminal Parents have criminal children
Think of Jukes
How much is due to genetics?
How much to environmental factors?
Twin Studies
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Identical twins (MZ) 100% shared
Fraternal twins (DZ) 50% shared
Just like other siblings
Importance?
Environment becomes a control
Finds support for delinquency and selecting of
friends
Problems? Methods, sampling, return rates; how
much are twins treated the same?
ADOPTION STUDIES
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Perhaps one way to gage biology’s
influence is to:
Look at children born of same parents but
raised apart
Mednick’s study – 14,427 adpoted boys
Non-criminal biological parents OR
adoptive parents – 13.5% had convictions
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Non-criminal biological & at least 1
adoptive parent criminal resulted in 14.7%
At least 1 biological parent and nonadoptive – 20%
At least 1 of each – 24.5%
How much does environment impact this?
These studies have methodological
problems…
Methodological Problems
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How is crime defined – type of behavior
included; using incarcerated mothers; etc
Varying amounts of time spent with
biological parents and some time in foster
homes
Those who were separated later and those
having spent time in institutions where
more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior
XYY
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Richard Speck case in Chicago
Daniel Hugon in France
Belief was – Y chromosome associated
with increase testosterone and
testosterone with aggressive behavior
In Edinburgh a higher proportion of
inmates in maximum-security hospital with
XYY than the general population (1965)
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More recent studies found
Less aggressive than XY males
Convicted of petty property crimes
May have more to do with physical
features such as height
Lower intelligence
Class bias (related to prenatal care etc.)
PMS
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What have been the links of PMS to crime
for women?