biology and crime 4
TRANSCRIPT
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CHAT:
BIOLOGY AND CRIME
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EARLY BIOLOGICAL THEORIES (1 OF 2)
Early history of criminology (many earlycriminologists were physicians)
Theory: the presence of certain physical traits
makes criminal behavior more likely
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EARLY BIOLOGICAL THEORIES (2 OF 2)
1. Phrenology
2. Lombrosos born criminal
3. Physical deficiencies
4. The XYY supermale
5. Somatotype theory
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PHRENOLOGY
Exterior of the skull reflects the mind
Bumps on the head indicate criminal tendencies
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LOMBROSOS BORN CRIMINAL (1
OF 3)
Cesare Lombroso
19th-century Italian physician
Led the movement from classical school to
scientific positivism
Major contributions
Study of the individual offender and crime conditions
Application of statistical methods to data collection
and analysis, as well as multiple-factor analysis Use of typological methods to classify and study
criminals and examine criminological phenomena
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LOMBROSOS BORN CRIMINAL (2
OF 3)
Atavism
Criminals as amoral, not fully evolved
Physical traits
Low foreheads Broad noses
Small cranial capacities
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LOMBROSOS BORN CRIMINAL (3
OF 3)
Types of criminals
Insane
Idiots, drug addicts, moral degenerates
Criminaloids Those who have physical stigmatas and whose moral
degeneracy is less pronounced
Criminals by passion
Passion (like love, hate, honor) fueled their criminal rage
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PHYSICAL DEFICIENCIES
Charles Goring
Criminal behavior related to defective intelligence
Earnest Hooten
Criminals physiologically inferior
Physical traits
Low foreheads
Pinched noses
Compressed faces
Narrow jaws
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SOMATOTYPE THEORY (1 OF 3)
Developed by William Sheldon (supported by theGluecks at Harvard)
Body build (somatotype) linked to:
Behavioral tendencies
Temperament
Life expectancy
Susceptibility to disease
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SOMATOTYPE THEORY (2 OF 3)
Basic body types Endomorph
Fat, soft, and round
Tend to be extroverts
Ectomorph Thin and wiry
Easily worried, sensitive, and introverted
Mesomorph (most criminals) Muscular
Gregarious, aggressive, assertive, and action oriented
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SOMATOTYPE THEORY (3 OF 3)
Explanations
Those with muscular builds tend to enjoy the physicalactivity involved in crime.
Mesomorphic body type may have an advantage in therough-and-tumble activities of street crime.
Mesomorph is perceived as a threat and is thereforemore likely to be arrested and/or incarcerated.
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THE XYY SUPERMALE
Chromosomal abnormality (extra Y chromosome)
May be more likely to engage in criminalbehavior (but not violent behavior)
Extremely rare chromosome structure (less than0.1% of total male population)
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POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF EARLYBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Focuses on single factors that cannot bechanged
Policy solution: remove these individuals from
society Eugenicsforced sterilization
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MODERN BIOLOGICAL APPROACH(1 OF 2)
Despite the tarnished legacy, there has been acomeback in biological research in recent years.
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MODERN BIOLOGICAL APPROACH(2 OF 2)
1. Behavioral genetics
2. Biological correlates of criminal behavior
3. Biosocial theory
4. Evolutionary theory (sociobiology)
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BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (1 OF 5)
Can criminality be inherited?
Family studies
Twin studies
Adoption studies
Molecular genetics
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BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (2 OF 5)
Family studies
Early studies traced family history (Jukes)
Modern studies look at parents crime (Sampson
and Laub) Findings: Parental crime consistently predicts
childrens criminal behavior.
Criticism: Environment could easily explain this
finding.
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BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (3 OF 5)
Twin studies
Compare monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ)twins
Findings: MZ twins have higher concordance ratesthan DZ twins.
Criticism:
People may treat MZ twins more similarly
MZ twins more likely to share friends (including delinquentpeers)
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BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (4 OF 5)
Adoption studies
Compare criminal record of adopted children withtheir biological and adoptive parents.
Findings: Childrens criminal behavior relates moreto biological parents.
Criticism: Adoption agencies might have biasedplacements.
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BEHAVIORAL GENETICS (5 OF 5)
Molecular genetics
Isolates particular genes that may be related tocriminal disposition
Helped by Human Genome Project Findings: Some potential genes have been
identified (e.g., predisposition for antisocialbehavior).
Criticism: Any particular gene will have only minimaleffect on human behavior.
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BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES (1 OF 2)
Physiological differences exist between criminalsand noncriminals.
A wide range of factors potentially contribute to
criminal behavior.
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BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES (2 OF 2)
1. Neurological factors
2. Autonomic nervous system
3. Biological harms
4. Hormones
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NEUROLOGICAL FACTORS (1 OF 3)
Direct measures of the brain
Prefrontal cortex
Executive functions (e.g., cognition, attention, impulsivity)
MRI and PET scans analyze brain structure and activity
Differences in the frontal lobe exist between criminalsand noncriminal control groups
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NEUROLOGICAL FACTORS (2 OF 3)
Neurochemical measures
Neurotransmitters (like serotonin) allow cells tocommunicate with each other.
Low levels of serotonin are linked with impulsive andaggressive behavior.
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NEUROLOGICAL FACTORS (3 OF 3)
Indirect measures
Use IQ and other neuropsychological tests to predictdelinquency
Test executive functions (which reflect differences inbrain functioning)
Potentially reflect underlying neurological deficits
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AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
Controls how the body reacts to stimuli (heartrate, gland secretions)
Some criminals have lower resting heart rates than
noncriminals. Studies of skin conductance (sweat) yield mixed
results.
Criminals potentially have low levels of arousal.
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BIOLOGICAL HARMS (1 OF 3)
Perinatal risks linked with criminality
Smoking (cigarettes, marijuana)
Alcohol consumption (fetal alcohol syndrome)
Delivery complications
Low birth-weight children
More pronounced effect in unstable families
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BIOLOGICAL HARMS (2 OF 3)
Environmental toxins
Lead exposure
Highly toxic substance (especially for young children)
Found in lead paint and leaded gasoline Can cause serious health and behavioral problems
Linked to delinquent behavior
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BIOLOGICAL HARMS (3 OF 3)
Nutrition and diet
Focus on high levels of sugar and junk food intake
Relates to antisocial behavior, irritability
Some studies showed that hypoglycemia is linked withviolent, impulsive behavior
Not well supported by research
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HORMONES
Testosterone (male androgen)
Higher levels linked to antisocial, aggressive behavior
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Relationship to female offending unsupported byresearch
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BIOSOCIAL THEORY
Combinations of environmental and biological riskcause criminal behavior
1. Life-course-persistent offending2. Personality-based theory
3. Female delinquency
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LIFE-COURSE-PERSISTENTOFFENDING
Developed by Terrie Moffitt
Adolescent-limited (AL) offenders
Criminal behavior limited to adolescence
Life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders Chronic offending starts early in life
Caused by neurological deficits and ineffectiveparenting
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PERSONALITY-BASED THEORY
Developed by Hans Eysenck
Personality traits driven by underlying biologycause crime.
Children with low arousal will be difficult tosocialize.
In criminal families, low arousal might preventchildren from learning criminal behavior.
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FEMALE DELINQUENCY
Early onset of puberty is linked to criminalbehavior.
This is true for girls in coed schools, but not for
those in all-girls schools. Conclusion: Girls who start puberty early attract
the attention of older, crime-prone males, whichmay lead to delinquency.
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EVOLUTIONARY THEORY (1 OF 2)
Uses principles of evolution to explain modernhuman behavior
Research
Rape Cads and dads theory
Criticism
Difficult if not impossible to test
Evidence sometimes runs counter to predictions
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EVOLUTIONARY THEORY (2 OF 2)
Rape
Evolutionary processes allow males who are pushy andaggressive in the pursuit of sex to pass on their genessuccessfully.
Cads and dads theory
Alternative strategies for reproductive success
Cadspretend caregivers who really want to reproducewith as many females as possible
Dadsinvest time and energy to help nurture and raiseoffspring
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SUMMARY
Many biological factors involved in criminalbehavior:
Inherited
Results of biological harm
Biological factors contribute to criminality in certainenvironmental circumstances.
Humans may be partially driven toward crime bynatural forces beyond their control.
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BIOLOGICAL THEORIESCRITICISMS (1 OF 2)
Lombrosian fallacy
Incarcerated persons not representative of criminals ingeneral population
Bias from social structure and criminal justice system
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BIOLOGICAL THEORIESCRITICISMS (2 OF 2)
Ignores some types of crimes
White-collar
Organized
Political crime
Focuses on aggression or antisocial behavior inchildren and street crime in adults
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POLICY IMPLICATIONS (1 OF 2)
Fears ethical problems
Biology not necessarily destiny
Provide unsound justifications for the control of minoritypopulations
New eugenics
Gene therapy
Discrimination based on presence of biological riskindicators
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POLICY IMPLICATIONS (2 OF 2)
Criminality as a public health problem
Prenatal care for at-risk mothers
Strengthen environmental counterbalances for childrenwith biological risk indicators
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CONCLUSION
Lessons from the biological school are limited tocertain crimes and offenders.
More research is needed.
Nature vs. nurture relationship Interdisciplinary study with criminologists and physical and
medical scientists