What is the atavistic form?
A historical explanation of offending, based on bio factors (Lombroso).
What are the the biological explanations of offending?
Atavistic form & genetic/ neural
Who proposed the atavistic form?
Lombroso
What did Lombroso believe for the atavistic form?
He believed that criminals are born w specific personalities or characteristics.
Offending occurs due to the lack of evolutionary development = a savage and untamed nature. This then prevents them from being able to meet the demands of a civilised society = offending
What was research based on for the atavistic form?
- Lombroso
analysed nearly 4000 cranial & facial characteristics of dead criminals
Found that 40% of crime was accounted for by atavistic characteristics
What are the atavistic characteristic? (SHREK)
Sloped eyebrows
High cheekbone
Really, large prominent eyebrows
Ears (projecting)
Killer, bloodshot eyes
What are the other characteristics of the atavistic form?
Jaw (large)
Arms (strong)
Insensitivity to pain
Low, sloped eyebrows
What are the characteristics of a murderer (Atavistic form)
Curly hair, long ears, bloodshot eyes
What are the characteristics of a sexual deviant? (AF)
Projecting ears, swollen lips
What are the characteristics of a fraudster (AF)
Thin lips, reedy
What is a strength of the atavistic form?
- Legacy
became the father of criminology, a term he coined, shift of crime from its modern disclosure to scientific position
What are the limitations of the historical approach for offending
- No use of control group - could be coincidental
- Contradictory evidence (Goring, replicated but didn’t find the same results, only in IQ)
- Socially sensitive - those of African descent = self fulfilling and offend
- Deterministic - rise to the nature side of debate
