historical approach

• how does atavistic form explain offeding (3 marks)

  Lombroso proposed atavistic form as an explanation for criminal behaviour in that some individuals possess primitive characteristics like.... that are reminiscent of our evolutionary ancestors. According to this theory, these atavistic traits can cause them to become criminals.
• what is the Basic assumption?

  is that the innate physiological makeup of the person causes them to become a criminal
• His evidence 

  • He used post-mortem examinations and studying faces of living criminals, 
  • making precise measurements of skulls and other physiological characteristics 
  • Looking at over 50,000 bodies
  • Study of 383- 41 percent had over 5 characteristics
• Characteristics: 

  • Resemble those of an earlier species 
  • Asymmetry of face
  • Excessive dimensions of jaw and cheekbones
  • Eye defects 
  • Unusual ear size
  • Nose twisted or flatted in thieves, aquiline or beak in murderers
  • Excessive lengths of arms and unusual amount of fingers and toes
• what did lombroso find out about environemntal triggers?

  He later suggested it is unlikely one factor would be the cause of criminality, he proposed inherited atavistic form interacts with a person's physical and social environment
• the environmental characeritics led lombroso on to develop these three types of criminlas

  1. Born criminals - atavistic type
  2. Insane criminals - sufferes mental, illness
  3. Criminaloids - predisopsed by mental charcteristics under right circumstances, enviromental factors
• somatypes by kretschner

  asthenic - tall thin, petty theieves

  athletic- tall mucular cimes of violence

  pyknic - short and fat , crimes of deception and sometimes violent

  dysplastic - more than one type , crimes against morality eg prostitution