Atavistic form explanation

• What is Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  A historical approach based on biological factors. Lombroso in the 1870's suggested that some people are born with a criminal personality due to the lack of evolutionary development and so they are evolutionarily il-suited for modern society.
• What is Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  Lombroso believed that criminal's could be identified by physical characteristics which is based on research that examined the features of 4,000 criminals as well as 400 dead criminals.
• What are Lombroso's criminal characteristics list?

  Slopping brows, high cheek bones, large jaw, blood shot eyes, scant beard or baldness.
• Evaluation of Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  1.Lack of scientific credibility.

  • Although his research gave scientific evidence to criminology for the first time, he failed to use a control group for his research therefore there is a correlational relationship between features and a lack of objectivity.
  • Goring 2013 replicated his study with a control group and found no significant difference in cranial or facical features.
• Evaluation of Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  2.Freewill vs determinism.

  • Lombroso's theory challenges the idea of free will as it suggests that criminals don't have any responsibility or control over their actions.
  • This deterministic view can lead to criminal defence lawyers using certain arguments that their behaviour is due to their biological make-up thus causing havoc in the legal system.
• Evaluation of Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  3.Reductionist.

  • Criminal behaviour is extremely complex and unique and so the view that certain characteristics lead to criminal behaviour is extremely simplistic and reductionist.
  • It doesn't consider individual differences such as facial disfigurement, nor does it account for factors like childhood experiences.
• Evaluation of Lombroso's atavistic form explanation?

  4.Social sensitivity.

  • Due to Lombroso's atavistic features list, those with the same features will be labelled as a criminal and could suffer from social anxiety or being deemed a criminal.
  • There is a issue with racism as many of the atavistic features are common features of Black-African people thus possibly fulfilling racial profiling.