Atavistic

• Atavistic

  Primitive features
• Lombroso (1876)

  • proposed that offending behaviour is innate so the offender is not to blame for their actions
  • he referred to criminals as ‘genetic throwbacks’ and they are a sub-species of human called ‘homo-delinquens’
• how did Lombroso research his ideas?

  • he examined facial and cranial features of Italian convicts
  • 383 were post-mortem
  • 3839 were alive
• Lombroso’s atavistic features

  • facial asymmetry
  • large ears
  • high cheek bones
  • prominent jaw
  • narrow sloping brow
  • flattened nose
  • large lips
• Lombroso’s types of criminals according to their appearance

  • murderers - bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
  • sexual deviants - glinting eyes, fleshy lips, projecting ears
  • fraudsters - thin and reedy lips
• female criminals - Lombroso

  • believed females are less evolved that men and are naturally jealous and insensitive to pain
  • passive, lower intelligence and maternal instincts
  • these traits mean the are less likely to become criminals
• positive evaluation of the atavistic form

  • scientific - took objective measurements from large amounts of people
• negative evaluations of the atavistic form

  • no control group - Lombroso may have found the same characteristics in non-criminals
  • racial bias - many features Lombroso identified are found in African descent, such as curly hair and dark skin
  • is evolution the cause? - differences may be influenced by other factors such as poverty and poor diet