Physiological

• Lombroso's theory: a physiological, biological theory that proposes that criminals can be distinguished by facial features. For example, those with aquiline noses are meant to be murderers, and those with thick lips rapists.
• 'An atavistic being is someone who reproduces in his person the ferocious instincts of primitive humanity and the inferior animals.'
• According to Lombroso, criminals are atavistic - a throwback to a more primitive stage of evolution
• People are born criminals, so hypothetically, we could study their bodies to find out what features these people are most likely to have
• Lombroso saw society as 'them' vs 'us'. But, as well as studying anatomical features, he categorised different types of criminals as well: 'insane' and 'epileptic' criminals as well as his own criminaloid subgroup. These were crimes motivated by the environment, such as opportunity.
• THE FEMALE OFFENDER (1897)

  Males with 5 or more physical anomalies are marked as born criminals. Female criminals are also born, but they may be identified with as few as three anomalies.

  Lombroso concluded that female criminals were rare due to a lack of devolution - this was because of their 'inactive' lifestyle
• In his work 'Criminal Man', Lombroso wanted to distinguish and dispute the honest comrade from the vicious comrade. He was prompted by the fact that, during his time as an Italian surgeon, he noticed that some soldiers had tattoos while others did not.
• Lombroso conducted a postmortem examination on Guisseppi Villela and found that there was a depression in the middle of the occipital part of the skull. He explained this using his theory of atavism and claimed that Villela, an arsonist and a thief, was reverting back to primal instincts and desires.
• In order to test Lombroso's legitimacy, prison medical doctor Charles Goring (1913) conducted a statistical study, comparing over 2000 London convicts with non criminals. He found that Lombroso's theory was not only unscientific, but unsubstantiated.
• An issue with Lombroso's study was that many jurors lacked the scientific knowledge to understand his suggestions. This made them confused, and so distracted that it became harder to follow the witness.
• A strength of Lombroso was that, previous to his research, crime was seen as a religious or moral issue. This level of objective observation led to criminology becoming more of a scientific discipline.
• A strength of Lombroso's theory was that it showed the importance of examining clinical and historical records of criminals.
• A strength of Lombroso's theory was that his later work too into account (albeit limited) the effects both environment and social influence have on criminal behaviour.
• Because Lombroso argued that criminals were not just committing crime because they felt like it, he encouraged prevention of crime rather than just punishment. This is a strength.
• A limitation of Lombroso's theory is that more recent research (Goring 1913) found there was no link between facial characteristics and crime.
• Lombroso didn't compare the bodies of criminals with non-criminals. He might, therefore, have found that the characteristics were generalised, making his results invalid.
• By describing criminals as 'savages', Lombroso equates non-Western societies with criminals - a form of racism.
• Sheldon's somatotype theory (1940) saw criminals as physically different from non criminals. He used body measurements to connect criminality with body type.
• ECTOMORPH: Thin, fragile - they lack muscle and fat. They are flat chested with narrow hips and shoulders, a thin face and high forehead. Their personality is self conscious, fragile, inward looking, emotionally restrained and thoughtful.
• ENDOMORPH: Rounded, soft and tend to be fat. They lack muscle or tone and have wide hips. They are sociable, relaxed, comfortable and outgoing.
• MESOMORPH: Muscular, hard-bodied with very little fat and strong limbs, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Their personality is adventurous, sensation-seeking, assertive and domineering, and they enjoy physical activity. They are more likely to be attracted to the risk taking of crime.
• In a study of 200 boys at Hayden Goodwill Institute, Sheldon found that disproportionately mesomorphic boys were more prone to delinquency. Sheldon and Glueck (1950s) also studied 800 delinquents compared to a matched sample of non-delinquents, finding similar trends.
• Sheldon offered many explanations as to why mesomorphs are more attracted to crime: potentially the fact that a tough body was needed to gain acceptance and/or survive on the streets.
• A strength of Sheldon's theory is that other studies have backed it up. Glueck and Glueck found that 60% of the offenders in their study were mesomorphs.
• Another strength of Sheldon's theory is that the most serious delinquents in his studies tended to have the more severe mesomorphic body shapes.
• A limitation of Sheldon's theory is that other research might provide alternative explanations. Glueck and Glueck found that criminality was best explained not by biology alone, but by a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors.
• Another limitation of Sheldon's theory would be that criminals might develop a mesomorphic build as a result of needing to be physically tough to succeed at crime. If so, criminality causes somatotype, not the other way around.
• Another limitation of Sheldon's theory is that social class may be the true cause of both offending and of mesomorphy. Convicted offenders are mainly working class males, who are more likely to be in manual jobs where they acquire an athletic build.
• Another limitation of Sheldon's theory is that labelling may play a part. Mesomorphs may be labelled as troublemakers because they fit the tough guy stereotype, resulting in a self fulfilling prophecy. Or they may attract more police attention and get caught more than other somatotypes.
• Another limitation of Sheldon's theory is that he doesn't account for those endomorphs and ectomorphs who do commit crimes. Nor does he explain if mesomorphs commit crimes other than violent ones.