Early Biological Positivism 1850-1930

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Early Biological Positivism1850-1930

• Lombrosos Born Criminal
• Criminals as atavistic throwbacks
• Identified through presence of stigmata
• Peaked nose (as bird of prey)
• Sloped forehead, large jaws
• Strong canine teeth (as with carnivores)
• General hairiness of the body
• Others Phrenology, Body Type, feeblemindedness

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The XYY supermale

• An extra Y chromosome
• Initial discovery in 1961
• Flurry of activity immediately after
• Not a supermale
• Low intelligence, physiological differences
• More evidence that XXY abnormality related to
  crime
• Even here, very rare and due to learning disorders

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The demise of early positivism

• 1. Poor theory
• Single biological trait as direct cause of crime.
• 2. Poor/biased research
• Crime runs in families (Dugdale)
• 3. Dangerous policy implications
• Eugenics movement
• Largely discredited by Sociologists by 1950.

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Where does biology stand now?

• Impression from the Barkan book?
• Criticizes all biological research on poor
  methodology or shifting definitions of crime
• Example, Barkan Why dont all aggressive or
  risk-seeking people commit crimes?
• Football players, sky-divers
• Response But, why dont most people who face
  poverty and inequality commit crime?
• Get a job at MacDonalds, muddle through life

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Is Criminality Inherited?

• KEY IS SEPARATING NATURE AND NURTURE
• Parental Deviance (Crime runs in family)
• Twin Studies
• Adoption Studies

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Parental Deviance

• Parents crime and deviance is a robust predictor
  of the childs delinquency
• Due to genetics, or other factors?
• Deviant parents more likely to use harsh/erratic
  discipline, less supervision?
• Deviant parents live in bad neighborhoods?
• Deviant parents abuse children/each other?

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Twin Studies

• Compare MZ twins with DZ twins
• Concordance rates if one twin is criminal, is
  the other?
• Danish Study (Christiansen, 1979)
• MZ52
• DZ22

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Adoption Studies

• Compare the two sets of parents that an adopted
  youth has.
• Biological parents?genetics
• Adoptive parents?social circumstance

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Cross Fostering AnalysisMednick et al. (1984)
CRITICISMS OF THIS?
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Modern Biosocial Theories

• Biochemical Conditions
• Nutrition, exposure to toxins, hormonal,
  excessive sugar
• Direct cause sugar?attention/impulsive
• Indirect causs
• exposure to lead?impaired learning, cognition?
  school failure?delinquency

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Neurophysiological Factors

• What factors can determine brain functioning?
• How do we measure brain functioning?
• How does brain functioning relate to criminal or
  deviant behavior?

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Barkans Critique of Biology and Crime

• The relativity of deviance
• Methodological problems
• Inadequate control, small sample sizes, etc
• Group rate differences
• Social/policy implications
• Cant change biology?

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Terrie Moffits Biosocial Theory

• Biology
• Some children have slight neurophysiological
  deficits
• Causes of NPD? Perinatal, genetic
• Results of NPD? Difficult temperament, Slow to
  learn, difficult to parent
• Environments
• Some parents are poorly equipped to handle such a
  child
• Lack of resources, lack of parenting skills

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SUMMARY OF BIOLOGY

• All modern biological theories incorporate
  sociological or psychological concepts.
• Biology related in an indirect fashion--and with
  the environment.
• Example Caspis research on female criminality