Argued that there are
three body types and each
has a associated
temperament
Study of 200 male
delinquents, rated a full
length picture out of 7 -
Sheldon found male
criminal delinquents had
a mesomorphic body
type
The theory established and
reinforced the idea of the
criminal stereotype
Even if theres a link between body
type and criminality it isn't
necessarily casual. It is possible
that muscular people are treated
tougher and so become tougher
due to a self-fufilling prophecy
High testosterone levels could
effect both body shape and
aggressive behaviour - Blackburn
Evidence to support the theory is
mixed -
glueck - found a link between
body shape and delinquency
West and Farrington - Found no such link
between body shape and delinquency
Cortes and Gatti
argued that
sheldon's
classification of the
somatotypes was
unreliable
Sutherland criticised Sheldons sample
of delinquents suggesting he did not use
legal criteria in defining delinquent.
When data was reanalysed with
legal criteria, Sutherland found that
the link was no longer present
Even though some research has shown a link between
mesomorphy and criminal behaviour there could be
other explanations
Individuals with a
mesomorphic body type may
learn from an early age that
behaving aggressively is the
only way to get what hey
want.
Muscular body tpe may be aggressive to gangs
and so mesomorphs would be more likely to
join a gang