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Theories of Offending
- PHYSIOLOGICAL
- Atavistic Form
- Cesare Lombroso (1879) claimed that
criminality is inherited through genetic
transmission of throwback/ atavistic
features
- strong prominent jaws, extra nipples, toes and fingers, high
cheekbones, unusually shaped ears, upturned or twisted
noses and exesively long arms
- sample included those with
psychological disorders- did he confuse
criminality with psychopathology
- Charles Goring - comparison of 3000 English
criminals and 3000 non criminals and found no
significant difference in physical features
- In Lombroso's later work he suggested
that only 1/3 of offenders inherit their
criminality and that for the others,
environmental factors were to blame
- Cesare Lombroso (1879) claimed that
criminality is inherited through genetic
transmission of throwback/ atavistic
features
- Somatotype Theory
- William Sheldon (19949) suggested
that body type and temperment can
indicate criminality
- Ectomorph- thin, fragile, solitary,
introverted and self- conscious
- Endomorph- fat, soft, relaxed,
loving nature and enjoy the
company of others
- Mesomorph - muscular, hard,
energetic aggressive and adventurous
- stated that it was rare to be a pure
somatotype and instead would
display a combination of each
personality traits according to their
own somatotype
- a mesomorphs personality
makes his more likely to
engage in criminal behaviour
- thousands of pictures rates 1-7 rated
mesomorphy, college students and delinquents
were compared, delinquents scored higher (4.6
vs 3.8)
- William Sheldon (19949) suggested
that body type and temperment can
indicate criminality
- Atavistic Form
- BIOLOGICAL
- Chromosome
- XXY-
Kleinfelters
syndrome
- males with female
characteristics
- males with female
characteristics
- XYY Syndrome
- maleswith exaggerated
male characteristics
- maleswith exaggerated
male characteristics
- The extra Y chromosome is suggested to
lead to heightened testosterone , a
powerful body build and propensity to
violent crime
- Graham et al (2007) those with XYY
chromosomes have normal testosterone
levels, taller but not stronger and prone to
developmental disorders
- XYY males are rare in the
population and over represented in
the offender population, however,
their crimes are not violent ones as
they get caught easier
- XXY-
Kleinfelters
syndrome
- Genetic Transmission
- Osborne and West (1982) father
has a criminal conviction , 40% of
sons do also. father has no
conviction, 13% of sons do also.
- Twin Studies
- Johannes Lange (1929) MZ
twins had a higher
concordance rate than DZ
twins for criminal behaviour
- Christiensen (1977)
concordance rates of 35% for
MZ twins and 13% for DZ twins
- Dalgaard and Kringlen (1976) concordance
rates of 26% for MZ twins and 15% for DZ
twins
- Johannes Lange (1929) MZ
twins had a higher
concordance rate than DZ
twins for criminal behaviour
- Adoption Studies
- Crowe (1972) 50% of adopted
children whose biological mother
has a criminal record had one
themselves by age 18
- early childhood experiences in early
life may lead to criminality for those
that were adopted later in life
- Children tend to be placed in
similar environments to their
biological parents
- Crowe (1972) 50% of adopted
children whose biological mother
has a criminal record had one
themselves by age 18
- Osborne and West (1982) father
has a criminal conviction , 40% of
sons do also. father has no
conviction, 13% of sons do also.
- Chromosome
- PSYCHODYNAMIC
- If the wants of the Id are
ignored then aggressive
tendencies may emerge
- superego
- SE is developed by fully resolving the
Oedipal complex, an absent father leads
to the SE becoming weak. if the father is
overly strict, the SE becomes so strong
it overpowers the id
- Freud claimed that the female superego is
weaker than a males and that females are
morally inferior as do not have a penis and do
not develop a conscious the same way as
males do
- Hoffman (1977) women have
stronger moral orientation
- SE is developed by fully resolving the
Oedipal complex, an absent father leads
to the SE becoming weak. if the father is
overly strict, the SE becomes so strong
it overpowers the id
- If the wants of the Id are
ignored then aggressive
tendencies may emerge
- Overcontrolled violent offender
- Megragee (1966) series of cases of violence carried out
by people who were describes ad passive and harmless
- Sub groups of offenders that did not know how
to express anger, so it is repressed
- Megragee (1966) series of cases of violence carried out
by people who were describes ad passive and harmless
- Affectionless Psychopathy
- An inability to form relationships and a
disregard for the feelings of others
- Bowlby (1946) 44 juvenile thieves study-
delinquency is related to early maternal deprivation
- An inability to form relationships and a
disregard for the feelings of others
- Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality
- Extroversion- the amount of stimulation
from the environment that the person
needs
- high E- their nervous systems
need constant stimulation
- if there is not enough stimulation
the person may engage in
criminal behaviour to get it
- if there is not enough stimulation
the person may engage in
criminal behaviour to get it
- high E- their nervous systems
need constant stimulation
- Neuroticism - how
emotionally stable they
are
- a measure of how strongly the
persons body reacts to
adverse stimuli
- high N - more unstable
and susceptible to
criminal behaviour
- high N - more unstable
and susceptible to
criminal behaviour
- a measure of how strongly the
persons body reacts to
adverse stimuli
- Extroversion- the amount of stimulation
from the environment that the person
needs
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