Evaluation of Lombroso's Theory

This page critically examines Lombroso's theory of atavism in criminology, highlighting both its contributions and significant criticisms of Lombroso's atavistic form theory.

Strengths:

1. Lombroso moved crime research into a more scientific realm, shifting away from purely moralistic discourse.
2. His work encouraged the exploration of evolutionary explanations for criminal behavior.

Weaknesses:

1. Methodological flaws:

   • Low sample size (40% is insufficient to support the theory)
   • Lack of a control group
   • Potential investigator effects and subjective judgments

2. Ethical concerns:

   • Exhumation of dead bodies for research
   • Racial undertones in identifying criminal characteristics

3. Lack of replicability:

   • Goring (1913) found no evidence of distinct facial and cranial features in criminals when comparing 3,000 criminals to 3,000 non-criminals.

Quote: "Lombroso moved crime research to a scientific and credible realm. Moving past moralistic discourse and looking at the evolutionary explanation."

Highlight: While Lombroso's work was groundbreaking for its time, it has very low temporal validity due to its inaccuracies and methodological flaws.

Example: DeLisi (2012) pointed out the racial undertones in Lombroso's work, noting that characteristics like dark skin and curly hair are common in people of African descent.

Further Criticisms and Ethical Concerns

This final page explores additional criticisms of Lombroso's atavistic form theory and discusses the ethical implications of his work.

Key criticisms:

1. Inability to determine cause-and-effect: Lombroso's theory relies on correlations rather than causal relationships between physical features and criminal behavior.

2. Low internal validity: Other factors may influence both physical appearance and criminal tendencies, making it impossible to establish a direct link between atavism and criminality.

3. Ethical concerns:

   • The theory's potential to support eugenics, a highly controversial and unethical practice of selective human breeding.
   • Social sensitivity issues, particularly regarding racial and ethnic stereotyping.

Definition: Eugenics is the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits.

Highlight: Lombroso's research, if misapplied, could potentially justify preventing certain individuals from reproducing based on physical characteristics associated with criminality.

Example: The idea that children of criminals might inherit criminal tendencies could lead to discriminatory practices in society.

In conclusion, while Lombroso's work was influential in moving criminology towards a more scientific approach, its numerous flaws and ethical concerns have largely discredited the theory in modern criminology.