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Why People Act Like Cavemen: Lombroso's Ideas About Crime

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Why People Act Like Cavemen: Lombroso's Ideas About Crime
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libby Moxey

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Lombroso's theory of atavistic form in criminology posits that criminal behavior is linked to evolutionary underdevelopment. This controversial 19th-century idea claimed criminals could be identified by physical traits.

Key points:

  • Lombroso studied facial and cranial features of Italian convicts
  • He identified specific characteristics for different types of criminals
  • The theory faced significant criticism for its methodology and racial undertones
  • It moved criminology towards scientific study but lacked validity
  • Ethical concerns arose regarding research methods and potential misuse

12/6/2022

295

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

Lombroso's Theory of Atavistic Form

Cesare Lombroso's theory of atavistic form proposed a controversial link between physical characteristics and criminal tendencies. This page introduces the core concept of atavistic form and criminal behavior research.

Lombroso, in 1876, suggested that criminal activity results from individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, unable to conform to modern society's rules. He claimed that criminals could be identified based on specific facial and cranial characteristics.

Definition: Atavistic form refers to the reappearance of traits that were present in distant ancestors but have since disappeared in most modern individuals.

General characteristics Lombroso associated with criminals included:

  • Narrow, sloping brow
  • Strong, prominent jawline
  • High cheekbones
  • Facial asymmetry
  • Dark skin

Highlight: Lombroso's theory marked a shift towards attempting to explain criminal behavior through biological factors, rather than purely moral or social ones.

Vocabulary: Atavism - the recurrence of a trait or feature in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

View

Specific Criminal Traits and Lombroso's Research

This page delves deeper into Lombroso's theory of atavism in criminology, outlining specific traits he associated with different types of criminals and providing an overview of his research methodology.

Lombroso identified distinct physical traits for various criminal types:

  1. Murderers: Bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
  2. Sexual deviants: Glinting eyes, swollen/fleshy lips, projecting ears
  3. Fraudsters: Thin and reedy lips

He also noted other traits such as insensitivity to pain, use of criminal slang, tattoos, and unemployment as indicators of criminal tendencies.

Lombroso's research methodology involved:

  • Examining 3,839 living criminals
  • Studying 383 dead criminals
  • Claiming that 40% of criminal acts were committed by individuals with atavistic characteristics

Highlight: Lombroso's research, while groundbreaking for its time, was fraught with methodological issues that significantly undermined its credibility.

Example: Lombroso's inclusion of "extra toes, nipples, or fingers" as criminal indicators demonstrates the broad and often arbitrary nature of his criteria.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

View

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.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

View

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.

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Subjects

/

Psychology

/

Personality

/

Trait theories and the big five personality traits

/

Assessment of personality traits (e.g.

Why People Act Like Cavemen: Lombroso's Ideas About Crime

user profile picture

libby Moxey

@libby_moxey

·

677 Followers

Follow

Lombroso's theory of atavistic form in criminology posits that criminal behavior is linked to evolutionary underdevelopment. This controversial 19th-century idea claimed criminals could be identified by physical traits.

Key points:

  • Lombroso studied facial and cranial features of Italian convicts
  • He identified specific characteristics for different types of criminals
  • The theory faced significant criticism for its methodology and racial undertones
  • It moved criminology towards scientific study but lacked validity
  • Ethical concerns arose regarding research methods and potential misuse

12/6/2022

295

 

12/13

 

Psychology

12

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

Lombroso's Theory of Atavistic Form

Cesare Lombroso's theory of atavistic form proposed a controversial link between physical characteristics and criminal tendencies. This page introduces the core concept of atavistic form and criminal behavior research.

Lombroso, in 1876, suggested that criminal activity results from individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, unable to conform to modern society's rules. He claimed that criminals could be identified based on specific facial and cranial characteristics.

Definition: Atavistic form refers to the reappearance of traits that were present in distant ancestors but have since disappeared in most modern individuals.

General characteristics Lombroso associated with criminals included:

  • Narrow, sloping brow
  • Strong, prominent jawline
  • High cheekbones
  • Facial asymmetry
  • Dark skin

Highlight: Lombroso's theory marked a shift towards attempting to explain criminal behavior through biological factors, rather than purely moral or social ones.

Vocabulary: Atavism - the recurrence of a trait or feature in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

Specific Criminal Traits and Lombroso's Research

This page delves deeper into Lombroso's theory of atavism in criminology, outlining specific traits he associated with different types of criminals and providing an overview of his research methodology.

Lombroso identified distinct physical traits for various criminal types:

  1. Murderers: Bloodshot eyes, curly hair, long ears
  2. Sexual deviants: Glinting eyes, swollen/fleshy lips, projecting ears
  3. Fraudsters: Thin and reedy lips

He also noted other traits such as insensitivity to pain, use of criminal slang, tattoos, and unemployment as indicators of criminal tendencies.

Lombroso's research methodology involved:

  • Examining 3,839 living criminals
  • Studying 383 dead criminals
  • Claiming that 40% of criminal acts were committed by individuals with atavistic characteristics

Highlight: Lombroso's research, while groundbreaking for its time, was fraught with methodological issues that significantly undermined its credibility.

Example: Lombroso's inclusion of "extra toes, nipples, or fingers" as criminal indicators demonstrates the broad and often arbitrary nature of his criteria.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

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.

Atavistic form • Lombroso (1976) - criminal activity is the result of individuals being evolutionarily underdeveloped, failing to conform to

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.

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Knowunity is the # 1 ranked education app in five European countries

Knowunity was a featured story by Apple and has consistently topped the app store charts within the education category in Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Join Knowunity today and help millions of students around the world.

Ranked #1 Education App

Download in

Google Play

Download in

App Store

Knowunity is the # 1 ranked education app in five European countries

4.9+

Average App Rating

13 M

Students use Knowunity

#1

In Education App Charts in 12 Countries

950 K+

Students uploaded study notes

Still not sure? Look at what your fellow peers are saying...

iOS User

I love this app so much [...] I recommend Knowunity to everyone!!! I went from a C to an A with it :D

Stefan S, iOS User

The application is very simple and well designed. So far I have found what I was looking for :D

SuSSan, iOS User

Love this App ❤️, I use it basically all the time whenever I'm studying