The Theory Of Body Types, And The Y Chromosome Theory

(M1)-The perception that crime has become one of the most serious problems facing society has led to determined efforts by many researchers to find the causes of criminal behavior. Researchers have focused on biological causes, believing that a biological basis of criminality exists and that an understanding of the biology will be useful in predicting which people are predisposed to become criminals. Judging the case of Jonathan Tregar, we can use the Lombroso theory to determine his case accordingly. This theory assumes that criminal behavior is inborn, associated with physical body features, and that criminals have body features which are different from non-criminals. Among the many

The four theories of deviance are The Learning Theory, The Strain Theory, The Social-Bond Theory and the Labeling Theory. These theories alone can explain the reasoning behind someone’s deviant behavior. But, in There Are No Children Here we see all of these theories being demonstrated. This lets us have an understanding of exactly why we are seeing the deviant behavior that we are.

The Three Main Theories of Deviance and Their Strengths and Weaknesses A functionalist analysis of deviance looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the biological or psychological nature of the individual. Although functionalists agree that social control mechanisms such as the police and the courts are necessary to keep deviance in check, many argue that a certain amount of deviance can contribute to the well-being of society. Durkhiem (1895) believed that: * Crime is an 'integral part of all healthy societies'.

There exists conflicting theories among sociologists in the area of determining why a person is considered to be a deviant, and the reasons behind why he or she has committed a deviant act. From a positivistic perspective, deviance is based on biological or social determinism. Alternatively, from a constructionist perspective, deviance is created and assigned by society. Both perspectives seek to give a theory for why a person may become known as deviant. Although they both view similar acts as deviant, the basic differences between positivists and constructionists theories are clear.

Trait theories posit that crime is caused by certain traits, biological or psychological, among individuals which predispose them to crime. These traits control the individual's coping strategies and ultimately result in criminal behavior. Social philosopher Cesare Lombroso, working in the early 1900's, theorized that there were common physical traits shared by criminals. (Glaser, 205-6). These included distinct characteristics in the jaw line, teeth, and nose as cranium of offenders. As a result, public law enforcement viewed offenders as either incapable of reason or as unable to control their animal impulses. (Glaser, 206).

The biological theories are essential to the criminal justice profession so that they won't assume that a person's genetic characteristics cause a person to commit a crime. However, there are born criminals and “these types of criminals are the most dangerous, and can be identified through his or her stigmata or identifying characteristics” (Akers, Sellers, See, & Kieser, 2013, p. 10). Biological theories are the bases for severe criminal behavior mostly found among people who are born with an innate impulse to commit a

First, psychological theory suggests that a person’s environment and past can influence their ability and desire to commit crime while biological theory suggest a person’s DNA makeup could influence their ability to commit crime. “Biological theories within the field of criminology attempt to explain behaviors contrary to societal expectations through examination of

People perceive that crime, primarily violent crimes, such as murder, is the most serious crime society faces in modern times. This has led to efforts by many research groups to attempt to find the cause of such criminal behavior. The focus of such research is biological issues with the belief that a biological basis in criminals does exist and that understanding biology is useful when attempting to predict the individuals who may be predisposed to criminal activity in the future. Research in the 1960s suggested that males with an extra Y chromosome

Cesare Lombroso was also Italian but came from a Jewish family and is very different to Beccaria. He trained as a medical doctor and graduated in 1858. He was a leading contributor in the development of a positivist criminology which collected and looked into scientific measurements for the explanation of criminal behaviour and crime (Hayward et al, 2010). Nearly all biological theories stem from Lombroso and his book ‘The Criminal man’ published in 1876, although Lombroso enlarged upon and updated this original publication through five editions

Theories of Deviance are limited in their ability to explain deviant acts if one adopts the view that these theories are universal. There is no universal, right or wrong theory, rather each theory provides a different perspective which only "fully makes sense when set within an appropriate societal context and values framework" .

However, while the overstimulation of the Id and the failure to acquire and develop the the Ego and SuperEgo leads to criminal tendencies, while aggression may be out of adaptive values, and while genetic studies have pointed towards the influence of genes and criminal behaviour, these theories alone are insufficient to account for crime. Evolutionary theory does not explain or predict for the extreme degrees of aggression in individuals nor has the genetic theory proven for 100% heritability; which raises the need for us to examine the Nurture camp of crime theories as well.

88-89). The conclusion that Lombroso came up with was that there is a "born criminal type" (Thompson and Bynum, 2010, P. 89). This concept of physical characteristics was used in other fields, like Anthropology to see if people of a certain race were more primitive then others. It is not all that surprising that it was used to try and establish if criminals could be distinguished in the same manner. The concept of individuals being born as a criminal type is still unclear. Of course this concept has been expanded well beyond just looking at physical traits.

Cesare Lombroso was born in 1835. His view on deviance was that it can be biologically explained. He refers to the criminality part of deviance. He was very well known for his theories and studies about the relation between mental and physical characteristics of people. He became famous because he claimed to have found the reason that people were committing crimes. Lombroso believed that different physical appearances were an indication to if you were a deviant or not. Lombroso called these differences “stigma” and said that they showed if you were a criminal or a non-criminal (Sabbatini 1997:1). Lombroso described stigma as things like large jaws and cheekbones, long arms, abnormally big or small ears, weird looking teeth and a general hairiness of the body (Burfeind and Bartusch 2011:119). His ideas came from a man called Franz Gall who created Phrenology, a study that said you were a criminal if you had a large head. Lombroso’s thesis was that you could tell the difference between a criminal and a non-criminal by his physical appearance, that criminals were a different physical type. He used the term “atavism” to describe these people, and said that they were not fully evolved (Burfeind and Bartusch 2011:119). Nowadays, Lombroso’s theories have been scientifically discredited with good reason. Lombroso’s studies did have a positive

In Comparison one other biological idea that has been used by criminologist to prove that criminality is inherited rather than learnt is the human genetic code. The human DNA is made up of 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs, men have XY ad women XX (Newburn, 2013). It is widely believed that chromosomes can sometimes have a negative affect on people with anomalies within their genetics, men with a extra Y chromosome are believed to have the tendency to become involved in criminal activity. For example, Price et al (1966) research on male offenders on individuals with anomalies in their DNA found that they were “responsible for some serious, crimes a picture developed of hyper masculine offender . . . . who was especially aggressive and some what lacking in intelligence” (Newburn, 2013: 137). However, Hirschi and Gotfredson found the research on genetic anomalies to be ineffective in explaining all the reasons why some people commit crime due to the fact that the extra chromosome is not found in everyone who commits a crime therefore this theory fails to prove that people are born with criminal characteristics.

For the most part, biological theories of crime and deviance have had an unsuccessful and undistinguished career among sociologists. The Italian physician Cesare Lombroso suggested that someone who is born criminal possesses atavism or primitive evolutionary characteristics that produced violent, savage, and apelike tendencies in humans (Goode, p. 27). In addition, biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness due to pathological factors to certain individuals. The biological theory is another example of Charles Whitman actions. Smart, strong, and talented, Charles Whitman seemed like a perfect all-American boy stereotype.