SOCI 314/344 Sociology of Deviant Behavior Session Five The Biological theories

Transcription

1 SOCI 314/344 Sociology of Deviant Behavior Session Five The Biological theories Lecturer: Prof. Chris Abotchie, Department of Sociology Contact Information:

2 Session overview Overview In spite of the criticisms that followed the conclusions of Lombroso and his followers, their born criminal theory had a significant impact on criminological research and theory in both Europe and America. The conclusions of Lombroso and his followers in spite of the criticisms they drew, had a significant impact on criminological research and theory in both Europe and America. Much of the post Lombrosian research concentrated on the biological/physical characteristics of the individual that can be measured, weighed or counted with reference to somatic (physical) and morphological characteristics. These studies have been categorized as criminal anthropology. Thus in this session there will be an attempt to examine the evidence for the biological/anthropological characteristics associated with criminality, and the evidence for the genetic transmission of criminality, based on studies of criminal families as well as the study of twins.

3 Session outline The main topics to be covered in this session are as follows: - Topic One: Topic Two: Topic Three Biological/Anthropological studies The study of criminal families The study of twins

4 Objectives/Expected outcomes for the session On the completion of this session, you should be able to Describe the biological/anthropological features associated with crime Discuss the approach to the study of criminal families Describe and explain the findings of the study of twins

5 Criminal anthropological studies - Goring Among the anthropological researches was one by Goring (1913) referred to earlier. Goring rejected the Lombrosian doctrine that criminals were characterized by special stigmata. However his findings in a study using 3000 criminals (compared with non criminal groups) showed a distinct physical inferiority in most of the criminals. All types of criminals he examined with the exception of swindlers showed statistically significant difference with regard to height and weight. Thieves who constituted 90 percent of the sample were also inferior in general physical development.

6 Goring s conclusions challenged The findings of Goring had a significant impact on recent criminology because they were considered to be generally applicable. Goring s conclusions began to be questioned however on the basis of the sample of the prisoners he studied specially after a study conducted by Norwood East in 1942 in which he demonstrated that Goring s results did not apply to his sample of 4,000 young English offenders. In 1939, Hooten published the first volume of his findings in the anthropological series of research, in the book entitled The American Criminal based on measurements and statistical analyses of a comprehensive sample of American offenders.

7 Hooten Hooten was quite categorical in his conclusion namely the primary cause of crime is biological inferiority and that s exactly what I mean. Hooten assumed that man s behavioral tendencies are connected with physical characteristics. He claimed to be able to demonstrate the occurrence of anthropologically abnormal body types for various categories of crime. Murderers, for example, are heavier and taller than the average criminal, have larger chest diameters, broader jaws and relatively smaller shoulders. Like the Positivists, Hooten strongly emphasized that these abnormal stigmata do not predispose the individuals to crime. They only help identify criminals.

8 Hooten s conclusions challenged Hooten s findings and conclusions have been the subject of conflicting reviews. The predominant opinion however is one of critical rejection. The control group is considered to have been too small and generally inadequate because, among other things, part of it comprised physically specially qualified people, for example firemen. Further, his definition of criminality is considered to be loose and his statistical technique is open to criticism. Attempts to verify his findings in the US did not find the correlation claimed by Hooten.

9 Other biological inferiorities the genes Between the two world wars, other biological inferiorities which came to light included such traits as Feeble Mindedness, Inherited Criminality. Diseases (such as mental abnormality) Endocrinology (involving the effect of the deficiency or excess of hormonal secretions into the body) and Somatotypes ( the physical structure of the body and the corresponding types of crime) It must be cautioned however that the connection between genetic abnormality and crimes seems dubious in other words the connection cannot be conclusively proven. And it is believed that if there is any connection at all, it seems likely that these abnormality exert only a very limited influence on criminality in General. What are the genes?

10 The genetic blueprint The genes are human material units which are located in the cells chromosomes. They are transmitted from parents to their children in an unaltered from and are regarded as the blueprints for inheritance. The genetic constitution is determined by a number of pairs of genes half of each pair coming from father and the other half from the mother as illustrated below: FATHER MOTHER CHILD AS FOETUS XY XX If the child picks an X chromosome from the father and another X from the mother it would be a Girl. However, if it picks a Y from the father and an X from the mother it would be a Boy

11 The genotype/phenotype and somatotypes The total set of genes of an individual i.e. an XX or XY is called the Genotype and as the individual through the interaction of his/her genotype with the social environment/culture he/she becomes a Phenotype. Some of criminal anthropological studies laid emphasis on the constitution or the physical body type of the individual. Proponents of the constitutional theories included the German psychiatrist Ernest Kretschmer and the American Anthropologist W.H Sheldon.

12 Kretschmer s somatotypes The starting point of the theories of both Kretschmer and Sheldo was the typification of body types. In a study of patients in a mental hospital Kretschmer classified people into three/four main body types (somatotypes). These are : Asthenics Persons characterized by thinness and height (i.e. lanky people) Pyknics Persons characterized by large body cavities ( big headed, large chests and large abdominal cavities squat, overweight and barrel-like type of people. Athletics persons characterized by a considerable development of the skeletal and muscular structure,

13 Sheldon s somatotypes Kretschmer identified a fourth body type which he identified as Dysplastics This is a mixed body type characterized by physical deformities In 1927 Sheldon worked on a system based on Kretschmer s. He categorized the following three body types: Ectomorphs who are the same as the Asthenics Endomorphs who have much in common with the Pyknics, and Mesomorphs corresponding with the Athletics.

14 Mentality of the somatotypes Three mental variables corresponded with these somatotypes. The Ectomorphs are thoughtful and reserved in their attitude (introverted) often inhibited, tense and also unpredictable. The Endomorph personality is described as relaxed, sociable, and harmonious in social life (extroverted) fond of food and tolerant. The Mesomorphs indulge in physical activity, expression of personal strength and adventure and tend to be self assertive, dominant and aggressive.

15 Somatotype crime correlations Research established that The Athletics are the main perpetrators of crimes of violence, robbery, stealing and homicide. The Asthenics (Ectomorphs) have been associated with larceny and The Pyknic (Endomorphs) with fraud. In a study in Boston by the Gluecks (Eleanor and Sheldon GluecK) of 500 delinquent youth using a control group, the results confirmed the claims of Sheldon and Kretschmer.

16 Topic Two The study of Criminal Families Introduction Theoretical explanations of criminality structured around the individual as a kind of a person was carried forward by studies of criminal families and of twins as well. Thus, during the period that some researchers were measuring skulls and bodies of criminals in their search for the physical determinism of crime, others were arguing that criminality was an inherited trait passed on in the genes. The earliest of studies on criminal families dates from 1877 and the majority were published in the first few decades of the last century. Studies of criminal families have not been concerned specifically with the occurrence of crimes only, but also with the excess of psychological defects and moral and social degeneracy in such families.

17 Sterilisation of criminal families? Several of these family studies, especially the American accounts of the Juke, Nam, and Kallikak families created a sensation. They were widely accepted as proof of the inheritability of moral defects and were used to justify demands for the sterilization of feeble minded criminals (so as to prevent them from breeding more of their kind). In subsequent reviews however, these studies have been subjected to such thorough criticism that they are not considered of any value as proofs of the inheritance of behavior.

18 The Juke, Nam and Kallikak families The Juke and the Kallikak Families The oldest of the American studies was of the Juke family, carried out by Richard Dugdale ( ). Dugdale noted that a large number of offences were committed by members of the same family and attempted to trace back the criminal records of the family over a period of 200 years. His original interest was triggered off when he found six related Jukes in a New York jail and traced their genealogy to one Ada Jukes, whom he described as the mother of criminals, according to (Adler, Mueller and Laufer (1998). He claimed to have obtained information on more than a thousand members of the family. On the basis of his analysis he characterized 140 of them as criminals. Of these 7 were murderers, 60 thieves, and the rest committed other crimes. Further, 40 of the Jukes had venereal diseases, 50 were prostitutes and 280 were paupers.

19 Dugdale and Easterbrook Based on his findings Dugdale suggested that since some families produced generations of criminals they must be transmitting a degenerate trait down the line. Forty years later in 1915, Easterbrook took up the investigation of this same family. He studied almost three thousand descendants. Of these, half were discovered to be feeble minded, and a third thieves, prostitutes, paupers or otherwise committed other anti-social offences. All the criminal members of the family were feeble minded. Conclusions similar to those of Dugdale were reached by Henry Goddard ( ) in a study of the family tree of a revolutionary war soldier, Martin Kallikak. Goddard (1912) found many more criminals among the descendants of his son.

20 Evaluation of family studies unreliable data A critical evaluation of studies of the criminality of families shows that they cannot be regarded as having provided direct evidence of especially high rates of crime within particular families. Although the families investigated had been psychologically, socially and culturally exposed to crime to a large extent, most of these studies do not in fact show a greater degree of criminality than what exists in the average population. These studies were discredited also on the grounds that genetic and environmental influences cannot be separated. Besides, the accuracy of the data collected in these studies could be said to be dubious since - the evidence extends over a long period (of two hundred years) and one for which reliable documentary material would be difficult to come by; and the families studied are too few to be entirely representative.

21 Sterilisation of habitual offenders in the US In the early twentieth century, however, these family studies were taken quite seriously. On the assumption that crime could be controlled if criminals could be prevented from transmitting their traits to the next generation, some states in the USA permitted the sterilization of habitual offenders. It is quite clear thus, that with their focus on physical characteristics, the early positivists exerted a great influence on criminal justice thinking and practice. They were destined however to be overshadowed by investigators who focused on psychological characteristics.

22 Introduction Topic Three The Twin studies Further attempts at sorting out the effects of heredity and environment found expression in studies to compare samples of identical and non-identical pairs of twins. What are the main assumptions?

23 Identical ans n0n-identical twins Identical and Non-Identical Twins Briefly, the argument suggests that monozygotic (MZ) or identical twins come about by the splitting of the same egg; the identical twins therefore possess precisely the same genes or have identical genotypes. Fraternal or Dizygotic (DZ) - non-identical twins come from different eggs and from the constitutional stand point, they are no more alike than ordinary brothers and sisters except for being of the same age. Both kinds of twins are supposed to have more or less equal environments. If a considerably greater rate of concordance (agreement) with respect to crime can be shown for monozygotic twins than for dizygotic pairs, one can conclude that criminality is based mainly on heredity.

24 Crime as Destiny -Lange The earlier as well as the most startkling findings from the study of twins was published in Germany by the German psychiatric Johannes Lange in 1929, and subsequently translated under the dramatic title Crime as Destiny. Lange s sample consisted of thirty pairs of twins; 13 were monozygotic and 17 dizygotes of the same sex. He found that in ten out of the 13 pairs of identical twins that is 77%, both members had a criminal record; whereas out of the 17 pairs of the non identical twins only 2, that is, 12 % both had criminal record. From these figures, Lange concluded that as far as crime is concerned, monozygotic twins on the whole react in a similar manner, whereas dizygotic (non identical) twins often behave differently - although their upbringing and environment had been just as much alike as those of the identical twins.

25 Evaluation of Lange s study Among the main objections brought against Lange is the fact that (a) his sample size (30) was too small to serve as a basis for sweeping generalizations, His method of selection was biased since some of the cases were taken from a psychiatric clinic. In other words, the criminal behaviour of the twins involved might have been determined more by their abnormality than by heredity, and finally (c) Since the twins had been brought up in the same environment, it is impossible to say with any certainty how far they had both been likewise affected by this environment and by each other. This means, in other words, that it is possible that if the twins grow up in different environments the impact of their environments could affect their behavior differently.

26 Study by Christiansen and Mednick Many other studies similar to those of Lange were carried out. The largest of these was one carried out by Christiansen and Mednick which included all twins born between 1881 and 1910 in Denmark. A total of 3586 pairs of twins were covered. Basing their analyses on serious offenses only, the researchers found that the chance of there being a criminal twin when the other twin was a criminal was 50 % for identical twins and 20% for same sex fraternal twins. These findings lend some support to the hypothesis that some genetic influences increase the risk of criminality. A more recent study by Rowe and Osgood reached the same conclusion.

27 Importance of the environment While the evidence from these and other twin studies look persuasive, we should keep in mind the the conclusions raise significant questions - namely It may not be valid to assume a common environment for all twins who grow up in the same house at the same time, according to Adler, Mueller and Laufer (1998). If the upbringing of identical twins is much more similar than that of fraternal twins, (as it well may be) this circumstance may help explain their different rates of criminality.

28 Summary Much of the post Lombrosian research concentrated on the physical characteristics of the individual that can be measured, weighed or counted with reference to somatic (physical) and morphological characteristics. In addition to the physical defects associated with criminals further research established significant defects in the intelligence of the criminal. Goring, for example, concluded that English criminals have physical and mental peculiarities which are mutually dependent the physical characteristics being a generally defective physique and the decisive mental factor being a defective intelligence.

29 The criminal family studies, especially the American accounts of the Juke, Nam, and Kallikak families, created a sensation. They were widely accepted as proof of the inheritability of moral defects and were used to justify demands for the sterilization of feeble minded criminals. These studies have been subjected to such thorough criticism that they are not considered of any value as proofs of the inheritance of behavior. The family studies were discredited on the grounds that genetic and environmental influences cannot be separated. Further, the families studied are too few to be entirely representative. While the evidence from the twin studies looks persuasive, there are inherent weaknesses. For example, the influence of a common environment cannot be assumed for all twins who grow up in the same house at the same time. If the upbringing of identical twins is much more similar than that of fraternal twins (as it well may be) this circumstance may help explain their different rates of criminality.

30 Assignment The primary cause of crime is biological inferiority and that s exactly what I mean. (Hooten). What constitutes biological inferiority, from Hooten s point of view? To what extent can Hooten be criticized based on his use of the term cause?

31 References Abotchie, Chris, (2016) Sociology of Deviant Behaviour, Accra, Olive Tree Printing and Publishing Abotchie, Chris, (2010) Sociology of Deviant Behaviour, Accra, ICDE Adler, F. Mueller, G.O.W And Laufer, S. (1998)Criminology, Boston: McGraw-Hill.

32