Biological Positivism

• Theories do not argue biological determinism
• Theories argue certain biological characteristics increase the probability that individuals will engage
  in certain types of behaviors, such as violent or antisocial behaviors
• Biological factors may generate criminal behaviors when these factors interact with psychological or social factors
• Many of theories argue an interaction between biological characteristics and social characteristics
• Biosocial theories is a more appropriate name
• Categories do overlap

1) Evolutionary theories

• Early biological theories
• Focused on physical characteristics; how criminals are physical different from normal people
• This idea can be traced back as far as Socrates (shape of face) and Aristotle (skull)
• Important first steps that focused on measurement
• Strongly influenced by Darwin's theories

2) Genetic studies

• Crime is passed on through genes

3) Neurophysiological

• Central nervous system
• Brain structure
• Brain damage
• Brain chemical
• Spinal cord

4) Biochemical

• Environmental contaminants
• Hormones
• Diet
• Allergies

1) Evolutionary Theories

Phrenology

• Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)
• Based upon Aristotle's idea that the brain is the organ of the mind
• 1800s and early 1900s (Did survive into 1970s)
• Characteristics of the brain are mirrored in bumps in the skull
• Document relationship between pumps and criminal behavior
• Bumps in skull illustrated under or over development of brain
• Therefore, the bumps can be used to predict behavior

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)

• Physician for the arm in Italy, conducted autopsies, eventually specialized in psychiatry
• He was concerned about many problems in the military, including crime
• Began to notice abnormalities in criminals while performing autopsies
• Focused on the ENTIRE body
• Wrote a book entitled The Delinquent Man in 1876 (Influenced by Charles Darwin)
• Criminals are atavistic throwback (Separate species, lower than normal, have not fully evolved)
• Crime is the result of not being fully involved
• However, he began to look at environmental factors later in his career as apposed to biological

Lombroso's Study

• Preformed autopsies on 66 male criminals
• He also examined 832 living criminals and 390 criminals
• Focused on differences in measurements
• Asymmetric face, variations in head and face size, ear size, twisted nose, swollen lips,
  large and small ears, large jaws and cheekbones, abnormal teeth, receding chin, abundant
  hair or wrinkles, long arms, extra fingers or toes, and/or asymmetry of the brain
• He argues these characters represent lower forms of mammals, such as monkey and chimpanzees
• 5 or more (males) equal criminal
• 3 or more (females) equal criminal
• They are different because they are criminal/atavistic (Evolutionary throwback)
• Three classes of criminals
• 1) Born criminal (atavistic) ***Focused here**** (represented 1/3 of all offenders)
• 2) Insane criminal (idiots, imbeciles, paranoiacs, sufferers from melancholia, general paralysis,
  dementia, alcoholism, epilepsy, or hysteria
• 3) Criminaloids (Have no identifiable characteristics but their mental and emotional make-up
  is such that under certain circumstances they would commit crimes)
• Theory result  in strong favorable and unfavorable reactions

Problem's with Lombroso's Study

1. Not everyone had characteristics
2. People in Italian prisoners were from other cultures (theory was inherently racist)
3. Poor nutrition in jail
4. Circular reasoning

• These people are criminals in jail
• They are this way because they have certain characteristics
• Therefore, they are criminal

Goring

• Tried to replicate Lombroso's experiment
• Studied was published in 1913
• Compared English convicts to normal people (University Students, hospital patience, and military personnel)
• Found no differences or "there is no such thing as a physical criminal type"
• Concluded crime is NOT a result of of social and environmental conditions
• Crime is a result of feeblemindedness, epilepsy, insanity, and defective social instinct
• Laid the foundation for IQ/Stupidity and heredity

Hooting

• Findings supported Lombroso
• Focused on body types and face shapes

Sheldon

• Well financed experiment
• Measurements also came from people in jail
• 17,000 people from ten states
• 14,000 were criminals; remaining people were normal (control group)
• Classified based on body types and eventually face shapes
• Found that certain body types were associated with specific temperaments

Endomorphic

• Body type (Soft, round, and fat; short limbs, and velvet skins)
• Temperament (Comfortable person, class clown, social, extrovert, move slowly
• Less serious crime such as fencing
• Child molester

Ectomorphic

• Body type (Lean and fragile, small delicate bones, little body mass)
• Temperament (Functional complaints, allergies and skin trouble, introverted and smart)
• Intellectual crimes and crimes of stealth (pick pocketing)

Mesomorphic

• Body type (muscular, large trunks, heavy chest and large wrists)
• Temperament (Active, assertive and aggressive)
• Violent, murders, and rapists
• People we should be concerned with

Important Note

• Looking back, these were pathetic attempts to explain crime
• However, we must start somewhere
• Again, measurement is key

2) Genetic Implications and Genetic Studies

• Does genetic cause crime?
• 4 Basic problems
• 1) What is inherited is not a behavior, but a tendency of a behavior (Environmental triggers?)
• 2) No single gene is responsible (Polygenic-many genes are involved)
• 3) Qualitativeness to crime (Can't compare murder to speeding)
• 4) Crime is socially constructed (Constructionism/reactionism)

Three ways to determine genes influence criminal behavior

1) Family Studies

• Look at family and see if there is similar behavior from generation to generation
• Problem of environment
• Were IQ (Stupidity) studies began to emerge here

2) Twin Studies (Much better)

• Try to determine the extent to which there is a resemblance
• Fraternal twins (Different DNA)
• Identical twins (Identical DNA)
• Examine concordance rate between twins (Extent to which one twin is criminal and what percentage the other twin in crminal)
• Higher concordance rate with identical twins (Implications)
• Still and element of environment

3) Adoption Studies

• Examine individuals by non-related adoptive parents and compare individual to their biological parent

Family Studies

• Famous Jukes study (One of the first genetic study)
• Family lived in MO and OK
• Traced genealogy back 200 years
• Attempted to document the transmission of the criminal gene
• History of prostitution, exhaustion, disease, fornication, and illegitimacy
• Family of degenerates
• Problem of environment and measurement
• However, important because is led to the proposition that intelligence is related to criminal behavior

Twin Studies

• Do not worry about the numbers; know the patterns
• We will talk about a few studies

Lange Study

• Experimental group (13 pairs of identical twins; if one was imprisoned the other was imprisoned in 77 percent of the cases)
• Control group (17 pairs of fraternal twins)
• If one was imprisoned, the other was imprisoned in 12 percent of the cases
• 214 pairs of ordinary brothers (control environment); 8% concordance rate

Christiansen Study

• Denmark study
• Used the Danish Twin Registry and found 6,000 pairs of twins
• Compared the twins to a penal registry
• He found 67 cases in which one of a pair of identical twins was registered as a criminal
• 35.8% concordance rate in terms of the 67 identical twins (men)
• He found 114 cases where at least one of a pair of fraternal twins was registered as a criminal
• 12.3% concordance rate in terms of the 114 fraternal twins (men)
• Female identical concordance rate 21.4%
• Female fraternal concordance rate 4.3 percent
• Later focused on serious crimes and found 20% concordance for fraternal and 50% for identical

Grove Study

• Wanted to control for environment
• Looked at twins that were separated from each other at birth
• Much smaller sample size; but also found similar results as above

American Study

• Experimental (42 pairs of identical twins, 93% concordance rate)
• Control (25 pairs of fraternal twins; 20% concordance rate)

Adoptive Studies

First Study

• 41 Female offenders gave up children (Experimental group)
• Compared to another group of normal parents that gave up their children (Control); (Same sex, age, and race .etc)
• Offenders; 8 of 52 were arrested (16%)
• Non-offenders; 2 of 52 were arrested (2%)

Second Study

• Study of boys
• 10.5% had criminal conviction if neither biological or adoptive parent had a criminal conviction
• 11.5% Adoptive parent criminal conviction, biological no criminal conviction
• 22% Biological was convicted and not the adopted
• 36.2% both biological and adoptive parents had a criminal conviction
• Seems that both biological and adoptive matters
• Environmental trigger of the gene?????

Note

• Hereditary and environment plays a role
• Suggest that hereditary is more important

Other significant biological arguments

• XX women and XY men
• Supermale syndrome
• XYY chromosome
• Y determines maleness, maybe we should study since males commit more crimes
• Argued to be responsible for anti-social behavior, particularly violent
• XYY occurs in 1 and 1000 births yet
• 1 study found 2.2 of prison population has XYY
• 2 study found 3.5%
• 3 study found 2.9%
• XYY are over represented in jail (Why)
• Concluded that XYY chromosomes could cause crime
• Very deterministic theory

Problem with XYY theory

• First big blow (Study found 145 of 149 were incarcerated for petty crimes); suppose to be violent
• Second problem; figures are from prison, what about XYY in public that do not commit crimes (Intervening variable???)
• XYY----->(??????)-------->crime
• Indep.         Interv.                dependent

3) Neuropsychological

• Focus on spinal cord and brain
• Study electrochemical processes in the brain (EEG)
• Problem is slow or fast brain wave activity
• Abnormal brain wave patterns associated with abnormal behavior
• Criminal groups (25 to 50%), Normal groups (5 to 20%)
• Neurotransmitters in the brain
• Serotonin - modulate mood, emotion, sleep and appetite
• Regulates the flow of thoughts; low levels make it hard to concentrate/maintain focus
• Sleep- Serotonin production stops during REM-thoughts run wild/dreams
• Depression drugs focus here; Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft
• Drugs the raise serotonin relieve anxiety, depression
• Low levels are associated with irritability, anxiousness, depression, and trouble sleeping
• Low level is associated with antisocial behavior
• LSD suppresses Serotonin - essentially activates your dreaming while you are awake
• Dopamine - stimulant effect, pleasure, orgasm;
• Low levels can cause can produce temporary psychosis
• Symptoms of Parkinson's disease are caused by the loss of dopamine nuerons
• Xanax, Valium, Rohypnol, GHB (date rape drug), alcohol suppress dopamine
• Drugs that suppress dopamine are sedating, at high doses causing loss of consciousness and amnesia
• Low levels are believed to cause attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Ritalin raises Dopamine)
• High levels make people euphoric, confident, aggressive, and hyperactive
• High levels are link to schizophrenia and other mental illnesses
• Drugs the raise dopamine are very reinforcing because of the euphoric effect
• Amphetamine, methamphetamine, and cocaine; cigarettes also raise dopamine
• Norepinephrine - alertness, focus and motivation
• Caffeine releases norepinephrine; elevates focus and alertness; coffee and soda
• Modafinil - experimental drug that can keep you up for days with little or no side effects
• Epilepsy
• Grand mal seizures (Violent seizures)
• Over-represented in prison
• X-Rays, CAT scans, and spinal taps
• Head injuries and spinal cord injuries
• Head injuries may cause:
• Increase sensitivity to effects of alcohol
• Decrease cognitive and social skills
• Headaches and irritability
• Damage to the front lobe (anger hostility, and anxiety)
• Areas of the brain (Overlaps with neurotransmitters)
• Frontal and temporal lobes
• Part of the brain associated with flight or fight response
• Tumors, injuries, and disease
• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
• Controls body involuntary body functions (blood pressure, heart, hormone levels, digesting, sweating, etc)
• Lie detector tests focus here
• Flight or fight response
• Anxiety reactions to punishment and its link to socialization (anticipation of punishment)

4) Biochemical

• Crime is the result of emotional imbalances due to bio-chemical problems
• Biochemistry is key
• Hormonal imbalances (testosterone and
• Hypoglycemia (Low blood sugar) and crime (reduces minds ability to reason); irritability, anxiety, depression, crying spells, headache, and confusion
• Allergic reactions to common foods and additives (selling of the brain, reduced early learning); MSG (monosodium glutamate)
• Coffee and sugar (Attention span deficiencies)  Sugar related to violence
• Caffeine in blood
• Vitamins on the impact of delinquency; physical, mental, and behavioral problems, low IQ (Disruptive children and low amounts of B3 and B6)
• Alcohol and aggressiveness
• Opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, steroids and violent behavior
• Minerals
• Role of food and diet (not well established)
• Brain chemistry

High Testosterone and Criminal Behavior

• Testosterone affects hypothalamus, brain is more affect
• Affects behavior associated with violence and sexuality
• Some studies show strong indications and other weak
• Different levels in gender may explain gender gap
• Upper 10% commit more serious crimes

Problems with Findings

• Lower social economic class has higher testosterone levels
• Body adjust to your class??
• If so, the cause could be social and not biological
• What social factors trigger high testosterone
• Levels of testosterone increase and decrease at different rates in people
• Causal problem does high levels cause violent behavior or does violent behavior cause high levels?

PMS studies

• Biological changes after ovulating have been linked to irritability and aggression
• Studies have show higher arrest rates are associated with PMS
• Women affected by PMS have a greater chance of being arrested or commit suicide

Intelligence and IQ Tests

• At first they were possessed or cursed, then evolution (not fully developed)
• Family Studies and XYY studies pointed towards low intelligence
• Physical type studies pointed towards low-intelligence (Atavistic and feeblemindedness)
• IQ tests began to develop during the early 1900s and revised several times (method concerns)
• Many Americans felt IQ was fixed and inborn (Early) Nature vs. Nurture argument
• Debate continues todayMost common approach is that IQ measure some form of abstract reasoning or problem-solving ability is largely inherited
• Early testing of criminals in prison pointed towards low intelligence
• 1970s renewed support for this hypothesis
• 28% to 89% of Juvenile delinquents have low IQ scores
• Similar findings in prison populations

Common approaches to IQ

1. Most common approach is that IQ measure some form of abstract reasoning or problem-solving ability is largely inherited (nature)
2. IQ does not measure innate ability, but instead measures qualities that are related to the dominant culture (attempt to explain culture differences; conflict approach)
3. IQ measures general abilities, but that those abilities are largely determined by their person's environment (nurture)

Score Breakdown

IQ	Description	% of Population
130+	Very superior	2.2%
120-129	Superior	6.7%
110-119	High average	16.1%
90-109	Average	50%
80-89	Low average	16.1%
70-79	Borderline	6.7%
Below 70	Extremely low	2.2%

Low IQ is clearly associated with crime and delinquency

1. Less able to differentiate between right and wrong
2. More likely to be caught
3. Hedonistic (Instant gratifications)
4. Do not do well in school, get frustrated, and began to engage in antisocial behavior

Race and IQ

• Very controversial
• African Americans usually score 15 points lower than European on average
• Some have used findings to explain crime rate differences
• Question is:  What does IQ measure?

Problems with IQ tests

• Most researchers believe there is an intervening variable associated with low intelligence
• 1) Poor parenting skills
• 2) Failure in school which leads to delinquency
• 3) Failure to learn cognitive skills, particularly moral reasoning, empathy, or problem skills
• IQ is related to resources available to school
• Environment is not taken into account
• Smart criminals, does not explain
• Test are culturally bias
• Measure book smarts, not street smarts and common sense
• Is it measuring motivation vs. intelligence?
• Is it measuring reading skills?
• Bottom line is:  WHAT IS IT MEASURING?

Policy Implications

1) Older biological theories

• Extreme policies
• Kill off (genocide)
• Keep from breeding (Castrations and tying tubs)
• Incapacitate them (separate from society)

2) Genetics

• Test people to see if they are criminal
• Kill them off
• Re-sequence genes (Fix problem)
• Keep from breeding

3) Biochemical/Neurophysiological

• Fix the problem somehow
• Regulate testosterone or hormones
• Surgery and/or pill

4) IQ

• Educate, kill, keep from breeding, or lock-up

Theory Classification

• Micro (focuses on individual)
• Criminal is intrinsically evil, defective in some way
• Crime is normative, assumes a low violation/consensus of norms (no mention of audiences)
• Positivism