CRIM CH 6

Positivism

measurement, objectivity, and causality

Astrology

the pseudoscientific belief that astrological signs such as configurations of the planets or stars influence human behavior

Phrenology

the pseudoscience that claims to determine personality and intelligence on the basis of the size and shape of a person’s skull

Physiognomy

a pseudoscience that measures facial and other body characteristics and their relationship to personality

Palmistry

a pseudoscience that claims to be able to read personality characteristics on the basis of lines on the palm of the hand

Biological positivism

theories that propose that crime is caused by inherited genetic and other biological causes

Atavism

the belief that criminals represent genetic “throwbacks to the ape” or earlier, more primitive humanity

Physical stigmata

Lombroso’s theory that criminals could be denoted on the basis of their facial appearance

Social Darwinism

the belief that there is a survival of the fittest in society

Feeblemindedness

the belief by Goring that criminals were mentally defective

Somatotypes

body types as described by Sheldon: endomorphs, mesomorphs, and ectomorphs

Nature v Nurture Controversy

an attempt to examine whether crime is inherited or learned

Lobotomy

the surgical removal of the frontal lobes of the brain

Monozygotic Concordance

similar behavior in identical twins

XYY Syndrome

the theory that males who possess an extra Y chromosome are more prone to violence

Cheater theory

theory that holds that males have a greater interest in mating and little interest in child rearing and use illegitimate means to maximize their offspring

Gene-environment interaction

how genes interact with environmental features to create outcomes

Epigenetics

biological mechanisms that affect gene expression

Psychometry

attempts to measure personality

Behavioral modification

the use of a system of rewards and punishments to modify or engineer behavior

NGRI Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Defense

the earliest insanity ruling, sometimes called the right/wrong test

Psychopath/ sociopath/ antisocial personality

a disorder in which, due to inadequate childhood socialization, an individual never develops a full range of adult personality

Psychological positivism

a group of theoretical approaches that look to the personality as the cause of criminal activity