Theory of offending - Atavistic form

Who came up with the theory?

Lomboroso (1876)

What does the theory believe?

criminal tendencies are apart of someone’s nature
criminals less evolved (more primitive)

Why atavistic people are more likely to be criminals?

more primitive
find it hard to distinguish between right and wrong

Examples of physical features thought to be atavistic

these were signs of being atavistic
-strong jaw
-low sloping brow
-large ears

How many did Lomboroso conduct physical characteristic exams on?

observed 4000 living criminals, 400 dead criminals

AO3 - stereotyping

good - stated criminals were not evil but inherited bad characteristics
bad - physical characteristics overlap with features of non white racial groups

AO3 - Determinism

biological - criminal tendencies inherited
environmental - Lomboroso acknowledged 2/3 of criminals learned behaviour over inherited it