Early Trait Theory and Positivism

Historical Context of Early Trait Theory and Positivism

• Transition in Criminological Thought: The lecture shifts from the pre-classical (demonology) and classical (rational choice and deterrence) periods to early trait theory, also known as positivism.
• The Role of War: The development of positivist thought was significantly influenced by the technological advancements occurring during and after major conflicts. Specific wars mentioned include:
  • The War of 1812.
  • The Civil War in 1861.
  • The Spanish American War in 1898.
• The Role of Medicine: Concurrent with these wars, advancements in medicine helped society understand human biology and the internal mechanisms of behavior. Key developments included:
  • The Germ Theory.
  • The X-ray.
  • Sterilization techniques.
  • Development of various vaccines.
• Shift toward Science: These historical events led to an increased belief in scientific explanations and medical diagnoses over religious or purely philosophical ones. In the context of the criminology timeline, positivism emerged on the horizon following the destruction of Rome, feudalism, demonology, and classical criminology.

Craniometry and the Scientific Method

• Definition: Craniometry was a scientific method emerging from early trait theory that posited the size of the skull represented the superiority or inferiority of an individual.
• Testing Methodology: Skulls of deceased individuals were filled with seeds. The volume of seeds the skull could hold determined its size.
• Hypothesized Predictions: Researchers used seed volume to attempt to predict whether an individual possessed high or low intellect.
• Recorded Findings and Biases: The records from this era claimed that white or Western European individuals typically had larger skulls, which was used to argue for their superiority.
• Scientific Limitations: The method was unable to discern or explain differences in criminality or behavior between individuals of the same race based solely on skull size.

Phrenology and Franz Josef Gall

• Definition: Developed by Franz Josef Gall, phrenology focused on the size and shape of the brain and its various lobes to indicate character and mental abilities.
• The Five Principles of Phrenology:
  1. The brain is the organ of the mind.
  2. Mental powers are analyze-able through science, aligning phrenology with the medical, biological, and neurological fields.
  3. Character and mental abilities found in adults are innate.
  4. The brain is divided into specific regions, allowing scientists to determine which factors control specific behaviors or body parts.
  5. The spaces between the brain and the skull facilitate the research and development of "scans" or assessments of the brain.
• Applications: Gall argued that because the brain is divided into visible regions (lobes) containing inborn mental attributes, figuring out how to control or heal these specific areas could change an individual's personality and behavior. The goal was to make people smarter or more law-abiding.

Cesare Lombroso and the Foundations of Positivism

• The Father of Criminology: Cesare Lombroso is credited with both the rise of positivism and the formal start of the field of criminology.
• The Study of Prisoners: Lombroso studied the physical characteristics of prisoners and concluded that criminals were physically inferior to the members of "normal" society.
• Core Concepts of Positivism:
  • Criminality is the product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.
  • Human beings are inherently moral and wish to conform to the law.
  • Criminal behavior is driven by forces beyond the individual's control (external forces similar to demonology, but framed scientifically).
• Atavism: The theory that certain individuals or their physical features are an evolutionary throwback to an earlier stage of development. Lombroso argued these traits allow one to distinguish a criminal from a law-abiding person.
• Determinism: The assumption that human behavior is determined by factors beyond free will. This rejects the "cost-benefit analysis" and rational choice theories proposed by Hobbs and Bakaria.
• Born Criminals: Lombroso maintained that some individuals are born criminals and will commit crimes throughout their life course regardless of the situation. These individuals are biologically abnormal, inferior, and cannot be deterred.
• Stigmata: Visible physical markings that show a predisposition toward criminality. Examples include:
  • Asymmetrical faces.
  • Eye defects.
  • Unusual facial feature sizes.

Categories of Criminals and Physical Traits

• Criminaloids: These individuals possess stigmata and are driven to crime by predisposed impulses.
• Insane Criminals: These individuals lack stigmata but are unable to control their criminal dispositions. Lombroso referred to them as "fools" and they would be considered neuroatypical or neurologically atypical today.
• Passionate Criminals: This category was specifically applied to women. Lombroso argued that women were not "normal subjects" for criminality; their offenses were motivated by "hysteria" or intense emotions such as love, anger, or the protection of family honor.
• Physiognomy: A theory that died out during the Enlightenment (demonology/preclassical period) but was revisited. It posited that bodily aspects show a lack of evolution. The closer a person looked to an animal, the more animalistic traits they possessed.
  • Example: People with short, stout statures were compared to pigs and thus deemed lazy or "hog-ish."
  • Darwinian Influence: This tied into natural selection, suggesting that society could become "perfect" by breeding out animalistic characteristics.

Sheldon's Somatotyping

• Definition: A model used to predict behavior and character based on body types.
• The Three Somatotypes:
  1. Endomorphic: Individuals who are obese. They were characterized as being jolly and lazy.
  2. Mesomorphic: Individuals with muscular builds. They were considered to have the highest propensity for crime due to risk-taking and aggressive temperaments.
  3. Ectomorphic: Individuals who are thin. They were characterized as being shy and introverted.

Policy Implications of Early Trait Theory

• Lombroso's Views on Prison:
  • Prisons are not necessarily "bad" for criminals; they provide a place of rest away from the "sensory overload" of law-abiding society.
  • Prisons are necessary because criminals cannot follow the social contract.
  • However, long-term incarceration is discouraged because prisoners lose the habit of work and responsibility.
  • Born criminals should be segregated from others to prevent them from influencing minor offenders (e.g., preventing a murderer from influencing a shoplifter).
  • Shorter sentences were recommended to facilitate isolation and potential rehabilitation/assimilation.
• Asylums: State-funded asylum populations rose significantly in the 19th century. It remains unclear if this was due to increased illness or decreased community tolerance, but it marked a shift toward medicinal and biological treatment of the mentally ill.
• Eugenics: A theory based on the "racial improvement" of society through planned breeding.
  • Advocates believed criminality, neuroatypicalities, and birth defects could be bred out of society to reach a "utopian" state.
  • Methods included involuntary sterilization, social exclusion, and other unjust practices.

Issues and Critiques of Early Trait Theory

• Prejudice and Faulty Measures: Critics argue the theories are deeply prejudiced, implying that individuals are predisposed to crime based on race, gender, or geography. This is regarded as the "epitome of an unjust society."
• Stereotyping: Policies focused on stereotyping individuals based on body type or physical characteristics even if they had not committed a crime.
• Refusal of Rehabilitation: The theory often denies the possibility of rehabilitation. Because Lombroso viewed criminals as being driven by external biological forces rather than individual choice, there was no room for traditional reform, only collaboration or attempted simulation into society.

Questions & Discussion

• Note on Canvas Content: The lecture references several videos available in the Canvas shell regarding phrenology, Lombroso's "criminal man," asylums, and the eugenics movement. One video on Lombroso includes a content warning for the use of the "r word" in a historical context to describe neuroatypical individuals.