CCJ-4614 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Cesare Lombroso, Criminology, Moral Development
6 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
19th c as science and positivism replaced religion as the basis for understanding natural and social phenomena. Biological explanations lost prominence by mid-twentieth century before renewed popularity today. Criminality based on skull"s size and shape. Cesare lombroso (founder of positivist school of criminology) Multi-level models, multiple things that can cause crime. Evidence was extensive measurements of italian prisoners. Refuted his own work by the end of his career. 1st criminologist to include women in his research. Women were more likely to be atavists. Revived interest in physiological explanations in 1939. Measured 14000 american prisoners with a control group of non-criminals. Such as narrow jaws and small eyes. Delinquents tend to be mesomorphic and research had similar methodologial issues. While many were criminals, dugdale couldnt definitively conclude it was due to heredity. Evaluated when twins are raised by biological parents. Research shows support for genetic explanations of crime. When twins raised by different adopted parents/ guardians.
