What is atavistic form?
The theory that some offenders are evolutionary throwbacks who possess primitive biological characteristics.
Who developed the atavistic explanation?
Cesare Lombroso.
When did Lombroso publish the first edition of L’Uomo Delinquente?
1876.
What did Lombroso mean by a “born criminal”?
Someone supposedly born with biological characteristics that predisposed them towards offending.
What are atavistic stigmata?
Physical characteristics that Lombroso believed indicated an atavistic criminal type.
Give three physical features associated with Lombroso’s theory.
For example, a prominent jaw, high cheekbones and facial asymmetry.
How many deceased criminals were included in Lombroso’s cranial observations?
383.
Approximately how many living criminals did Lombroso examine?
3,839.
What did Goring (1913) conclude?
He found no evidence for a distinctive physical criminal type of the kind proposed by Lombroso.
Why is Lombroso’s explanation biologically deterministic?
It suggests offending results largely from innate biological characteristics rather than freely chosen behaviour or environmental influences.