Atavistic Form (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

Atavistic form & Lombroso's research

• 'Atavistic form' refers to features (e.g., physical features such as facial configuration) which belong to a more primitive era e.g. neanderthal and which mark out the individual as being an ‘evolutionary throwback’

• Atavistic form as applied to criminality can be attributed to Lombroso, a doctor working with Italian soldiers and criminals in the 1870s

• Lombroso – who treated a great deal of offenders as part of his job – had noticed that the criminals he treated appeared to share physical characteristics e.g. bloodshot eyes, lantern jaw, low brows, hawk-like nose

• Lombroso developed the first-ever theory of criminal profiling: he claimed that criminals were ‘born, not made’, as his theory rested on criminality being innate

• Lombroso’s theory was, essentially, that a criminal could be identified simply by analysing their facial features

• Lombroso concluded that people with the features he identified as ‘criminal’ were wild, savage and untameable, i.e., unfit for sophisticated, evolved life; ergo, they would inevitably at some point in their life turn to crime

• Lombroso wrote a series of books titled ‘Criminal Man’ (1876), earning himself the title of ‘the father of modern crime’

• Lombroso further divided specific facial features by types of crime as follows:

  • A murderer has bloodshot eyes with a cold, glassy stare and a large hawk-like nose

  • A thief has an expressive face, is good with their hands and has small, wandering eyes

  • A sex offender has thick lips and ears which protrude (stick out)

  • Female criminals are short, have dark hair, small skulls and are wrinkled

  • Many criminals will be tattooed and will speak using a strange form of  slang 

Research which investigates atavistic form

• DeLisi (2012) reviewed Lombroso’s theory and concluded that while it has many – quite alarming – claims, it still stands as a viable first attempt at a theory of criminality 

• Goring (1913) disagreed with Lombrosos’ claims that criminality is innate, using a sample of 3,000 criminals and 3,000 non-criminals as the basis for his conclusions

Evaluation of Atavistic form

Strengths 

• Lombroso was one of the first medical professionals to realise that criminals could be studied scientifically, making his theory highly influential well into the 20th century

• By linking certain physical and personality traits to specific types of crime, Lombroso helped lay the groundwork for modern criminal profiling, as it showed that patterns in people’s traits could help explain criminal behaviour

Limitations

• Lombroso’s theory used no real methodology and was riven with bias e.g. sampling bias and confirmation bias), was statistically under-powered and has huge ethical concerns (labelling people as ‘bad’ based purely on their physical appearance)

• It could be argued that having facial features deemed ‘aggressive’ by society (e.g. a low brow and jutting chin) might lead others to assume that the individual is aggressive and therefore encourage them into confrontation, which in turn could lead to that individual becoming criminally violent (i.e. a self-fulfilling prophecy)

Issues & Debates

• Lombroso’s theory suggests that criminals are born, not made, implying that criminal behaviour is innate and biologically fixed

  • This is a deterministic view that ignores the role of free will and environmental influences, such as poverty or upbringing

• Labelling individuals as criminals based on physical appearance is highly socially sensitive and ethically problematic

  • It risks stigmatising certain groups, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, and could lead to discrimination or a self-fulfilling prophecy