critical thinking chapter 3 and 4

Hannah Williams Critical Thinking Chapter 3 And 4 Biosocial and early biological theories of crime differ in various ways. Biosocial crime theories are theories that look at the “interaction between biology and the physical and social environment as key to understanding human behavior (Criminal Justice Today)”. These theories suggest that there is both a genetic and a biological side to crime. This theory looks at the role of DNA, hormones, physical trauma, environment, nutrition, and body chemistry. Criminologist Adrian Raine suggests that biological measures and examination of the social environment can show who will commit crimes later in life. The chromosome theory shows a connection between chromosome patterns and crime. There is a term known as supermales, this represents men with an extra Y chromosome. It is said that men with this are more likely to be aggressive, taller, and have a lower IQ. Many researchers after this disregarded this theory between these males and criminal behavior. These researchers decided to shift their focus onto the study of enzymes, gene deficits, and hormones. As they went further with their research they found that relating genes and crime was not as easy as they originally thought. They concluded that genes react to our human experiences instead of determining it. The central feature of biosocial theories is biosocial criminology. This is a field that intends to explain crime and social behavior by examining both biological and environmental factors. The key goal of biological criminology is to understand human behavior which includs criminality. Early biological crime theories differ from biosocial theories because they focus on trying to explain behaviors opposed to society’s expectations by looking at a person’s characteristics. These theories suggest that the need for crime may instead be inherited, passed down from generations. The father of positivist theory, Cesare Lombroso, founded atavism. This is the condition that is characterized by the presence of features said to be common in prior stages of human evolution. Atavism is the process of applying scientific techniques to the study of crime and criminals. This thought implies that there are some people in the world who are born criminals. This early biological theory differs from biosocial theory because it suggests that people are natural criminals. It does not consider all the other factors such as environmental contaminants, trauma, and feeling. Each of these theories of crimes have their own way of deciding what makes a person commit a crime and become a criminal.