Discussion

W&M Criminological Theory

1. Chapter 3: The Positive School a. Introduction

i. Positivists were more likely scientists than philosophers. ii. Positivists sought to explain the world around them using an ordered

procedure. 1. Focus on scientific examination and discovery of other aspects of

life. iii. Positivists saw behavior as determined by its biological, psychological,

and social traits. iv. Primary characteristics of positivist thought

1. Deterministic view of the world 2. Focus on criminal behavior rather than legal issues such as human

rights 3. Crime can be treated/prevented by rehabilitation.

v. The theory of evolution can be used to study human, including criminal, behaviors.

vi. Emphasizes the “positive” application of science to knowledge production.

vii. Known today as the “modernist” perspective. b. The Heritage of the School

i. The Social Heritage 1. 20th century

a. Advanced communities b. Cultural transmission/exchange c. Creations of the 18th and 19th century effect change in

thoughts i. Transition from large agriculture to industrialized

and urban cities. d. The French and American revolutions e. People are less concerned with government and political

problems, and more concerned with social issues. ii. The Intellectual Heritage

1. The rise of positivist philosophy underscored the importance of systematic testing and evidence rather than speculation or metaphysics.

2. Humans are viewed as responsible for their own actions and capable of change. Humans can also create societies and social institutions to help them evolve fulfill their purpose.

3. Evolution became a standard way of thinking and human societies were viewed as in the process of evolving. Western societies were viewed as most evolved, and other societies are viewed as primitive.

a. Anthropology and early anthropological studies (which were poorly constructed) helped to perpetuate this.

c. The Perspective of the School i. Positivism is more of a philosophy than a theory, and there are several

varieties of positivism. 1. One important underpinning of almost any form of positivism is

an interest in classifying (or establishing categories for) any subject of interest.

2. Criminologists use the term positivism to mean an approach that studies human behavior through the use of the traditional scientific method.

a. Focus is on systematic observation and the accumulation of evidence and objective fact within a deductive framework (moving from general to specific).

b. Positivists can study behavior from a biological, psychological, or a sociological perspective.

ii. Auguste Comte and the Methodology of Positivism 1. Comte is a 19th century French philosopher and social scientist.

a. Credited with being the father of sociology and advancing positivist sociology.

b. Insisted on testable hypotheses, using comparative methods, classification systems, systematic approaches to looking at history, and studying abnormality to understand normality.

iii. Early Nineteenth-Century Positivist Work 1. Statistics are integrated to positivistic studies to understand

phenomena – interested in the “average person.” 2. Biologists and anatomists also look at the relationship between

the human body and behavior. a. Phrenology – measuring and studying the size/shape of

the human head in an attempt to understand the relationship between the brain and human behavior – did become popular in the U.S. for a short period of time.

iv. The Italian Positivists 1. Cesare Lombroso

a. Viewed as the father of modern criminology b. Surgeon who did systematic study of soldiers, criminals,

the insane, and the general population. c. Pointed out that criminals have multiple physical

abnormalities of an atavistic (subhuman or primitive) or degenerative nature.

i. These were a biological throwback that he called the born criminal.

ii. Criminals manifest traits of sensory impairment, a lack of moral sense (no remorse), and use slang and have tattoos.

d. Created a classification scheme to distinguish types of criminals – the insane criminal, the epileptic criminal, and the occasional criminal (no biological basis).

2. Enrico Ferri a. Lombroso’s student b. Believed crime was caused by a number of factors:

physical (race, geography, temperature, and climate), anthropological (age, sex, organic, and psychological), and social factors (customs, economics, population density).

i. To study all of these positivistic methods need include criminal statistics and penal law – what he referred to as criminal sociology.

c. Law of criminal saturation i. In any given environment, with generally fixed

conditions, only a certain amount of crime can be realized.

3. Raffaele Garofalo a. Believed that civilized people have certain basic

sentiments about the values of human life and property; absence of these sentiments indicates a lack of concern for fellow humans.

b. Criminal behavior is a deficit of altruistic sensibility. i. This is more frequent among members of “certain

inferior races.” 1. He believed that certain people are less

morally developed than others. c. Did not believe in using legalistic definitions of crime – he

believed wanted to focus on actions that all civilized societies would readily recognize as offensive.

v. Twentieth-Century Positivism 1. Dugdale’s study of the Juke family and Henry Goddard’s study of

the Kallikak family both heritability of criminal traits. 2. Twin studies showed the influence of genes. 3. William Sheldon

a. Constitutional psychology – certain physical features result in propensities for crime.

b. Somatypes – a combination of body types and personality temperaments conducive or not to crime.

i. Ectomorph – small, introverted, and shy ii. Mesomorph – larger boned/muscular,

aggressive/outgoing

iii. Endomorph – soft/fat, relaxed, and extroverted c. Mesomorphs more likely than others to be criminal

4. William Healy – examined juveniles at psychiatric institutions and realized they had all experienced some form of trauma.

5. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) a. Institutionalized juveniles almost always score higher on

the psychopathic personality subscale of the MMPI. 6. Gabriel Tarde

a. Behavior, including criminal acts, involves a process of imitation. People who are inferior (less successful) imitate and copy those who are superior.

d. Classification of the School i. Characterized by a consensus perspective.

ii. Positivist theories can be either structural or processual. 1. Sociological positivist theories have been structurally oriented and

macrotheoretical. Biological and psychological theories have been processual and microtheoretical.