The Biological Theories Of Criminology

Theories have been used in many subjects such as science, philosophy, criminology etc… They are what we use to help us gain an understanding of the world we live in. In criminology, it is used to help us define criminality; what causes crime, and why an individual choose to commit crime. These models of comprehension come from three major explanations: sociological, biological and psychological. However, the two more well-known ones are biological and psychological. Biological focuses on the relation between how criminality traits can be hugely influenced by the environment and heredities. Rather than focusing on the genetic traits, psychological approach focuses on the individual`s criminal behaviour and is broken down to several components
Earlier positivist criminologists are known for their theory of “born criminals” as they were greatly inspired by Darwin and his theory of evolution. Biological approach reasoned that genetics play a vital part in the influence of behaviour. In fact, this thinking is also linked to the renowned debate of Nature vs Nurture, which later on resulted in an understanding that it is supposed to be Nature and Nurture (Anderson, 2014). Biological reasoning conducted the twin studies in order to test out the genetic traits of two types of twins (Dizygotic and Monozygotic twins) using concordance rates. As a result of these experiments, it is acknowledged that monozygotic twins tend to have higher concordance rates for criminal behaviour than dizygotic twins. Thus, it reveals that there is a strong genetic basis for criminal behaviour (Anderson, 2014). Not only did genetic play a role between the twins, the environment where the two lived in have an effect on bring out those criminal traits. This was tested out through adoption studies, which were helpful for “separating genetic and environmental influences” (Anderson, 2014, p.149). Adoptees with criminal biological parents were tested, and observed as they grow up in a family of non-criminal adoptive parents. As a result of this, it is believed that if the adoptee is raised in an ethical environment, it
Without biology, it is challenging for psychological approach to back up their theories. Like the key variables of biological factors, that helps psychological approach in assessing risk factors. For instance, Farrington’s long-term anti-social potential which includes key factors of impulsivity, low IQ etc. usually requires biology aspects to it (Heidt, 2014). Impulsivity can be the result of imbalanced hormones or neurotransmitters, and feeblemindedness can be due to genetics. Similarly, poor diet causing low amino acids and brain injuries to the frontal lobe also leads to long-term anti-social. People in this this category are prone to violent behaviours which helps criminologist asses risk