What is the atavistic form? Can we determine what a criminal looks like? Various theories on what makes a criminal have explored the origins of offending behaviours. Whilst some approaches suggest our personality is key in determining criminal capabilities, others lean more towards a biological explanation.
Centred around the theory of positivist criminology, Cesare Lombroso developed his theory on the atavistic form by examining the physical features of criminals. But how legitimate are the ideas behind the atavistic form, and what are the problems with Lombroso's theory?
- We are going to explore Cesare Lombroso's atavistic form. First, we will introduce the atavistic form in psychology.
- Then, we will explore the atavistic form in the context of crime.
- We will highlight the five atavistic form features, including a few examples of the atavistic form.
- Following this, we will evaluate the atavistic form explanation for offending behaviours, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the atavistic form in psychology.
Fig. 1 - Lombroso theorised that criminals had distinct physical features.
Atavistic Form: Psychology
Centred around positivist criminology, the atavistic form is a biological explanation of offending behaviours. Cesare Lombroso studied the characteristics of criminals in the late 1800s and suggested criminal behaviours are inherited, and criminals have identifiable physical characteristics that differentiate them from members of society. Criminals' are genetic throwbacks, and atavistic features are primitive features signalling their unlawful dispositions.
Lombroso's theories were amongst the first to explore the role of biology in crime, lending scientific credibility to psychological theories investigating crime.
Fig. 2 - Lombroso highlighted key physical characteristics identifiable in criminals (supposedly)¹.
His work was pioneering at the time; however, despite significantly impacting criminal psychology, his work is outdated by today's standards.
In his book "The Criminal Man" (1876), Lombroso suggested a biological theory for offender profiling.
Atavistism: Criminology
Lombroso is often considered the father of modern criminology, and his theory on the atavistic form resonated well amongst those interested in criminology at the time.
Criminology is the study of crime and criminal behaviours. Criminology first began to take off in the late 1700s
Lombroso suggested that certain people within society were born with an inclination to commit criminal behaviours. Upon conducting post-mortems on criminals, he identified key characteristics associated with the atavistic form.
Lombroso understood the word atavistic as primitive or less developed by evolution.
Atavistic Form: Crime
According to Lombroso, individuals engaging in crime presented "atavistic" features. These atavistic or primitive features suggested that the criminals had not followed the usual evolutionary development other members of society had gone through.
Criminals experience some form of a genetic throwback, increasing the likelihood that they will engage in crime.
According to Lombroso's atavistic form of crime, criminals could not fit into society because they inevitably engaged in criminal behaviours.
- In this way, criminals had no free will. Criminality was meant to be inherited through genes and was reflected in individuals' physical characteristics.
Essentially, criminals were biologically different to non-criminals.
Given that criminals had a savage nature, they were not able to successfully regulate their impulses to control their criminal desires.
The Five Atavistic Form Features
Lombroso said atavistic features were physical characteristics common to all criminal offenders. Concerning the face and head, Lombroso identified the following characteristics five atavistic form features:
- Strong jaw.
- High cheekbones.
- Facial asymmetry.
- Sloping or non-horizontal brows.
Fig. 3 - Another example of Lombroso's physical characteristics highlights the different features of a "criminal"².
Lombroso also identified other general features of criminals:
- Dark skin.
- Presence of extra fingers and/or toes.
- Presence of extra nipples.
- Insensitivity to pain.
Looking further, Lombroso could distinguish among particular types of offenders given their physical characteristics. He stated, for instance, that:
In general, thieves are notable for their expressive faces and manual dexterity, small wandering eyes that are often oblique in form, thick and close eyebrows, distorted or squashed noses, thin beards and hair, and sloping foreheads. Like rapists, they often have jug ears. Rapists, however, nearly always have sparkling eyes, (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2009, p. 220.)
The following offender types presented these atavistic form features (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2009):
| Offender Type | Atavistic Features |
| Thieves. | Expressive faces, jug ears, manual dexterity, small wandering eyes, thick and close eyebrows, thin bears and hair and sloping foreheads. |
| Rapists. | Jug ears, sparkling eyes, delicate features, swollen lips and eyelids, frail and hunchbacked. |
| Murderers. | Cold, glassy stares, bloodshot eyes, a large hawk-like nose, strong jaw and wide cheekbones. |
Before writing his book, Lombroso conducted extensive research on the facial characteristics of convicts. Given his own nationality and location, he only studied criminal offenders. A negative is that he did not consider a non-criminal control group to compare his findings.
Evaluate the Atavistic Form Explanation for Offending
Understanding the disadvantages and advantages of the atavistic forms in psychology is essential. Whilst Lombroso is said to be the father of criminology; his ideas have not truly stood the test of time. Let's explore the advantages and disadvantages of the atavistic forms in psychology.
Advantages of Atavistic Forms in Psychology
One of the main reasons Atavistof Form is explained these days is due to the impact of this proposal in the 1800s. Lombroso is known as the father of modern criminology because he was the first to suggest that biological influences played a role in criminal behaviours.
Although it is known today that facial characteristics cannot be used to explain criminal acts outright, Lombroso's theory shifted the approach to explaining crime, leaving behind the moral approach and emphasising the biological approach, combining it with psychological and social approaches.
Disadvantages of Atavistic Forms in Psychology
DeLisi (2012) criticised Lobroso's ideas for their racist and sexist nature.
- This, in turn, questions whether Lombrosio's ideas were merely expressions of his prejudice towards specific individuals in society.
Further criticism of Lombroso's contribution relates to the methodology employed.
- Rather than comparing non-criminals and criminals, Lombroso merely focused on criminals, which questions the validity and reliability of the research. Lombroso could not definitively say these features were present only in criminals.
- In line with this criticism and challenging Lombroso's ideas, Goring (1913) compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals and found no evidence that one group had specific facial characteristics.
Further methodological issues emerge with the observation that Lombroso did not control for potential confounding variables such as the socio-cultural characteristics of the criminals. It is well known these days that low socio-economical status sets individuals at risk of committing crimes.
Unfortunately, Lombroso did not gather this type of data in his sample, which further limits the application of his ideas.
Atavistic Form - Key takeaways
- Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist who studied the characteristics of criminals in the late 1800s. He proposed the atavistic form, which suggested criminals have identifiable physical characteristics that differentiate them from society.
- Lombroso believed in positivist criminology. He suggested the atavistic or primitive features that criminals had were due to them not following the normal evolutionary development other members of society had gone through.
- Identified atavistic features include a strong jaw, high cheekbones, facial asymmetry and sloping brows. Lombroso highlighted how murderers, fraudsters, and sexual deviants had slightly different but primarily similar features.
- An advantage of Lombroso's theory is that it introduced the role of biology in criminal behaviours, combining multiple approaches and lending scientific credibility to the topic.
- However, Lombroso's ideas have been criticised for being racist and for methodological inconsistencies.
References
- Fig. 2 - Plate 6 of Cesar Lombroso's L'Homme Criminel by Wellcome Images, Public Domain Mark
- Fig. 3 - Plate 5 of Cesar Lombroso's L'Homme Criminel, Rome. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark
- Tibbetts, S. G., & Hemmens, C. (2009). Criminological theory: A text/reader. Sage.
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