Deck 7: Biological Positivism

Question 1

The finding that criminal conduct tends to run in families may be an indicator of the influence of heredity, but might equally be an indicator of the influence of environmental factors such as socialisation and peer group.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Do biological factors play a part in the determining of criminal conduct?

Answer 2

Whilst Biological factors almost certainly have some role in the determination of criminal conduct the extent of this role is generally (very) small and such effects are heavily mediated by, or only occur in interaction with, broader social or environmental factors.

Question 3

How do lie detectors work?

Answer 3

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) connects several of the body's organs to the CNS. It is a motor system with an important role in the regulation of breathing, the heart rate and the operation of various glands. One common application of ANS measurement is the use of lie detectors. Generally measuring ANS activity via the sweat glands in the hands, lie detectors measure the degree of arousal - the working assumption being that people are more likely to be aroused (nervous, tense, anxious, fearful, frightened) when lying.

Question 4

Biological positivism is primarily concerned with:

A)the study of the 'dark figure' of crime
B)the interaction between biological and social factors
C)Body size and shape
D)Genetic predisposition and criminality

Question 5

What are the problems with so called twins studies?

A)twins do not like being separated at birth
B)separated twins might share similar home environments
C)twins living together might share a close psychological bond
D)official records of twins offending behaviour might be inaccurate

Question 6

The 'nature versus nurture' debate is important for criminologists because:

A)genetics can provide the answer to why people commit crime
B)they want to discover if there is a 'criminal gene'
C)they want to know if family and upbringing have any effect on offending behaviour
D)inherited traits may have an effect on offending patterns

Question 7

Some of the controversial and negative effects of the early genetics movement were policy initiatives such as:

A)permanent segregation
B)forced labour
C)marriage restraints and sterilisation
D)restrictive immigration policies

Question 8

In what year did involuntary sterilisation of the 'feeble minded' end in America?

A)1800
B)1960
C)1980
D)1974

Question 9

What is the link between testosterone and violence?

A)testosterone makes men hostile
B)violent men have abnormally high levels of testosterone
C)men are more violent than women
D)there may be some link between hormone levels and aggression

Question 10

Why would criminologists study children who have been adopted soon after birth?

A)to see whether they do well at school
B)to compare the adopted child's criminal record with biological and adoptive parents
C)to provide a basis for looking at parenting skills
D)to make sure they are living in good homes

Question 11

Non-identical twins are:

A)monozygotic (MZ)
B)always the same sex
C)dizygotic twins (DZ)
D)similar in eye colour

Question 12

What percentage of boys in a study by Osborn and West in the 1970s whose fathers had criminal records had criminal records themselves?

A)0.4
B)0.33
C)0.5
D)0.75

Question 13

Eugenics is the study of:

A)twins separated at birth
B)genetic factors
C)why some people are criminals
D)a rationale for imprisoning some people

Question 14

Diet and nutrition play a part in crime and criminal behaviour.

Question 15

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a cause of criminal behaviour.

Question 16

What sort of methodological problems beset research on biological influences on criminal behaviour?