Deviant behavior is any behavior that is contrary to the dominant norms of society.

There are many

different theories on what causes a person to perform deviant behavior, including biological
explanations, psychological explanations , and sociological explanations. Following are some of the
major biological explanations for deviant behavior.
Biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness caused by
pathological factors that are specific to certain types of individuals. They assume that some people
are "born criminals" who are biologically different than non-criminals. The underlying logic is that
these individuals have a mental and physical inferiority, which causes an inability to learn and follow
the rules. This in turn leads to criminal behavior.

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It should be noted that since their inception, all of the following theories have been discredited.
Lombrosos Theory
Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist of the mid to late 1800s. He rejected the Classical
School, which believed that crime was a characteristic of human nature and instead believed that
criminality was inherited. From this belief, he developed a theory of deviance in which a persons
bodily constitution indicates whether or not an individual is a "born criminal." These "born criminals"
are a throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution with the physical makeup, mental capabilities,
and instincts of primitive man.
In developing his theory, Lombroso observed the physical characteristics of Italian prisoners and
compared them to those of Italian soldiers. He concluded that the criminals were physically different.
The physical characteristics that he used to identify prisoners included an asymmetry of the face or
head, large monkey-like ears, large lips, a twisted nose, excessive cheekbones, long arms, and
excessive wrinkles on the skin. Lombroso declared that males with five or more of these
characteristics could be marked as born criminals. Females, on the other hand, only needed as few
as three of these characteristics to be born criminals.
Sheldons Theory of Body Types
William Sheldon was an American psychologist from the early to mid 1900s who spent his life
observing the varieties of human bodies. As a result, he came up with three types of human bodies:
ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs.
Ectomorphs are thin and fragile. Their body is described as flat-chested, fragile, lean, lightly muscled,
small shouldered, and thin. Celebrities that could be described as ectomorphs include Kate Moss,
Edward Norton, and Lisa Kudrow.
Endomorphs are considered soft and fat. They are described as having a soft body, underdeveloped
muscles, a round physique, and they often have difficulty losing weight. John Goodman, Roseanne
Barr, and Jack Black are all celebrities that would be considered endomorphs.
Mesomorphs are muscular and athletic. Their body is described as hourglass shaped (female) or
rectangular shaped (male), muscular, has excellent posture, gains muscle easily, and has thick skin.

Famous mesomorphs include Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. Mesomorphs, according to
Sheldon, are the most prone to commit crime or deviant behaviors.
Y Chromosome Theory
The extra Y chromosome theory is the belief that criminals have an extra Y chromosome, giving them
an XYY chromosome makeup rather than an XY makeup, that creates a strong compulsion within
them to commit crimes. This person is sometimes called the "super male." Some studies have found
that the proportion of XYY males in the prison population is higher than the general male population
(1 to 3 percent versus less than 1 percent), however other studies dont provide evidence that
supports this theory.

A biological theory of deviance proposes that an individual

deviates from social norms largely because of their biological
makeup.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Outline the main assumptions of three biological theories of deviance

KEY POINTS

A biological interpretation of formal deviance was first advanced by the Italian School of
Criminology, a school of thought originating from Italy during the mid-nineteenth century.
The school was headed by medical criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who argued that criminality
was a biological trait found in some human beings. The term Lombroso used to describe the
appearance of organisms resembling ancestral forms of life is atavism.
The idea of atavism drew a connection between an individual's appearance and their biological
propensity to deviate from social norms.
Enrico Ferri took this idea farther, arguing that anyone convicted of a crime should be
detained for as long as possible. According to Ferri's line of thought, if individuals committed
crimes because of their biological constitution, what was the point of deterrence or rehabilitation?
Garofalo is perhaps best known for his efforts to formulate a "natural" definition of crime.
According to his view, those who violate human universal laws are themselves "unnatural".

TERMS

Italian School of Criminology

The Italian school of criminology was founded at the end of the 19th century by Cesare Lombroso
(18351909) and two of his Italian disciples, Enrico Ferri (18561929) and Raffaele Garofalo
(18511934).

penology
The processes devised and adopted for the punishment and prevention of crime.

atavism
The reappearance of an ancestral characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence.

EXAMPLES

Historically, biological theories of crime assumed criminal tendencies could be discovered by

looking at physical traits that relate to stereotypical suspects, like having a lot of tattoos or having a
muscular physique.
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FULL TEXT

A biological theory of deviance proposes that an individual deviates from social

normslargely because of their biological makeup. The theory primarily pertains to formal
deviance, using biological reasons to explain criminality, though it can certainly extend to
informal deviance.

Cesare Lombroso
A biological interpretation of formal deviance was first advanced by the Italian School of
Criminology, a school of thought originating from Italy during the mid-nineteenth
century. The school was headed by medical criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who argued
that criminality was a biological trait found in some human beings. Enrico Ferri and
Raffaelo Garofalo continued the Italian School as Lombroso's predecessors. The Italian
School was interested in why some individuals engaged in criminal behavior and others
did not. Their explanation was that some individuals had a biological propensity for crime.
The term Lombroso used to describe the appearance of organisms resembling ancestral
forms of life is atavism. He belived that atavism was a sign of inherent criminalities, and
thus he viewed born criminals as a form of human sub-species. Lombroso believed that
atavism could be identified by a number of measurable physical stigmataa protruding
jaw, drooping eyes, large ears, twisted and flattish nose, long arms relative to the lower
limbs, sloping shoulders, and a coccyx that resembled "the stump of a tail. " The concept of
atavism was glaringly wrong, but like so many others of his time, Lombroso sought to
understand behavioral phenomena with reference to the principles of evolution as they
were understood at the time.

Enrico Ferri
Lombroso's work was continued by Erico Ferri's study of penology, the section of
criminology that is concerned with the philosophy and practice of various societies in
their attempt to repress criminal activities. Ferri's work on penology was instrumental in
developing the "social defense" justification for the detention of individuals convicted of
crimes. Ferri argued that anyone convicted of a crime should be detained for as long as
possible. According to Ferri's line of thought, if individuals committed crimes because of
their biological constitution, what was the point of deterrence or rehabilitation? For Ferri,
none of these therapeutic interventions could change the offender's biology, making them
pointless. After an individual had been convicted of a crime, the state's responsibility was
to protect the community and prevent the criminal from doing more harmas his
biology determined he would do.

Raffaelo Garofalo
Garofalo is perhaps best known for his efforts to formulate a "natural" definition of crime.
Classical thinkers accepted the legal definition of crime uncritically; crime is what the law
says it is. This appeared to be rather arbitrary and "unscientific" to Garofalo, who wanted
to anchor the definition of crime in something natural. Most significant was Garofalo's
reformulation of classical notions of crime and his redefinition of crime as a violation of
natural law, or a human universal.
A human universal is a trait, characteristic, or behavior that exists across cultures,
regardless of the nuances of a given context. A famous example of a universal is the incest
taboo. Exempting a very small number of small communities, all human cultures have a

taboo against incest in some form. Garofalo's presentaion of crime as a violation of a

human universal allows for one to characterize criminals as unnatural. As soon as
criminals are marked as inhuman or unnatural, the public has license to think of an
individual convicted of a crime as completely unlike the rest of society; a whole new range
of punishments are authorized, including serious social stigmatization.

Biological Theories Today

Italian School biological explanations have not resonated in criminal justice systems in
America. However, some traces still exist. Now, the conversation about crime and
biological explanations focuses more on the relationship between genetics and crime
than the relationship between phenotypic features and crime. Because the modern
emphasis is on actual genetics rather than phenotypic expressions of genes, stereotyping
of individuals with "criminal" traits or propensities is more difficult. For example, when
walking down the street, you can tell who has a protruding jaw, but you can't tell who has
the genetic combination that increases one's propensity for aggression. Though the debate
has mutated, a biological explanation for deviance and crime is still commonplace.