What's the difference between historical biological and contemporary biosocial theories of crime?

What will be an ideal response?


Many older biological theories were relatively simplistic in their approach to explaining human behavior and crime and focused mainly on physical features and heredity as the source of criminal behavior. Newer biosocial perspectives hold that genes and related biological features are more likely to be facilitators rather than determinants of behavior and take a more in-depth look at human biology, examining a variety of influences on behavior.

One of the major distinguishing features between early and contemporary biological theories of criminality is the degree of emphasis placed on the interplay between biology and the social and physical environments. Most early biological theories downplayed the role of the social environment in producing behavior, while contemporary biosocial theorists see the interaction between the organism and its environment as the crucial determining factor in almost all behavior.

Criminal Justice

You might also like to view...

According to Mapp v. Ohio, if the defendant requests an attorney, the police must comply before interrogating the defendant. TRUE OR FALSE

What will be an ideal response?

Criminal Justice

At the organizational level, problem solving is assessed through the agency's establishment of problem-solving processes

a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Criminal Justice

Which of the following is an example of genocide?

a. Darfur b. Death of MLK c. Civil War d. The holocaust

Criminal Justice

______ view rapists as a psychologically unhealthy category of males, not as “normal men.”

A. Evolutionary theorists B. Social learning theorists C. Feminist theorists D. Neuroscience theorists

Criminal Justice