Atavistic features 
5.7. Biological and Psychological Positivism 
BRIAN FEDOREK 
Trait theories assume there are fundamental differences that differentiate criminals from non-criminals. 
These differences can be discovered through scientific investigations. Additionally, many early biological 
and psychological theories used hard determinism, which implies people with certain traits will be criminals. 
Cesare Lombroso was a trained medical doctor in Italy when he had an epiphany. As he was performing 
autopsies on Italian prisoners, he started to believe many of these men had different physical attributes 
compared to law-abiding people and that these differences were biologically inherited. In 1876, five 
years after Darwin’s claim about some humans might be evolutionary reversions, Lombroso wrote The 
Criminal Man.
1 Lombroso claimed 1/3 of all offenders were born criminals who were atavistic (evolutionary 
throwbacks). 
He identified a list of physical features he believed to 
deviate from the “normal” population. These included an 
asymmetrical face, monkey-like ears, large lips, receding 
chin, twisted nose, long arms, skin wrinkles, and many 
more. Lombroso believed he could identify criminals 
simply by the way they physically looked. Even though 
his theory was widely rejected years later, it served as an 
example of the first attempt to explain criminal behavior 
scientifically. 
 
 
A few decades after Lombroso’s theory, Charles 
Goring took Lombroso’s ideas about physical differences 
and added mental deficiencies too. In The English Convict, 
Goring claimed there were statistical differences in 
physical attributes and mental defects. The focus on mental qualities led to a new kind of biological 
positivism – the Intelligence Era. Alfred Binet, who created the Intelligence Quotient Test, believed 
intelligence was dynamic and could change. He wanted to identify youths who were not performing well 
1. Lombroso, C. (1876). The criminal man. 
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