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1.4 MORPHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF PERSONALITY 21

who are reasonably fit and muscular). The obvious flaw in this reasoning is that, compared to other somatotypes, mesomorphs are assumed to be more criminally inclined in the first place, rather than the more obvious conclusion that they are more likely to commit such crimes (for other reasons) and thus at a much higher risk of being caught, sentenced, and imprisoned. It is possible that those ‘pull ing the strings’ of organized criminal activities, and thus more criminally inclined, are of the other constitutional types whom Sheldon does not associate with a higher propensity to criminality. A quick scan of the mug shots of a mafia ‘family’ lends support to this alternative claim. The tough, strong, muscular ‘wise guys’—the ‘soldiers’ and‘associates’—engage in the street activity, whereas the ‘Captains’ and, most certainly, higher level ‘Under boss’ and ‘Boss’ stay secure in their luxury homes, where, with advancing age, they are inclined towards a more endo morphic lifestyle—although they may not have started out on their criminal careers this way, of course. Assessing personality on the basis of body shape has not proved reliable and it suffers from the typology approach that has fallen out of favour in current-day psychology (see Chapter 6). It tends also to rely on stigmatizing stereotypes of the personality character istics associated with various body types, such as ‘fat people are lazy’, and an intermediate body type is ‘most attractive’. In addition, Sheldon’s theory also confuses, rather than clarifies, causation: what is the relationship between personality traits and body types, and which one leads to the other? Sheldon’s extension of body type to the characteriza tion of criminals was based on the work Criminal Man written in 1876 by Cesare Lombroso,the‘father of mod ern criminology’. Apart from the flaws in his theory, Lombroso was one of the first to study crime and crim inals scientifically. His theory of the then-popular‘born criminal’ was very influential in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before we begin to explore Lombroso’s theories, it is worth mentioning that his opinions and descriptions are now outdated (like many we have discussed so far) and offensive. We reproduce them here not because of their 1.4.3 CESARE LOMBROSO— CRIMINALITY

intrinsic merit, but rather to show you how personality psychology evolved as a discipline—unfortunately, its roots are controversial and problematic, for a number of reasons, some of which will be further elaborated in Chapter 22. As you progress through this text, you will come across theories and opinions that are shocking and, indeed, hurtful to many. It is worth taking the time to prepare yourself for engaging with such content, and taking breaks from reading if you feel distress. At the same time, though, we will be providing you with the tools you need to scrutinize and critique these theories, like the subsequent researchers who advanced the study of individual differences into the rigorous and creditable area we see today. Lombroso assumed that a criminal disposition is inherited and that criminals have some characteristic physical features such as ‘hawk-like noses and blood shot eyes’. In Table 1.1 you can see some of his find ings. As we have already mentioned, Lombroso was one of the pioneers who studied crime using scientific methods. He was particularly interested in distin guishing between three groups: (a) ‘lunatics’ (a term that was in use in Lombroso’s time but is no longer

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TABLE 1.1 Lombroso’s description of physical characteristics of male and female criminals

Expressive face Manual dexterity Small, wandering eyes Cold, glazed look Bloodshot eyes Large, hawk-like noses

Male thief

Male habitual murderers

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‘Jug ears’

Male sex offenders

More ruthless than male criminals Lustful and immodest Smaller and more wrinkled, darker hair Smaller skulls Less prone to baldness Pronounced lower jaw More vicious than their male counterparts

Female criminals

Female committed crimes of passion

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