Somatotypes

William Sheldon deveoped a theory crime based on body types. The idea was that certain body builds would lead to certain characterisctics and could influence whether someone was more likely to commit a crime. The three types of bodies were
- Mesomorphs which are defined as muscular and well developed. This was seen as associated with people who are aggressive, violent, and most likely to commit a crime.
- Ect omorphs are defined as slender, tall, intellectual and not likely to commit a crime.
- Endomorphs were large heavy build and less intelligient.
Sheldons work was similar to Lombroso's theory of Atavistic Anomalies. Though both tried to portay thier research as scientific it was not. Much of what they assumed to be a result of genetics or biological functions could easily be explained by enviromental factors. Thier work was strongly influneced by thier own sterotyping and predjudice.