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Sonja has designed a study to analyze physical characteristics of a population of male criminals in a state prison system. She collects information on the height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and overall body type of criminals who have committed violent crimes. Which term is most closely related to Sonja's study?

A) Phrenology
B) Somatotyping
C) Atavism
D) Eugenics

User Pmod
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Final answer:

The most closely related term to Sonja's study, which analyzes the physical characteristics of criminals, is Somatotyping.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term that is most closely related to Sonja's study of the physical characteristics of male criminals in a state prison system is Somatotyping. Somatotyping involves categorizing human bodies based on their physiques and understanding how these physical attributes relate to temperaments, behaviors, and even social hierarchies. This effort to correlate physical characteristics with behavior has historical roots in a now-debunked practice known as phrenology, which attempted to link skull measurements to personality traits. However, unlike phrenology, somatotyping is not considered a pseudoscience.

Regarding the options provided, phrenology (option A) is the discredited practice of measuring parts of a person's skull to determine their personality traits, and this is not what Sonja's study is about. Atavism (option C) is an outdated concept that criminals exhibit physical characteristics of earlier evolutionary stages, while eugenics (option D) refers to a controversial movement aimed at improving the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding or other methods.

User Tiago Farias
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