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Youth Justice Discussion Cards > 5b - discussion cards > Flashcards

5b - discussion cards Flashcards

1
Q

Positivism and Criminology

A
  • Justice used to be dealt out by the church and the bourgeoisie; attributed evil to the devil.
  • Theory: integrated sets of propositions seeking to offer explanation of a problem
  • Positivists: 18th-century theorists who used the scientific method to determine the causes of crime
  • Assumes that the objective truth can be discovered — the universe is knowable
  • Largely eliminated the notion of evil as attributable to the devil and similar ideas
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2
Q

Classical Criminology

A
  • Cesare Beccaria: founder; people are rational
  • Rationality and free will are parts of human behaviour; people do a cost/benefit analysis in their mind
  • Main sentencing principle: punishment should be proportionate to the crime. Section 700
  • Excessive punishment would lead to an increase in crime; some evidence to support (brutalization)
  • People can control their behaviour
  • Costs and benefits of crime can be weighed
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3
Q

Biological Positivism

A
  • Cesare Lombroso: the born criminal
  • Focuses on links between biology and crime (biological approach) — hint of Darwinism
  • Lombroso saw common physical features among criminals
  • These external physical features included nose shape, tattoos, skull shape/contour, ear lobes, and
  • so on that denote criminality; phrenology
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4
Q

Types of People

A

Richard Dugdale

  • Richard Dugdale’s case study of the Jukes (1888)
  • proponent of biological approach; speculated a genetic component (word genetic was introduced in 1905)
  • Early ideas of inherited criminality
  • Used the Jukes family to argue that criminality and other social problems were inherited traits

​Herny Goddard

  • Henry Goddard extended this to include links between heredity, crime, and “feeblemindedness” (low IQ)
  • Goddard’s study of the Kallikak family (1912) links low intelligence (feebleminded) through family lineage
  • Goddard concludes that criminal behaviour is inherited
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5
Q

Rise of Eugenics

A
  • Eugenics rises as a branch of science
  • Laws are passed to sterilize the “feebleminded,” mentally ill, or even the epileptic
  • Problem: Laws target the poor, minorities, and women
  • Problem: Early IQ tests were based on cultural knowledge rather than intellectual ability
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6
Q

“Dangerous Class”

A
  • The growth of a “dangerous class” of people comprised mostly of the poor — a lot of orphans
  • came from Ireland and England
  • Parents were seen to be the source of the problem; children seen as “defectives”
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7
Q

20th C. Theory: Biological positivism persists

A
  • Twins and adoption studies: show the best link between biology and crime (however flawed)
  • Identical twins (100% similar) have higher rates of criminality than fraternal twins (50% similar)
  • Adoption: links exist between adopted criminal child & biological criminal parent
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8
Q

20th C. Theory: Body Type

A

Sheldon

  • somatotypes study suggested body type tied to criminality — somatotypes: mesomorphs most likely to be criminal (also ectomorph & endomorph). Book; “varieties of delinquent youth”. His study, funded by the Glucks — hasn’t been much supported.
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9
Q

20th C. Theory: Chromosomes

A
  • X chromosome comes from mother. Theories linking crime to an extra Y chromosome were not well supported
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10
Q

20th C. Theory: IQ, LD, ADHD

A
  • Notion of a relationship between IQ and delinquency persists but is highly controversial
  • There seems to be some relation between IQ and crime but is this a function of the research (examined youth already in system) or the test being used (biased)
  • LD (learning disability) relationship may not be about the LD directly but more about the responses of/to others to the persons disability; An LD youth (especially undiagnosed) who experiences challenges in shcool, with peers, and at home, may respond by gravitating to others who are involved in deviant or criminal behaviour (outsider gravitation); the link to delinquency also appears to exist but how is unclear.
  • ADHD has been linked to delinquency as a result of social relationship variables
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11
Q

How Do We Explain Biology?

A
  • Main focus of biological theories is in differentiating the criminal from the non-criminal
  • Must consider social and environmental impacts as well (and we cannot separate the person from these)
  • Biology links to criminality by creating a behavioural potential that is put into action by environmental factors; gene activation
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12
Q

Psychological Positivism

A

Antisocial characteristics identified to explain deviance

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13
Q

Psychological Positivism: Psychoanalytic theories

A
  • Developmental links to crime
  • Freud – underdeveloped/overdeveloped superego is linked to crime
  • Erikson – unsuccessful identity development linked to crime
  • It is challenging to confirm links from abstract notions to criminality or deviance.
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14
Q

Psychological Positivism: Behaviourism (Skinner)

A
  • Talked about role of reinforcement or punishment to control unlawful behaviour. B
  • Social learning theory (Bandura). Boxing Bobo behavioural experiment where the child beats the crap out of Bobo after watching.
  • Imitation is one way for criminal behaviour to be learned
  • Behaviourism is reflected in our current system of youth justice in that YCJA and the adversarial approach to crime attempts to impose a direct consequence for action and to attempt to extinguish problem behaviour though matching punishment to action
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15
Q

Psychological Positivism: Moral Development Theory

(Piaget, Kohlberg)

A
  • Kohlberg theory of moral development; Based on movement through stages; Delinquents haven’t evolved.
  • Piaget is to developmental psychology (child psych) what Freud is to psychoanalysis Delinquents are said to be at a lower stage of development than non-delinquents
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16
Q

Psychological Positivism: Personality Theory

A
  • Personality traits determine behaviour
  • Standardized tests are used to identify traits
  • Danger: People may be incorrectly identified as potentially criminal, based on scores
17
Q

Psychological Positivism: Antisocial Personality Theory

(Eysenck and others)

A
  • Characterized by impulsivity, insensitivity, lack of remorse
  • Psychopath, sociopath and antisocial personality are all 3 are distinct diagnoses. Popular culture often lumps them together.
  • A real diagnosis requires a standardized test such as PCL-R and person must meet DSM-V criteria.
  • Have difficulty developing lasting friendships, are controlling of others, and are often passive-aggressive
18
Q

Sociological Positivism

A

Focus is on environment and how it affects individual’s behaviour

19
Q

Sociological Positivism: Social Disorganization Theory

(Shaw and McKay)

A
  • Links crime and delinquency to regions of an urban area
  • Residential zone in transition: highest level of crime
  • Areas transitional or transient in nature
  • Social variables exist in zone that creates crime
20
Q

SocioPositivism: Anomie / Strain theory

(Merton; Father of Strain theory)

A
  • Strains cause crime (many strains but example is financial strain. A subjective concept and can exist in any facet of one’s life. )
  • Anomie is a state of “normlessness” that stresses people and leads to criminality; norms no longer constrain
  • Society creates universal goals but access to the means is stratified (limited); 5 modes of adaptation result
  • Five modes of adaptation: Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion,
  • Innovators are the most likely type found among delinquents
21
Q

Sociological Positivism: Delinquent subculture

(Cohen)

A
  • Status frustration
  • Youth gangs emerge when lower-class teens are unable to realize middle-class goals
22
Q

Sociological Positivism: Differential opportunity

(Cloward and Ohlin)

A
  • Adds illegitimate opportunity to Cohen’s model
  • Inequality exists in youth gangs: There is a hierarchy of opportunity
  • Also Anderson’s work out of the US: a subculture of young black males to whom respect is very important to.
23
Q

Sociological Positivism: Class culture

(Miller)

A
  • Cultural characteristics of lower class contribute to delinquency (focal concerns)
  • …being seen as causing trouble, tough, looking for excitement, fatalism and autonomy…but are these
  • specific to lower class culture? and are they stereotypes perpetuated by popular culture.
24
Q

Sociological Positivism: Differential Association

(Sutherland — a conflict theorist)

A
  • Laws represent concerns of the powerful
  • Crime is learned from others who are criminal
  • Behaviour (skills) and ideas (ways of thinking) about crime are learned
25
Q

Sociological Positivism: Drift and Delinquency

(David Matza)

A
  • Crime is situational rather than learned and criminals do feel remorse
  • Youth drift between conventional life and deviant life and rationalize/justify each as needed
  • youth can drift between conventional life and delinquency
26
Q

Sociological Positivism:

Techniques of neutralization (Sykes and Matza)

A
  • Juvenile delinquents justify their crime using five techniques
  • These techniques displace blame for the ongoing involvement in crime
  • Examples: “I was drunk”; “They deserved it”; “No one got hurt”; “I was protecting my brothers.”
  • Sociological Positivism
27
Q

Sociological Positivism: Control theory

(Reckless, Hirschi, and others)

A
  • Assumption is that we are only kept from criminal behaviour through socialization
  • Deviants have not developed controls needed to ward off criminal behaviour

Sub-theories

  • Containment (Reckless); containment was where there was a constant push/pull into deviant behaviour, juxtaposed by forces containing these pushes/pulls/impulses. Individuals are socialized to be positive and to have a strong sense of self. They are less likely to be involved in crime and deviance)
  • Social Bonding (Hirschi); 4 elements created attachment for young people and deter them from committing crimes;
  1. attachment to school & parents
  2. commitment to achievement & success
  3. involvement in activities, &
  4. belief in conventional values.
28
Q

Consider

A
  • If you had to develop your own explanation for why young people become involved in crime, would it be mainly biological, psychological, or sociological?
  • In recalling your own teenaged years, which theory best fits your behaviour in terms of deterring you (or not!!) from being involved in crime and delinquency?

Youth Justice Discussion Cards (6 decks)

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