Ch 6; Theories of Crime

Question 1

Positivist School

Answer 1

A school of thought that attributed criminal behaviour to biological/psychological factors (Italian School)

Question 2

Chicago School

Answer 2

The first school of sociology in the US; contributed to social disorganization theory, cultural transmission theory, differential association theory, subcultural theory, the sociology of deviance + symbolic interactionism.

Question 3

Psychopathy

Answer 3

A personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy + an inability to feel for others.

Question 4

Classical School of Criminology

Answer 4

A body of work that emerged in Europe in the 17th + 18th centuries that argued people have the capacity to think rationally; contemporary deterrence theory rooted in this school of thought.

Question 5

Rational Choice Theory

Answer 5

A modern version of Classical School thinking originating in economics; it assumes that humans are rational + have free will, + that offenders make conscious choices to commit crime , based on cost-benefit analysis.

Question 6

Differential Association Theory

Answer 6

Sutherland’s theory that criminal behaviour is learned through the process of social interaction, + that the process includes the learning of criminal skills, motivations, attitudes, + rationalizations.

Question 7

hedonism

Answer 7

The view that pleasure is the primary good; the pursuit of pleasure.

Question 8

Utilitarianism

Answer 8

A philosophy that suggests reasoned decisions will produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Question 9

Free Will

Answer 9

A will whose choices are not conditioned or determined by factors external to itself. (Idea that it exists)

Question 10

Deterrence

Answer 10

A principle of sentencing/punishment intended to discourage citizens from offending/reoffending.

Question 11

Positivism

Answer 11

The application of the scientific method to the study of society, including the study of crime + criminals.

Question 12

Atavism

Answer 12

A term associated w/ Cesare Lombroso +the Positivist School of thought; the notion that criminals are less evolved than “normal” humans.

Question 13

Determinism

Answer 13

The doctrine that ones will is not the sole cause of choices, but that those choices are conditioned/ determined by factors external to ones will.

Question 14

Somatotyping

Answer 14

A research technique that links behavioural characteristics to body types (mesomorphy).