Ch. 9 Flashcards
Developmental theory:
Criminality is dynamic process; influenced by social experiences and individual characteristics
Life course theory:
Changes in criminality over life course by shifts in experience/life events
Propensity theory:
Stable unchanging feature, characteristic, property make some people crime prone
Latent trait:
Personal attribute/characteristic leads to propensity to crime
-Present at birth it established soon after
Trajectory theory:
View that independent paths to criminal career and different types of offenders
Population heterogeneity:
Predisposition to commit crime stable; those who have it to continue crime over life course
State dependence:
Predisposition to commit crime is constantly changing, effected by environment
Early onset:
Kids who begin engaging in antisocial behaviors at early age at risk for criminal career
What are the factors for early onset?
Inadequate emotional support, distant peer relationships, psychological issues
Problem behavior syndrome (PBS):
Cluster of antisocial behaviors that include family dysfunction, early pregnancy
What is PBS linked to?
Impulsiveness, rebelliousness, low ego
Crime and PBS -
Crime is type of social problem NOT the product is social problems
Is antisocial behavior contagious?
Yes, effect those around them
Age-Graded Theory:
Association between early delinquency and later adult deviance due to quality of relationships
Turning Points:
Launched and Sampson - life events that alter development of criminal career
Social capital:
Positive, life-sustaining realities w/ individuals/institutions
Does social capital support conventional behavior?
Yes, and it stops deviant behavior
Cumulative disadvantage:
Tendency of prior social problems to produce future ones and undermine success
What are the 2 major turning points?
1) Marriage
2) Career
What does “knife off” mean?
Ex: good school experience most important factor to stop crime
Love and criminality -
- Unstable marriages reduce conviction while last
- Love not sex is key to success; fills emotional void
Propensity:
Innate natural inclination or tendency to behave in a particular way
Propensity and crime -
Propensity to commit crime is stable, but opportunity changes over time
General theory of crime (GTC):
Links crime to impulsivity and lack of self control
Impulsive:
Lacking thought/deliberation in decision making; organize problems, lacks details, distracted
What effects self-control?
Both deficits, birth compilations, low birth weight effects
What does GTC fail at?
- Doesn’t explain racial/gender differences
- impulsivity only 1 trait linked w/ crime
- People change so does level is self control
What does trajectory theory believe?
More than 1 path of crime more than 1 class of offender -Late starters have trouble-free childhoods, but more involved in serious adult offending
Escalators:
Violence increases over time
Escalators and crime -
Likely to live in racially mixed communities, experience racism, less parental involvement
3 paths to criminal career -
1) Authority Conflict pathway
2) Covert pathway
3) Overt Pathway
Authorities conflict pathway -
Begins early age
• stubborn - defiance - avoidance
Covert pathway -
begins w/ minor behavior
•sneaky/underhanded = property crimes
Overt pathway -
Escalates aggressive acts
•aggressive = fighting = violent crimes
Adolescent limited offenders:
Kids who get into minor scrapes as youths but whose misbehavior ends when enter adulthood
Life-course persisters:
Delinquents l begin offending career at very very young age and continue offending into adulthood
Abstainers:
Adolescents who don’t engage in deviant behavior, places them outside norm for age group
Criminal behavior:
Engaging in antisocial acts early in adolescence and continuing illegal behavior thru adulthood
