chap 3-5 Flashcards
Rational choice/ choice theory
Assumes that people have “free will” to choose their behavior
Delinquent motives include
Economic need/opportunity
Problem solving
False expectations
Opportunity
many youths from ____families choose to break the law
affluent
Routine Activities Theory 3 variables
The availability of suitable targets
The absence of capable guardians
The presence of motivated offenders
reducing delinquency points
Potential offenders are carefully guarded/monitored
The means to commit crime are controlled
Criminal atavism
Idea that delinquents manifest physical anomalies that make them biologically and psychologically similar to our primitive ancestors
Biosocial theory
association between biological makeup, environmental conditions, and antisocial behaviors
Neurological dysfunction
associated with antisocial behavior.
adhd, learning disabilities, arousal theory.
Genetic Influences
Assumes that:
Antisocial behavior is inherited
The genetic makeup of parent is passed on to children
Three psychological perspectives
Psychodynamic theory
Behavioral theory
Cognitive theory
Psychodynamic theory
holds that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes.
Originated by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Behavioral theory
Argument that personality is learned throughout life during interactions with others.
Kids learn through reward and punishment
Cognitive theory
Studies the perception of reality and the mental processes required to understand the world we live in
Psychopathic personality
A person lacking in warmth, exhibiting inappropriate behavior responses, and unable to learn from experience.
Defined by persistent violations of social norms
What are the social factors believed to cause or affect delinquent behaviors?
Interpersonal interactions, Social conditions, Poverty, Racial disparity
Three main sociological theoretical groups:
Social structure theories/process theories
Critical theories
Oscar Louis (1966)
coined the phrase “culture of poverty”
William Julius Wilson
created the “truly disadvantaged”. The impoverished are deprived of a standard of living enjoyed by the other citizens, iving in deteriorated inner cities
The theories tie delinquency rates to:
Socioeconomic conditions
e.g., poverty, neighborhood deterioration
Cultural values
e.g., gang culture
social structure theories include:
Social disorganization
Anomie/strain
Cultural deviance
Strain
A condition caused by the failure to achieve one’s social goals
Anomie
Robert Merton (1910-2003)
A lack of norms or clear social standards
Sources of strain
Failure to achieve positively valued goals
Removal of positively valued stimuli
Presentation of negative stimuli
Sociologists argue that the root cause of delinquency may be traced to
learning delinquent attitudes from peers, experiencing conflict in the home, etc.
Four main elements of delinquency
Attachment
Commitment
Belief
Involvement
Critical Theory
believes/states Society is in a constant state of internal conflict.
Those in power use the justice system to maintain their status while keeping others subservient
Social process theories
states Delinquency can be prevented by strengthening the socialization process
e.g., Boys and Girls Clubs
Social structure theories
Social programs have been designed to reduce/ eliminate delinquency
e.g., Operation Weed and Seed
The Life Course View
Children as young as toddlers begin relationships and behaviors that will determine their entire life course
developmental theory
most important factor to delinquency
family relationships
Others include physical and mental factors such as intelligence, mental disease, and physique
Life course concepts
Age of onset
Problem behavior syndrome
Continuity of crime and delinquency
Continuity of Crime and Delinquency
kids who become persist offenders engage in more aggressive acts, and are continually involved in theft offenses and violent offenses
The best predictor of future criminality is past criminality
Age-Graded theory
Age-graded theory was first expressed in “Crime in the Making,” by Sampson and Laub.
places a lot of emphasis on the stability brought about by romantic relationships
Social Capital
Positive relations with individuals and institutions that support conventional behavior and inhibit deviant behavior
Losing or wasting social capital increases the likelihood of getting involved in delinquency
Michael & Travis Hirschi
Integrates control with biosocial, psychological, routine activities, and rational choice theories
Life-course persistent offenders:
Delinquents who begin their offending career at a very early age and continue to offend well into adulthood
Adolescent-limited offenders:
Those who get into minor scrapes as youth but whose misbehavior ends when they enter adulthood
Abstainers
Social introverts whose unpopularity shields them from group pressure to commit delinquent acts
Across Ages
Unique and highly effective drug intervention program that pairs older adult mentors (age 55 and above) with young adolescents, mainly those entering middle school (ages 9 to 13)
Psychodynamic theory suggests that
imbalanced personality traits, caused by early childhood long-term psychological difficulties
overt pathway
path consisting of aggression, fighting, and violence.
covert path
consisting of minor behaviors.
property damage, and moderate to serious forms of delinquency
authority conflict pathway
consisting in sequence of stubborn behavior, defiance, and authority avoidance
Social disorganization states
a person’s physical and social environments are responsible for the behavioral choices
Social control
The ability of an organized community to regulate itself via formal/informal social control
Situational crime prevention
To reduce delinquency, crime control must recognize the characteristics of sites and situations that are at risk to crime
