Chapter 2 Theories of Violence

Question 1

Intermale Aggression

Answer 1

Young men competing for status by being the toughest and the strongest.

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Question 2

Territorial Agression

Answer 2

Concerns animals that fight to control a piece of land they have marked or defined as their own.

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Question 3

Dominance

Answer 3

A higher rank or status in relationship to others, usually among males. To achieve dominance, males will commonly resort to violence. Once dominance is achieved, violence falls dramatically.

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Question 4

Status

Answer 4

Place in a hierarchy; men may act out violently when competing with other men for the higher status or rank in a group.

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Question 5

Atavisms

Answer 5

Evolutionary throwbacks; the idea that individuals are born to be violent and criminal, and they are identifiable through a number of distinguishing physical characteristics, including a small head with a large facial area; a sloping forehead; large, protruding ears; bushy eyebrows that meet over the nose; abnormally large teeth; and tattoos.

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Question 6

Serotonin

Answer 6

A substance that helps relay messages over the gap (the synapse) between nerve cells and allows the messages to proceed. Low levels of serotonin are linked to a variety of issues, including depression, suicide, and anxiety as well as impulsive acts of aggression.

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Question 7

Testosterone

Answer 7

A hormone; high levels of this hormone are linked to aggression.

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Question 8

Warrior Gene

Answer 8

A gene that produces an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), which breaks down brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Some people have a variation of the gene that results in low levels of this enzyme being produced. A growing body of research strongly suggests that it correlates with higher levels of delinquency; antisocial, impulsive, and aggressive behaviour; and hypersensitivity to real or imagined slights.

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Question 9

Phrenology

Answer 9

The study of the shape of the skull

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Question 10

Eugenics Movement`

Answer 10

Attempts to improve the human race through selective breeding practices, forced sterilization programs, and similar kinds of policies. These ideas formed the philosophical justification for many discriminatory laws, beliefs, and policies.

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Question 11

Brain Dysfunctions

Answer 11

Abnormalities in the brain that may predispose a person to become violent; for example, one study using electroencephalographic (EEG) brain scans found that those who showed a long-term pattern of violent behaviour were three times more likely (65%) to have abnormalities in their EEG readings than those who were rarely violent.

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Question 12

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

CTE

Answer 12

A neurodegenerative disease characterized by an abnormal accumulation of tau protein in the brain.

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Question 13

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Answer 13

Characterized as being very narcissistic, reckless, and emotionally shallow; people with this disorder are unable to empathize or feel compassion for others.

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Question 14

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 14

Contends that violence is one possible response for individuals who feel frustrated and thwarted in achieving something.

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Question 15

Sadism

Answer 15

The ability to derive pleasure from harming others.

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Question 16

Superpredators

Answer 16

A type of violent offender popularized by criminologist John Dilulio; radically impulsive, brutally remorseless youngsters (including preteen boys), who murder, assault, rape, rob, burglarize, deal deadly drugs, join gun-toting gangs, and create serious communal disorders.

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Question 17

Stress

Answer 17

Related behaviour outcomes, including violence.

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Question 18

Economic Deprivation

Answer 18

Poverty.

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Question 19

Relative Deprivation

Answer 19

A type of inequality; being poor and living within a relatively affluent community.

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Question 20

Shame

Answer 20

The painful feeling arising from awareness of something improper or dishonorable done by oneself or another.

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Question 21

Strain Theories

Answer 21

Theories that contend that blocked or frustrated needs and desires may result in criminality and violence.

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Question 22

General Strain Theory

Answer 22

Anomie theory refined by Robert Agnew to include strains other than economic conditions. Agnew argues that there are three main sources of strain: An individual is stopped from achieving a goal, something an individual possesses or values is removed or threatened, or something negative or unwanted is imposed on an individual. When somebody experiences one of these three situations, and when that occurrence is accompanied by difficulty in coping and a sense of anger, then violence may result as that person lashes out to resolve the situation through force and aggression.

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Question 23

Anomie

Answer 23

A state that results when people living in impoverished circumstances have limited access to conventional and legitimate means of success; anomie theory suggests they turn to violence as means to achieve success.

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Question 24

Institutional-Anomie Theory of Crime

Answer 24

Links crime to the existing social structure. Suggests that the high rates of crime and violence found in U.S. society can, in part, be explained with reference to the notion of the “American Dream,” which suggests that economic success can be achieved by anyone who works hard, plays by the rules, and is willing to engage in competition with others for jobs, income, and status. Our culture pressures people to strive relentlessly for success - primarily monetary success. Relentless pressure for financial success causes some to turn to crime.

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Question 25

Code of the Street

Answer 25

Code of behaviour that involves protecting one’s honor and reputation against acts of disrespect, even with violence, if necessary.

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Question 26

Differential Association Theory

Answer 26

Sociological variant of social learning theory; asserts that if you associate with individuals and groups who use violence and who have attitudes supporting and justifying violence, then you are more likely to engage in violent behaviour yourself.

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Question 27

Social Learning Theory

Answer 27

Combines various sociological and psychological insights in trying to make sense of human behaviour. We learn from the things we experience, the things we see, and the people with whom we associate. We learn from our surroundings. Experiences, acquaintances, friend and family. This theory contends that we learn aggression as we learn any other behaviour - by watching others and imitating their behaviour.

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Question 28

Jumping In

Answer 28

Ritualized violence, often part of initiation into gangs; proves the toughness of the new member but also symbolizes the centrality of violence to the link of the gang.

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Question 29

Signalling Theory

Answer 29

Suggests that criminals communicate through a wide variety of signals and signs that convey to others their credentials, their toughness, and their willingness to engage in violent and criminal activities; such signals also encompass physical indicators such as bullet and knife scares, tattoos, knowledge of criminal slang or argot, and other such displays and indicators.

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Question 30

Emotional Desensitization

Answer 30

Reduction in distress-related physiological reactivity to observations or thoughts of violence.

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Question 31

Script Theory

Answer 31

A psychological theory that explains knowledge and/or behaviour as occurring through scripts, which are mental constructs that dictate what needs to be done to achieve some action.

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Question 32

Cycle of Violence

Answer 32

The idea that those who experience and/or witness violence as children are more likely to become violent in adulthood compared with children who do not experience or witness violence.

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Question 33

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Theory

Answer 33

Sometimes referred to as the cycle of violence; contends that those who experience and/or witness violence as children are more likely to become violent in adulthood compared with children who do not experience or witness violence.

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Question 34

General Theory of Crime

Answer 34

Theorizes that individual criminality is the result of low self-control; low self-control is a product of early socialization and not a trait innate within individuals.

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Question 35

Self-Control

Answer 35

The general theory of crime contends that children must develop self-control through discipline and proper nurturance, otherwise low self-control will manifest.

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Question 36

Informal Social Controls

Answer 36

Attachments to family, peers, and conventional activities such as school.

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Question 37

Dehumanization

Answer 37

The process of removing ethical restrictions against violence, cause individuals to perceive the victims to be less than human.

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Question 38

Deindividuation

Answer 38

Refers to the long-noted phenomenon of individuals losing their sense of self and individuality when in a group. This loss of a personal identity means that individuals are more capable of acting outside of the boundaries of their normal behaviour.

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Question 39

Theory of Moral Disengagement

Answer 39

Suggests that persons selectively disengage moral prohibitions against negative or destructive behaviour in order to avoid seeing themselves as bad people.

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Question 40

Conformity to Peer Pressure

Answer 40

Related to social learning theory; recognizes the strong rewards that peer groups can provide to their individual manners.

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