Chapter 3 Flashcards
Choice Theory
The view that people will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions.
Trait theory
Holds that youth engage in delinquent behavior due to aberrant physical or psychological traits that govern behavioral choices. Delinquent actions are impulsive or instinctual rather than rational choices.
Free will
The view that youths are in charge of their own destinies and are free to make personal behavior choices unencumbered by environmental factors.
Classical theory
The view that people weigh possible benefits and disadvantages before they decide to take action. It follows that to deter crime punishment must outweigh the benefit of illegal gain.
Edgework
Delinquent acts motivated by the need for excitement, that provides thrills and danger.
Routine activities theory
The view that crime is a normal function of the routine activities of modern living. Offenses can be expected if there is a motivated offender and a suitable target that is not protected by capable guardians.
Predatory crimes
Violent crimes against persons and crimes in which an offender attempts to steal an object directly from its holder.
General deterrence
Crime control policies that depend on the fear of criminal penalties, such as long prison sentences for violent crimes. The aim is to convince law violators that the pain outweighs the benefit of criminal activity
Specific deterrence
Sending convicted offenders to secure incarceration facilities so that punishment is severe enough to convince them not to repeat their criminal activity.
Co-offending
Committing criminal acts in groups.
Situational crime prevention
A crime prevention method that relies on reducing the opportunity to commit criminal acts by making them more difficult to perform, reducing their reward, and increasing their risks.
Hot spot
A particular location or address that is the site of repeated and frequent criminal activity.
Crackdown
A law enforcement operation that is designed to reduce or eliminate a particular criminal activity through the application of aggressive police tactics, usually involving a larger than usual contingent of police officers.
Criminal atavism
The idea that delinquents manifest physical anomalies that make them biologically and physiologically similar to our primitive ancestors, savage throwbacks to an earlier stage of human evolution.
Bio social theory
The view that both thought and behavior have biological and social behaviors.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical compounds that influence or activate brain functions. They are brain chemicals that communicate information throughout and between the brain and body.
Minimal brain dysfunction (MBD)
Damage to the brain itself that causes antisocial behavior injurious to the individual’s lifestyle and social adjustments.
Learning disabilities
Neurological dysfunctions that prevent an individual from learning to his or her potential.
Psychodynamic theory
Branch of psychology that holds that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes developed early in childhood.
Bipolar disorders
A psychological condition producing mood swings between wild elation and deep depression.
Attachment theory
Bowlby’s view that the ability to have an emotional bond to another person has important lasting psychological implications for normal development from childhood into adulthood.
Identity crisis
Psychological state, identified by Erikson, in which youths face inner turmoil and uncertainty about life roles.
Behaviorism
Branch of psychology concerned with the study of observable behavior rather than unconscious processes; focuses on particular stimuli and responses to them.
Social learning theory
The view that behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through intimate contact with others or indirectly through media. Interactions that are rewarded are copied, whereas those that are punished are avoided.
Cognitive theory
The branch of psychology that studies the perception of reality and the mental processes required to understand the world we live in.
Extraversion
Impulsive behavior without the ability to examine motives and behavior.
Neuroticism
A personality trait marked by unfounded anxiety, tension, and emotional instability.
Psychopathic Personality(Sociopathic or Antisocial Personality)
A person lacking in warmth, exhibiting inappropriate behavior responses, and unable to learn from experience. The condition is defined by persistent violations of social norms, including lying, stealing, truancy, inconsistent work behavior, and traffic arrests.
Nature theory
The view that intelligence is inherited and is a function of genetic makeup.
Nurture theory
The view that intelligence is determined by environmental stimulation and socialization.
