Chapter 4: Psychological Theories of Crime

Question 1

3 ways Sampson and Laub account for adolescent delinquency

Answer 1

1) structural background factors: house crowding, parent that is criminal
2) parents who are harsh disciplinarian or those who do not monitor child
3) child’s level of attachment and performance in school, peer groups

Question 2

Population heterogeneity

Answer 2

states that there is a stable propensity (inclination) to offend that varies from person to person

Question 3

State dependence

Answer 3

argues that individual offending patterns are stable due to effects of past behavior, offending results in access to opportunities; crime happens because of previous crime
- criminal record = less jobs

Question 4

Desistance

Answer 4

certain life course transitions can lead to a person resisting criminal activities

Question 5

Transitions

Answer 5

life events that unfold over a short period and can serve as turning points in an individual’s trajectory

Question 6

Trajectory

Answer 6

long-term pattern/pathway of development over the course of a lifespan

Question 7

Sampson and Laub’s 3 T’s

Answer 7

trajectories, transitions, and turning points

Question 8

Moffit’s 2 basic types of offenders

Answer 8

a) those who engage in deviance only when they are adolescents
b) those who begin their problem behavior during childhood and remain in criminal activities throughout their lives

Question 9

Moffit’s reasons as to why one engages in crime

Answer 9

outward growths of neuropsychology and developmental psychology