criminology exam 1 Flashcards
criminology definition
study of the various factors and processes of making and breaking laws & causes of crime
crime definition
an offense that merits community condemnation and punishment; a major social problem
origins of criminology
enlightenment period & family revenge model
-you did something to my family & now my family has right to do something to you
-if you die = guilty, if you survive = innocent
trial by ordeal
accused subjected to some kind of rigged test to determine guilt or innocent
-people are possessed by devils or evil spirits
(ex: thrown in lake with brick tied around feet)
salem witch trials
-witches and evil spirits
-being persecuted was out of the persons control
-could accuse any woman of being a witch with really any reason
theory definition
an explanation that attempts to make some sense and order of events
-we need to know to understand
scientific theories
used to explain or predict behavior
cause and effect variables
cause = independent variables
effect = dependent variables
antisocial personality disorder (sociopath/psychopath)
-must be 18 y.o
-preceded by a conduct disorder in childhood
-disorder criteria in DSM-V-TR
-lack of empathy/ability to put self in someone else’s shoes
-incapable of intimacy - used to exploit others
-manipulative, no remorse, deceitful, callous, hostile
-less than 3% of US population is diagnosed - very rare and unusual, but also maybe because often don’t go to therapy
-not every sociopath is a killer & not every killer is a sociopath
conduct disorder
-childhood disorder
-destruction of property
-deceitfulness and theft
-different from childhood mistakes or acting out
-serious violation of rules and laws (rape, murder, assault, etc)
-aggression towards people and animals
social learning theory
all behaviors are the result of socialization, criminal and otherwise
-criminal behavior is learned and internalized
-people model/imitate what appears to work for others
Sutherland
founding father of positivistic criminology
-rejected the idea that crime was inherited or predetermined by bio or psycho factors
-emphasized role of socialization
-agents of socialization: parents, family, and friends
primary group interactions
-provide greater exposure to observations and values
9 propositions of social learning theory
- criminal behavior is learned
- learned through interactions with others by communication
- not everyone has the same influence - inmate personal groups
- criminal behavior is learned - including every element of crime
- delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violating the law
- most impacted relationships are longest running
- criminal behaviors differently learned
- specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definition of codes as favorable/unfavorable
- motives attributable to crime or be satisfied by criminal or non-criminal behaviors
Akers
people we spend the most time with shape our reality
-everything we know about what is right/wrong is learned
-behaviors associated with pleasure are more likely to be continued
-people tend to stop behavior that causes them pain (typically short lived behaviors)
reinforcement definition
when you try to get a behavior to continue
punishment definition
when you try to discourage/extinguish a behavior
positive & negative definitons
positive = adding/giving
negative = removing/taking away
positive reinforcement
doing something that causes others to give you something you like
negative reinforcement
doing something that causes something to be taken away that you dont like
positive punishment
punish the person by adding an aversive stimulus
ex: inflicting pain, hitting, yelling, etc
negative punishment
punish the person by taking away something they like
classical crim
oldest explanation of crime
-began 1764
-said that only justice system should be built on preventing social harm rather than moral retribution
deterrence of crime
-through rational punishment and consequences
-based on the assumption that people are generally but need positive motivation
-crime is controllable if people positive motivation
Jeremy Bentham
principle of utility
-people pursue pleasure and avoid pain
classical model
people do things because they expect to benefit from them in some way
-anticipated pleasure and benefit
-we conform or don’t because we think we’ll get something out of it (people are rational)
critics
-too philosophical
-rehab doesn’t work
-idealistic that we all have free will
Robert Martinson
-1914
-“what works” is punishment
deterrence theory
-crime feels good and yields a positive outcome
-only discouraged by non-positive outcomes
-critics say that not everyone is the same
