criminology test 2 Flashcards
Biological Theory
Criminological theory that suggests that biological factors, such as genetics, hormones, or brain chemistry, predispose some people to commit crimes
Psychological Theory
Explain the connection between criminal behavior, personality, intelligence, learning, and other factors
Durkheim’s Anomie Theory
A breakdown of social order as a result of the loss of standards and values. This happens when there is drastic change, positive or negative. “Normlessness”
Merton’s Strain Theory
Suggests that society pressures people to achieve goals that are socially accepted, even if they don’t have the means to do so. This can lead to strain, which can cause people to commit crimes to achieve their goals.
Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory
Suggests that people learn criminal attitudes and behaviors through associating with criminals.
Subcultural Theories of Delinquency and Crime
Theories that attempt to explain the role of subcultures in delinquent behavior and crime
Social Control Theory
A sociological theory that explains why people act in certain ways, and how to reduce the likelihood of criminal behavior
Labeling Theory
A social science theory that explains how society’s labels for individuals and groups can impact their behavior, including criminal behavior
Environmental Theory (Routine-Activities Theory)
A theory that studies how a location’s physical and social characteristics influence criminal activity
Explain how Merton describes crime through Strain theory. Explain each mode of adaptation. Explain which mode best expresses jewelry theft.
Merton says that crime is a result of a person’s acceptance or rejection of cultural goals and the means to achieve them. The first mode of adaptation is conformity, which means that people accept the goals of society. The second mode is innovation, which means adapting to society with their own means of it due to lack of resources (robbery, burglary). The third is ritualism, which is people who “give up” on their dreams because they are not within reach, and they must resign to present lifestyles (assembly lines, middle-management jobs). The fourth is retreatism, which is people who give up on life and resort to drugs and alcohol. The final mode is rebellion, which is where both cultural goals or legitimate means are rejected. Many of these people create “militias” because they do not accept the culture or leadership. Best mode would be innovation.
Referring to any four of Edwin Sutherland’s propositions, explain the propositions and how Differential Association theory can explain the crime of motor vehicle theft.
- Criminal behavior is learned. This can be applied to motor vehicle theft because someone could learn the crime from another.
- Criminal behavior is learned with other persons in a process of communication. This can be applied to motor vehicle theft due to the fact that someone could learn how to steal a car through communication and teaching.
- The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. This can be applied to motor vehicle theft due to the fact that, most likely, you will be learning how to commit these crimes through someone you know well.
- When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes a) techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very simple, sometimes very complicated, and b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. This can be applied to motor vehicle theft because it requires techniques to steal a vehicle, as well as strong motives such as a need for a vehicle or vehicle parts.
Referring to Travis Hirsch’s Social Bonding theory, explain the problem of juvenile delinquency through each bond. Explain how an after school program can strengthen these bonds.
Attachment: Argued that people who have strong attachments to others are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior because they care about the opinions and well-being of these significant others. In an after school program, people make strong connections to others which leads them to be less likely to commit crimes.
Commitment: Argued that individuals who are committed to these activities are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior because they have more to lose. An after school program requires commitment, which means that juveniles will be less likely to commit crimes.
Involvement: Argues that when juveniles are involved in productive, prosocial activities, they have less time to engage in deviant behavior. In juveniles, if they are involved in an after school program they will be a part of many different things that offer distractions.
Belief: Someone’s acceptant of and commitment to the rules and norms of a society. An after school program can reinforce positive behavior and values, which makes people conform to society more.
Explain how the convergence of three elements discussed in Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities theory explains the problem of shoplifting. Explain the three elements and explain how you can apply the three to deter shoplifting at Target.
- Motivated Offender
- Suitable Target
- Lack of Capable Guardianship
When someone shoplifts, they look for these three things. If they have a motivation, and they feel as though Target will be easy to get to, and they do not see someone guarding the store, they are likely to commit the crime. You can deter the offender by making Target less suitable, and adding more security.
Edwin Sutherland’s Nine Propositions
- Criminal behavior is learned
- Criminal behavior is learned with other persons in a process of communication
- The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups
- When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes: Techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very simply, sometimes very complicated, and the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.
- The specific motives and drives are learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable
- A person becomes delinquent because an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to the violation of the law
- Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
- The process of learning criminal behaviors by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning
- While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values, since noncriminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values
Miller’s Lower-Class Focal Concerns
Trouble: the tendency to get involved in or create trouble, and an acceptance of it as a normal part of life
Toughness: A focus on physical strength, endurance, and a hardened exterior
Smartness: The ability to “outwit” others, often through street smarts, manipulation, or cleverness
Excitement: A desire for thrills or stimulation, often in the form of risky or impulsive activities
Fate: A fatalistic outlook on life, where individuals feel that they have little control over their circumstances
Autonomy: A desire for independence and freedom from authority or control
Sykes and Matza’s Technique of Neutralization
Denial of Responsibility: Shifts blame away from the individual by claiming that their actions were beyond their control
Denial of Injury: Individual minimizes the harm caused by their actions, arguing that no real injury or harm occurred
Denial of the Victim: Justifies their actions by asserting that the victim deserved it, or that the victim was in some way responsible for their own misfortune
Condemnation of the Condemners: Shifting the focus away from the deviant’s behavior and instead attacking the authorities or figures who are criticizing them
Appeal to Higher Loyalties: Justifying deviant behavior by appealing to a sense of loyalty or obligation to a particular group, such as friends, family, or a gang.
XYY Syndrome Chromosomes
XYY inmates tend to be tall, physically aggressive, and frequently violent. Frequency of XYY chromosomes about 20 times greater than normal XY chromosomes among inmates in maximum security hospitals
Twin Studies
Monozygotic (MZ) twins (identical)
Dizygotic (DZ) twins (fraternal)
Lange found that in 10 of the 13 pairs of identical twins, both twins were criminal; in 2 of the 17 pairs of twins both were criminal.
Adoption Studies
Of boys whose adoptive and biological parents had no criminal record, 13.5% were convicted of crimes
Of boys who had criminal adoptive parents and noncriminal biological parents, 14.7% were convicted felons
Of boys who had noncriminal adoptive parents and criminal biological parents, 20% were convicted of crimes
Of boys who had both criminal adoptive parents and criminal biological parents, 24.5% were convicted of crimes.
IQ debate
Travis Hirschi, on the basis of a study of 3.600 California students, demonstrated that the effect of a low IQ on delinquent behavior is more significant than that of the father’s education.
Marvin Wolfgang and associates, after studying 8,700 Philadelphia boys, found a strong relationship between low IQ and delinquency, independent of social class
Albert Reiss and Albert L. Rhodes, after an examination of the juvenile court record of 9,200 white Tennessee schoolboys, found IQ to be more closely related to delinquency than is social class
Biochemical Factors
Food allergies, diet, hypoglycemia, hormones
Criticisms of Biocriminology
Overemphasis on genetics and biology, ethical concerns, lack of consideration for social inequality, scientific and methodological concerns, risk of social control and surveillance, underestimating the role of free will and agency, ethnocentric and cultural bias, and political implications
Park and Burgess
Advanced the study of social disorganization by introducing ecological analysis into the study of human society. Ecology is the study of plants and animals in relation to each other and to their natural habitat
Cohen’s Middle Class Measuring Rod
Explains the origin of delinquent behavior and why some youths raised in the same neighborhoods and attending the same schools do not become involved in delinquent subcultures
Shaw and McKay’s Social Disorganization Theory and Concentric Zones
Used Park and Burgess model to investigate the relationship between crime rates and the various zones of Chicago
Most delinquency occurred in the areas nearest the central business district and decreased with distance from the center
Some areas consistently suffered high delinquency rates, regardless of the ethnic makeup of the population
Cloward & Ohlin’s Differential Opportunity theory
Delinquent subcultures flourish in lower-class areas and take the particular forms they do because opportunities for illegitimate success are no more equitably distributed than those for conventional success.
Delinquent Subcultures
Groups of individuals who form communities around behaviors, values, and activities that are often in conflict with mainstream societal norms
Middle-Class Delinquency
Deviant or criminal behavior exhibited by individuals from middle-class backgrounds
Macrosociological
Level of sociological analysis that focuses on large-scale social processes and structures, examining society as a whole or major social institutions
Microsociological
Study of social life on a small scale, focusing on everyday interactions between individuals or small groups.
Walter Reckless’s Containment Theory
A theory suggesting inner and outer containments help individuals resist criminal behaviors
Developmental/Life Course Theory
A theory examining how individual behaviors and criminality evolve over a lifetime
Integrated Theory
No single criminological theory can fully explain the complexity of criminal behavior
Labeling Theory
A theory that suggests individuals may become criminals if labeled as such by society
Lemert
A criminologist who differentiated between primary and secondary deviance in labeling theory
Conflict Theory and Criminology
Focuses on the role of power, inequality, and social conflict in shaping crime and criminal behavior
Radical Theory
Perspective that draws heavily from Marxist theory and focuses on the ways in which power, inequality, and social structures influence crime and criminal behavior
Radical Criminology
Theoretical approach to understanding crime that critically examines the role of power, social inequality, and capitalism in shaping criminal behavior and the criminal justice system
Radical Feminist Theory
Critical approach that examines the intersection of gender, power, and crime, focusing on how the criminal justice system and societal norms are structured to maintain patriarchal systems that oppress women.
Peace-Making
Emphasizes non-violent, restorative, and rehabilitative processes for addressing crime and conflict
Critical Theories
Umbrella term for a variety of criminological theories that focus on understanding the broader social, political, and economic contexts that shape crime and the criminal justice system.
Rational-Choice Perspective
Theory that suggests individuals make decisions about whether to commit a crime based on rational calculation of the costs and benefits
Victimization
An individual or group becomes a victim of a crime
Lifestyle Theories
Focus on the idea that an individual’s routine activities and lifestyle choices can significantly influence their risk of becoming a victim of crime
Situational Crime Prevention
Theory and strategy in criminology focused on reducing the opportunities for crime to occur by changing the physical and social environment in which crime takes place
Target-Hardening
Practice of making potential targets of crime more difficult to access or steal from, in order to deter or prevent criminal behavior
