Criminology Theories

Question 1

Arousal Theory

Answer 1

The view that people seek to maintain a preferred level of arousal but vary in how they process sensory input. A need for high levels of environmental stimulation may lead to aggressive, violent behavior patterns.

Question 2

Attachment Theory

Question 3

Behavioral Theory

Question 4

Biological Positivism Theory

Question 5

Black Feminist Theory

Question 6

Rational Choice Theory

Answer 6

Ronald Clarke & Derek Cornish: The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.

Question 8

Trait Theory

Answer 8

The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits.

Question 9

Conflict Theory

Answer 9

Karl Marx: The view that human behavior is shape by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends. The law is a weapon that the powerful use to enforce their private interests, often at the expense of the public interest. Contrasts with Consensus Theory.

Question 10

Social Structure Theory

Answer 10

The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.

Question 11

Social Process Theory

Answer 11

The view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society.

Question 12

Racial Threat Theory

Answer 12

As the size of minority populations increase, the perceived threat to the majority population increases, resulting in a greater amount of social control imposed on the minority population.

Question 13

Victim Precipitation Theory

Answer 13

The view that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization.

Question 14

Deviant Place Theory

Answer 14

The view that victimization is primarily a function of where people live.

Question 15

Routine Activities Theory

Answer 15

The view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders.

Question 16

Psychodynamic Theory

Answer 16

Freud: The theory that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes that develop early in childhood and involve the interaction of the id, ego, and superego.

Question 17

Attachment Theory

Answer 17

Bowlby’s theory that being able to form an emotional bond to another person is an important aspect of mental health throughout the life span

Question 18

Behavior Theory

Answer 18

The view that all human behavior is learned through a process of social reinforcement (rewards and punishment).

Question 19

Social Learning Theory

Answer 19

Akers: The idea that social behavior is a cognitive process in which personality and environment interact reciprocally.

Question 20

Cognitive Theory

Answer 20

A psychological perspective that focuses on the mental processes by which people perceive and represent the world around them and solve problems.

Question 21

Information-Processing Theory

Answer 21

A theory that focuses on how people process, store, encode, retrieve, and manipulate information to make decisions and solve problems.

Question 22

Nature Theory

Answer 22

The view that intelligence is largely determined genetically and that low intelligence is linked to criminal behavior.

Question 23

Nurture Theory

Answer 23

The view that intelligence is not inherited but is largely a product of environment. Low IQ scores do not cause crime but may result from the same environmental factors.

Question 24

Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 24

A branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such as the family, school, and employment.

Question 25

Strain Theory

Answer 25

Merton: The anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means.

Question 26

Anomie Theory

Answer 26

The view that anomie results when socially defined goals (wealth and power) are universally mandated but access to legitimate means (education and job opportunities) is stratified by class and status.

Question 27

Cultural Deviance Theory

Answer 27

A branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms.

Question 28

General Strain Theory

Answer 28

The view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual’s emotional traits and responses to produce criminality.

Question 29

Institutional Anomie Theory

Answer 29

The view that anomie pervades US culture because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values.

Question 30

Differential Association Theory

Answer 30

Sutherland: Criminal behavior is learned within intimate personal groups, including techniques of crime and motivational values of committing crime. A person becomes a criminal when definitions favorable to the violation of the law exceed definitions unfavorable to the violation of the law.

Question 31

Social Control Theory

Answer 31

Hirshci: “Social Bonding” People with strong social bonds are less likely to commit crime (and suicide).

Question 32

Consensus Theory

Answer 32

The theory that a democratic society is held together by its members’ common acceptance of basic values such as virtue, honor, right, and wrong. Contrasts with Conflict Theory.

Question 33

Self-Control Theory