CRJU Final Flashcards
Prescriptive
Norms that specify what individuals should or are encouraged to do.
Proscriptive
Norms that specify what individuals should not or are encouraged not to do.
Subcultures
A group that shares a set of norms that are different from those of the larger society.
Internal Socialization
Occurs when a person learns social norms from others so the norms become a part of the individual’s own personality.
External Socialization
Occurs when interactions with other important people cause us to behave in accordance with social norms so that we gain “acceptance and status in the eyes of others”.
Informal Social Control
Tools used to control behavior in everyday social life, including social control exercised by peers, communities, families, and groups. This forms the basis of the socialization process.
Internal Social Control
A type of informal social control related to conscience in which an individual internalizes norms and acts according to them.
Relational Social Control
A type of informal social control that depends on a person’s interactions with others, in which positive or negative reactions from others lead individuals to conform to social norms.
Formal Social Control
Mechanisms exercised by the government to control human behavior and to cause persons to conform to norms and obey laws. Criminal justice and criminal law are the most important tools of formal social control.
Medical technology
A from of medical social control referring to the actual techniques available to treat forms of illness and/or deviance. Examples include the administration of medication or the use of medical procedures, such as surgery.
Medical Collaboration
A form of medical social control that occurs when the medical profession works with other institutions of social control.
Medical Ideology
A form of medical social control referring to the implications that result from defining a behavior in medical terms. This can include the ideological consequences of labeling a behavior as a disease and how doing so reflects dominant social values.
Criminologists
Study crime trends and why persons commit criminal acts
Criminology
The scientific study of crime trends, the nature of crime, and explanations for why persons commit crimes.
Demonology
A historical perspective on criminology that attributes criminal behavior to the influence of evil spirits of demons. This theory has been rejected by modern criminologists.
Phrenology
A historical theory in criminology that was the study of personality traits as revealed by an examination of the bumps and grooves in the skull. This theory has been discredited by modern criminologists.
Atavism
A historical theory of criminology holding that persons were born criminals as the result of inherited traits. This theory has been discredited by modern criminologists.
Somatotypes
A historical theory of criminology suggesting that a person’s height and weight were associated with criminal behavior and that individuals with different physical builds, or somatotypes possess different temperaments. This theory has been discredited by modern criminologists.
Classical Criminology
A set of explanations for crime based on the concept of free will, or the idea that individuals simply choose whether or not to commit a criminal act.
Rational Choice Theory
An explanation for crime suggesting that offenders use a strategic thinking process to evaluate the potential rewards and risks from committing a crime and make their decision accordingly about whether or not to commit the crime.
Routine Activities Theory
Views crime and victimization as a function of people’s everyday behavior, habits, lifestyle, living conditions, and social interactions. Suggests that crime occurs when three elements converge: a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of capable guardians.
Psychodynamic Theory
A theory of crime suggesting that human behavior, including crime, is controlled by a variety of mental processes. The theory was developed by Sigmund Freud based on the dynamics of the id, ego, and the superego.
Differential Association Theory
Suggests that criminal behavior occurs because offenders learn it from others.
Neutralization Theory
Suggests that crime occurs because offenders justify their criminal behavior through a series of neutralizations or excuses, including denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and the appeal to higher loyalties.
