How can we explain crime? Why do people do it?

Question 1

What are the basic principles of individual theories

Answer 1

• Biological, psychological, neurological.
  People are born with it.
  Criminals are different, abnormal, defective.
  Focus on actors not the acts.
  Offending is irrational rather than rational.

Question 2

what is the difference between consensus and conflict theories?

Answer 2

Consensus agrees with current laws where as consensus questions the laws and the law makers

Question 3

What do early biological theories suggest?

Answer 3

• crime = result of biological defects

- crime =/= rational behaviour, but a result of inborn abnormalities

Question 4

What is the theory of Phrenology (Franz Gall)

Answer 4

• shape of brain dictates your course in life

- bumps can tell you about personality, mental function

Question 5

Cesare Lombroso theory suggests what? What are the three types?

Answer 5

• Lombroso studied anatomical features of the human body to identify them into one of three types. though truth was out there and could be found through scientific methods
  1. born criminals
  2. insane criminals
  3. criminaloids

Question 6

What is the theory of Atavism?

Answer 6

• criminals are throwbacks and biologically inferior

- based around darwins theory of Evolution

Question 7

What does the Body Types & Crime—Sheldon’s Somatotypes (1940s & 50s) theory suggest?

Answer 7

3 body types

1. endomorphs; short and fat, nice, relaxed, eat a lot
2. ectomorphs; lean, fragile, delicate, small face, brainy, artisitic introverts
3. mesomorphs; muscles, bone, big heavy chest, energetic, assertive/aggressive

Question 8

What do Criminal Family Studies show?

Answer 8

As seen in the Jukes Family, out of 709 people(540 blood relation, 169 marriage) 140 were criminals

Question 9

What do Early Twin Studies, specifically Christiansen say about the implication of being fraternal or identical (monozygotic) twins?

Answer 9

• study of twins between 1881-1910 found that male fraternal twins when one is incarcerated other is too 12% of the time. IDENTICAL twins had a 36% concordance rate

Question 10

What did Hutching and Mednick 1977 suggest about adoption studies?

Answer 10

suggested that adopted boys more likely to commit when biological fathers also committed and that when biological and adoptive father = criminal they were more likely

Question 11

what does neuroscience suggest?

Answer 11

there are links between adolescent brain development and the tendency to take risks.

Question 12

A psychological theory of crime and IQ by Henry Goddard suggests that;

Answer 12

a majority of inmates were feebleminded which means a lower iq (75 and under)

Question 13

What is Moffitts dual taxonomy?

Answer 13

• offenders have different trajectories over criminal careers, 2 distinct groups;
  1. Life course persistent
  2. adolescent limited offenders

Question 14

How is mental illness presented with crime?

Answer 14

prevalence of mental illness in Australian prisons is 80% compared to 31% in community

Question 15

What does Gabriel Tarde’s “imitation of deviance” suggest (learning perspective)

Answer 15

1. law of close contact
2. law of imitation of superiors by inferiors
3. law of insertion