Intro to Criminology Flashcards
What is Criminology
The study of law making, law breaking, and the societal reaction of law breaking
The perspective that defines crime as acts that violate the law
Legalistic
What is Actus Reus
Guilty Acts
What is Mens Rea
Guilty Mind
What is Mala in se
Inherently evil acts
Mala prohibita
Acts that are wrong but not evil
Serious crimes that result in a year or more in prison
Felony
Less serious crimes that result in a year or less in prison
Misdemeanor
Type of behavior that violates social norms but may or may not be illegal
Deviance
When a concept is developed and maintained by a social group as opposed to existing inherently
Social Construct
Views the formal system of law, as well as the enforcement of those laws, as incorporating societal norms for which there is a broad normative consensus
Consensus Perspective
Maintains that there is conflict between various societal groups with different interests
Conflict perspective
Proposed Explanations of why people do or don’t commit crime
Criminological Theory
How much a theory makes sense
Logical Consistency
A theory’s ability to explain a wide variety of types of crime
Scope
A theory’s ability to be explained with a small number of concepts
Parsimony
A theory’s ability to be tested empirically and scientifically
Testability
A theory that is verified by scientific research
Empirical validity
An Independent and dependent variable possess an observed relationship with one another
Correlation or Covariation
A logical reason why the independent variable would cause the dependent variable
Theoretical Explanation
The independent precedes the dependent variable
Temporal Ordering
The relationship between the independent and dependent variables is not a result of a third variable that was mistakenly omitted from the analysis
Nonspuriousness
Crime that occurs but does not appear in data sources
Dark figure of crime
Uniform Crime Report and NIBRS are examples of
Official Crime Data
Rule limiting UCR reporting to only the most serious offence of an incident
Hierarchy rule
When comparing the amount of crime in two or more places
Crime rate
Valuable for estimating the dark figure of crime
National Crime Victimization Survey
What does Karl Marx call the group that owns the means of production
Bourgeoisie
What period of history, characterized by dramatic expansion in the exploitation of workers, was Marx responding to
Industrial Revolution
Which economic system do conflict theorists argue contributes to the causes of criminal behavior
Capitalism
MLK refers this as something that was legal but immoral
Segregation
Hyperbolic and emotional reactions to perceived social threats are called
Moral Panic
What are folk devils
the other perceived to be a threat during moral panic
What was the concern during the Satanic Panic
Ritual devil worship, child abuse, and sacrifice
An attribute to Moral Panic that is against an “other” group’s behavior and about its assumed impact
Concern
An attribute to Moral Panic that portrays the “other” as evil monsters
Hostility
An attribute to Moral Panic states that among the powerful, the “other” is a threat
Consensus
An attribute to Moral Panic stating that the threat from the “other” does not justify the concern
Disproportionality
An attribute to Moral Panic that appears suddenly and dissipates quickly even if the threat is longstanding
Volatility
Prior to enlightenment, crime and deviance were once equated to what
Sin
What is the term for the time period when thought changed to emphasize rationality
Age of Enlightenment
Occurs when individuals give up their freedom in order to be protected by the state
Social contract
Beccaria argued that laws must be designed to
deter crime
Occurs when someone who experiences punishment does not recidivate
Specific deterrence
Beccaria says this characteristic of effectively deterrent laws is the most important
Certainty
Crime will occur when the rewards outweigh the risks
rational choice theory
When deterring crime, not just punishment matters but also punishment…
Avoidance
Decisions made before a crime occurs
involvement and event
Type of rationality that is involved in criminal decision-making because our choices are limited and influenced by various things
Bounded
Goal is to benefit themselves
Rational
