Midterm 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Crime deviance continuum:

What determines seriousness? (CSH)

A
  1. Degree of consensus that an act is wrong
  2. Severity of societies response to that act
  3. Degree of harm
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2
Q

Three agencies of the Canadian Legal System (CLS)

A
  1. The police
  2. The courts
  3. The correctional/prison system
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3
Q

2 Theories of law creation

A
  1. The consensus model
  2. The conflict model
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4
Q

What is the consensus model?

A

That law is a product of social agreement about what is morally wrong

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5
Q

What is the conflict model?

A

That law originates out of conflict between specific groups that have different beliefs and interests.

  • Groups have different levels of power and those with the power want to protect their interests
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6
Q

Cesare Beccaria’s (1764) An Essay on Crimes and Punishment was a critique of what?

A

Beccaria was criticizing the cruelty and inhumanity that characterized the criminal justice system of his day

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7
Q

3 sources of crime statistics

A
  1. UCR 2.0
  2. Victimization Surveys
  3. Self-report Surveys
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8
Q

What are the limitations of the UCR?

A

Doesn’t show the dark figure of crime

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9
Q

Why criminologist need crime data (DEERP)?

A

Description – How much and what types of crime

Explanation – Crime trends? Social or geographical patterns?

Evaluation – Is crime prevention or control working?

Risk Assessment – Location, time, environmental designs – how people can avoid risk, the more known about when and where crime is happening

Prediction – prediction = prevention and prevention is preferrable to punishment

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10
Q

Adolphe Quetelet, one of the key figures of “The Statistical School” of crime theory found that crime is influenced by what?

A

Social Organization

  • society prepares the crime and the guilty parties are just the instruments by which it is executed
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11
Q

What are the three key beliefs shared by Biological Theorists?

A
  1. Criminals = biologically distinct from non-criminals
  2. Biological difference exists at birth, predispose people to crime
  3. Criminals can be identified by their differences (e.g. genetics, physical structure, brain structure)
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12
Q

Explain Cesare Lombroso’s Theory of Atavism:

o What are stigmata?

A

Features of a criminals that defines them as atavism:

Big jaw

Hairy

Big cheek bones

Abnormal heads

Insensitive to pain

More neanderthal-like

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13
Q

What is William Sheldon’s Somatotype Theory?

A

There are THREE different body types

Each with different temperaments and personalities

The idea was looking at different body types could predict personality traits

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14
Q

What are the traits of an endomorph?

A

Round and soft

Easygoing and happy

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15
Q

What are the traits of a mesomorph?

A

Well-built and muscular

Aggressive and reactive

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16
Q

What are the traits of an ectomorph?

A

Tall and lean

Introverted and nervous

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17
Q

Twin Studies:

o What do they examine?

o How do they examine this?

A
  • Used to examine nature vs nurture
  • Compares monozygotic (MZ) = identical twins

Share 100% genetics
Came from the same egg
With dizygotic twins (DZ)

Share 50% genetics
Two eggs
Relies on equal environments Assumption

MZ = equal genetics + equal environment
DZ = different genetics + equal environment

If genetics matters, we should see higher concordance between MZ and DZ

Concordance evidence behavior
60% for MZ twins
30% for DZ twins

18
Q

What is concordance?

A

the probability that a pair of individuals will both have a certain characteristic (phenotypic trait)

19
Q

Which version/allele of MAOA is related to crime?

  • What is this gene known as?
A

– The Warrior Gene (Monoamine Oxidase A)

Low activity allele vs high activity allele

Low activity MAOA = less neurotransmitter regulation

Low activity MAOA may be linked to crime

Possibly correlated to aggression and violence

20
Q

Which version/allele of the 5-HTT gene is related to crime?

A

Short version of 5-HTT – less sensitive to punishment

  • Reduced serotonin
  • Increases risk of crime
21
Q

Which version/allele of the DRD4 gene is related to crime?

A

Long version of DRD4 – more pleasure seeking

  • Need more dopamine to feel pleasure
  • Increased risk of crime
22
Q

What is the Differential Susceptibility Perspective?

A

Individuals with certain genetic makeups are more sensitive to favorable and unfavorable environmental influences than those without these genetic makeups.

23
Q

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory:

o What are the three components of our personalities?

A

Id: our biological drives

Superego: ethical and moral dimensions of our personalities

Ego: mediates Id and Superego

24
Q

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory:

o What are the three ways in which the Superego can be dysfunctional?

A
  1. Weak Superego: Id dominates behaviors

Can act more primitive, more aggressive, led more by sexual desire

2.
Deviant Superego: learn consciousness from criminal influence

  • Someone grows up in a criminal world
  • Conscious is trained to value criminal behaviors

3.
Harsh Superego: Excessively strong conscience, leads to unconscious guilt

Crime occurs because people are inviting some form of punishment into their lives due to unconscious guilt

25
Q

Eysenck’s PEN model:

o What does PEN stand for?

A

Psychoticism

Extroversion/Introversion

Neuroticism/Stable

26
Q

Eysenck’s PEN model:

o Which two personality types in the PEN model are connected to crime?

A

Extroverted-Neuroticism

Increases criminality due to aggression and risk seeking

Extroversion and neuroticism on their own do not cause criminal behaviour

27
Q

IQ and Crime:

o According to Hirschi and Hindelang (1977), how big is the gap in IQ between offenders and non-offenders?

A

8-9 points

28
Q

IQ and Crime:

o What are the two explanations for why IQ is connected to crime?

A
  1. Low IQ: worse at legitimate activities like school, getting a job etc.
  2. Lower verbal IQ limits ability to develop high order cognitive processing (moral reasoning and empathy, when you have these you’re less likely to commit crime)
29
Q

Explain Cesare Lombroso’s Theory of Atavism:

o What is atavism?

A

An evolutionary throwback to more primitive times. Specifically, it’s a person who has not developed at the same pace as the rest of society.

30
Q

What is Id and what does it do?

A

Id: our biological drives
- Born with the Id

31
Q

What is superego and what does it do?

A

Superego: ethical and moral dimensions of our personalities

- Developed over time
-Our conscience

32
Q

What is ego and what does it do?

A

Ego: mediates Id and Superego

- Deals with reality, makes decisions
-Happens subconsciously

33
Q

Drug & Alcohol Misuse and Crime

o What are the four reasons drug and alcohol misuse are related to crime?

A
  1. Efforts to support addiction can lead to crime (buying drugs, theft)
  2. Committing crimes under the influence
  3. Illegal
  4. Involvement in drug markets can lead to criminal interactions
34
Q

Spatial location

o Is crime consistent across neighbourhoods, cities, provinces/territories, or countries?

A

What country you live in matters:

Different countries have different contexts of crime

What province or territory you live in matters:

Some provinces experience different levels of crime

What city you live in matters:

What neighborhood you live in matters:

35
Q

What are the two general hypotheses for why some visible minorities are overrepresented?

A
  1. Some evidence of racial profiling and sentencing disparities (i.e. longer sentences for racial and ethnic minorities
  2. Blacks and Indigenous people also offend at a higher rate
36
Q

Is the gap bigger or smaller for violent crimes compared to property crimes?

A

Generally speaking, the gap is bigger for violent crimes than property crimes

37
Q

What are THREE reasons why people tend to desist

A
  1. Developmental maturity – more regulated emotions, self-control, rational decisions
  2. Incentives for conformity (turning points)
    - Marriage, employment, military, children
    - Called the life course perspective
  3. Less free time
38
Q

What are FOUR reasons why young people commit more crime?

A
  1. Young males prone to risky behaviours
    - E.g. car accidents, extreme sports
  2. Developmentally immature
  3. More susceptible to peer influence
  4. Fewer incentives for conformity to society rules
39
Q

How do gender norms & treatment contribute to the gap?

A
  1. Traditional masculinity
    - Key theme: the importance of dominance achieved through force
    - Perceived expectation to be a protector, to be tough and confident – can lead to aggression
    - Own more guns
    - Breadwinner stereotype
    - Perceptions of worth and masculinity dependant on ability to provide for family
    - Economic struggles can lead to crime to provide or regain the feeling of masculinity
  2. Strain and Emotion
    - Strain theory – overall humans are naturally good but pushed to crime via negative emotions cause by problems (economic struggles, exposure to violence
    - Research show when experiencing strain
    - Males – more likely to feel anger (outward emotion)
    - Females – more likely to feel guilt (inward emotion) - self blame
  3. Fear of punishment
    - For some reason, males are less afraid of getting punished or caught offending
    - Socialization into risk seeking?
    - Fewer people in their social lives depending on them? E.g. having children
  4. Peer influence
    - On average adolescent boys are:
    - More violent
    - Wider friend groups (more friends but less close)
40
Q

What is the role convergence hypothesis?

A

Closing of the gap between male and female offenders

1979: females accounted for 15% of crime

2017: females accounted for 25% of crime