Right Realism (explaining C/D)

Question 1

What do RRs think crime is caused by?

Answer 1

Biological inclination; low social control; rational choice; poor socialisation (N right)

Question 2

What is Hirschi’s theory?

Answer 2

Bonds of attachment
There are 4 controls: attachment (family); commitment (education/career); involvement (community); belief (respect for law from socialisation)
Young people, EMs and underclass are more likely to lack these controls - more crime committed by these groups

Question 3

What did Farrington and West do?

Answer 3

Longitudinal study of 441 males until late 30s
Found that 50% of all convictions were for only 6% of the sample
Found correlations between deviancy and poor parenting/offending fathers/lone parent families

Question 4

What did Dennis and Erdos say? (N Right)

Answer 4

The reduction in 3=generation families and increase in SPF has weakened the external patterns of social control - leading to weaker primary socialisation and more crim

Question 5

What did Murray find?

Answer 5

An underclass with distinctive values/norms, brought up to be welfare dependent and criminal

Question 6

Which study evaluates Murray’s underclass?

Answer 6

Charlesworth - ethnographic research of underclass found that they share mainstream values, for instance wanting a job

Question 7

What did Wilson find?

Answer 7

‘Broken Windows’ - crime is caused by a lack of informal social control (family and community), as well as biological inclinations; it is NOT caused by poverty

Question 8

Wnat is Clarke’s theory?

Answer 8

Rational choice theory - if benefits outweigh risks crime will be committed. Therefore less social control causes more crime

Question 9

What did Etzoni find?

Answer 9

‘Communitarianism’ reduces crime

Question 10

What is a Feminist criticism of RR?

Answer 10

Overestimates the rationality of crimes such as rape

Accepts OCS as valid