Sociological Theories of crime W/1

Question 1

What Is Forensic Psychology?

Answer 1

→ Forensic Psychology is the provision of psychological information for the purpose of facilitating a legal decision (Blackburn, 1996).

Question 2

What Is Criminal Psychology?

Answer 2

→ Criminal Psychology is mainly to do with psychological aspects of criminal behavior, such as the origins and development of criminality.

Question 3

What are the main levels of crime analysis?

Answer 3

1. Individual approaches
2. Group influence and socialization theories
3. Community theories,
4. Societal theories
   according to (McGuire, 2000)

Question 4

What are the main Sociological & criminological theories of crime?

Answer 4

1. Zonal Theory of crime (Burgess, 1925)
2. Social Disorganization Theory (Shaw & McKay, 1969)
3. Strain Theory (Merton, 1938)
4. Differential Association Theory (Sutherland, 1947)
5. Social Control/Bond Theory (Hirschi, 1969)

Question 5

Explain the Zonal Theory of crime

Answer 5

→ Zonal Theory of crime, describes urban social structures through concentric zones radiating from a central point, the geographic distribution of crime across urban areas (Burgess, 1925).

Question 6

Explain the Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 6

→ Social Disorganization Theory, posits that crime rates are higher in neighborhoods with weak social cohesion, lack of community organization, and social instability. Factors such as poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic diversity disrupt social networks, leading to increased crime (Shaw & McKay, 1969).

Question 7

Explain Strain Theory

Answer 7

→ Strain Theory, suggests that societal pressure to achieve culturally approved goals (like success and wealth) can lead individuals in disadvantaged communities to engage in deviant behavior when legitimate means are unavailable (Merton, 1968).

Question 8

Explain the Differential Association Theory

Answer 8

→ Differential Association Theory, claims that all criminal behavior is learned and that the learning process is influenced by the extent of the individual’s contact with the persons who commit crimes. The more an individual associates with such persons, the more likely they become like them (Sutherland, 1947).

Question 9

Explain the Social Control/Bond Theory

Answer 9

→ Social Control/Bond Theory, says that those with weaker ties to conventional society will be more likely to engage in crime. Incarcerated people are among society’s most marginalized (Hirschi, 1969).

Question 10

What is Neuropsychology?

Answer 10

→ Neuropsychology concerns the brain’s structure and activity in relation to psychological processes.

→ Researchers studied lesions (areas of damage) to the brain which were linked to cognitive and behavioral difficulties (Beaumont, 2000).

Question 11

What are the limitations of neuropsychological research in crime?

Answer 11

→ Neuropsychological research for the study of crime has many limitations (Wolf et at., 2015) which causes us to question whether the anomaly led to criminality.

Question 12

What is Social Learning theory?

Answer 12

→ Social Learning Theory, assumes behavior is developed and regulated by external stimulus events, such as the influence of other individuals, and by external reinforcement, such as praise, blame, and reward.

Question 13

Explain the Bobo doll experiment

Answer 13

→ The Bobo doll experiment, demonstrates that young children imitate the actions of adults, modeling behavior such as hitting an inflatable clown with a hammer (Albert Bandura, 1961).

Question 14

Explain Vicarious Learning

Answer 14

→ Imitation or Modeling are a form of Vicarious Learning, according to (Miller and Dollard, 1941) the process of learning is mediated by the consequences of actions for other people. In other words, “learning through conditioning, acting directly on the individual to include observing the experiences of other people being rewarded or punished.

Question 15

What limits the Social Learning Theory?

Answer 15

→ According to (Bjorkqvist, 1997) Social learning theory lacks the ability to explain under what circumstances criminal behavior will or will not be learned. showing signs of limited explanatory power.

Question 16

Explain the correlation between Strain theory and Deprivation Theory.

Answer 16

→ Strain theory also relates to Deprivation theory by (Blau and Blau, 1982) which suggests that structural factors which lead to inequality generate feelings of deprivation. The consequence may be aggression or some form of crime.

Question 17

What Limits Strain theory?

Answer 17

→ Cloward and Ohlin, 1960) suggest that strain is unlikely to operate in this way unless the individual is part of a deviant subculture.

Question 18

What is Agnew’s Strain theory?

Answer 18

→ Agnew’s Strain theory assumes that if people are treated badly (not as they would wish to be treated) then their consequent upset and distress leads them to respond with deviant behaviors such as aggression or crime.

Question 19

what are the 3 types of strain suggested by Agnew?

Answer 19

→ Agnew argues that there different types of strain :

• General Strain theory - relationships in which others are not treating the individual as he or she would like to be treated.
• Objective strain - situations which people generally would find unacceptable.
• Subjective strain - things rejected by the person experiencing them.

Question 20

what Limits strain theory?

Answer 20

→ Agnew addressed weaknesses in earlier strain theories, including inadequate explanations for middle-class delinquency and inconsistencies between aspirations and expectations for fulfilling them.