Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Sociology > Sociology - Crime and deviance > Flashcards

Sociology - Crime and deviance Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are the different ways to build a picture of crime

A
  • Official crime statistics
  • Victim surveys
  • Self report studies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What pattern in recorded crime was there from 1902 - 1950

A

A gradual rise

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What pattern in recorded crime was there from 1950 - 1980

A

A steep rise

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What pattern in recorded crime was there from 1980 - mid 1990

A

A rapid increase

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What pattern in recorded crime was there from mid 1990 - 2015

A

A gradual decline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are official crime statistics

A

Official crime statistics are generated by crimes that are recorded by the police and then processed through the criminal justice system.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are victim surveys

A

Large-scale surveys of the population asking people what crimes have been committed against them in a given period.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are self-report studies

A

Self-report studies ask people to reveal crimes that have commited and how often they have done so

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Why do crime statistics not show the true extent of crime

A
  • Crimes have to be reported and recorded to be included in offical crime statistics
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what do crime statistics depend on

A
  • detection
  • reporting
  • recording
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is the criminal activity that is not shown in statistics called as it is not reported or recorded by the police ?

A

The dark ( or hidden ) figure of crime

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is the functionalist perspective on the use of criminal data

A
  • they accept most statistics as accurate and representative of most crime
  • they view it as useful for establishing patterns and trends
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the marxist view on the use of criminal data

A
  • statistics provide a biased view on crime
  • they under represent crime of the bourgeoisie
  • they give the impression that most criminals are working class
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the feminist view on the use of criminal data

A
  • statistics under represent the extent of female crime
  • they also under represent the extent of crime by men against women
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is the interactionist view on the use of criminal data

A
  • statistics are social constructions
  • they reveal only the steriotypes and the institutional sexismand racism of the crimianal justice system
  • the patterns within statistics provides a guide to the police for the typical offender
  • more likely to favour self-report and victim surveys as they involve less bias
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what are the factors explaining why people commit crimes

A
  • biological
  • psychological
  • sociological
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what are the biological explanations for crime

A
  • Lombroso argued that the shape of the skull can determine a persons character
  • Genes can determine someone’s character and behaviour
  • Neurodivergensity can be a cause on criminal or deviant behaviours
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what are the psychological explanations for crime

A
  • maternal separation / deprivation
  • emotional trauma
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

John Bowlby - 1944

A
  • He found that the relationship between the infant and the mother was crucial to socialisation.
  • He found that half of the juvenile thieves he had studies had been separated from their mothers for at least 6 months before the age of 5
  • he concluded that maternal separation in the child’s early life caused permanent emotional damage that could lead to criminal behaviour
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what are the sociological explanations for crime ?

A
  • Socialisation
  • Anomie
  • Labelling
  • Structural theories
  • Sub-cultures and peer groups
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

How does socialisation affect criminal behaviour?

A
  • People learn norms and values by copying their parents and other groups such as peer groups
  • If young people have inadequate socialisation they may not understand how to behave appropriately and they might act in criminal ways.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

How does anomie affect criminal behaviour and what does it say?

A
  • The breakdown of norms governs accepted behaviors
  • happens when rules of how people should act with one another break down
  • for example internet trolling becoming normalised
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

how does labelling affect criminal behaviour?

A
  • Labelling ( the interactionist theory by becker ) says that the behaviour of some people may cause them to be stereotyped and labelled as deviant or criminal
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

How do subcultures and the peer group theory affect criminal behaviour?

A
  • Groups can develop their own set of norms and values outside of society’s
  • To fit in with the group, individuals may follow this new set of norms and values
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What did merton say about Social theory and structure?

A

Merton a functionalist believed in strain theory and status frustration :
- a sense of frustration arises in individuals or groups because they cannot achieve status within society
- people often feel that society has certain expectations of them
- the strain caused by people unable make this status within society might make people to behave criminally to achieve this status

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What does Merton say the five ways in which people may respond to success goals within american society are?

A
  • Conformity
  • Innovation
  • ritualism
  • retreatism
  • rebellion
27
Q

What is the functionalist perspective on crime?

A
  • Functionalism offers a consensus structuralist perspective on crime
  • This is because functionalists believe a value consensus exists in society
  • They also believe that society is governed by rules that tell people how to behave
28
Q

What does Durkheim ( functionalist ) believe about crime and societies function ?

A
  • Crime in small amounts is necessary for society to function.
  • He argues that crime is inevitable as not everyone can be fully integrated into the norms and values of society
29
Q

What functions do functionalists believe crime performs?

A
  • re-affirming the boundaries of society
  • changing values
  • social cohesion
  • safety valve
30
Q

What are the criticisms of the functionalist perspective on crime?

A
  • However small amounts of crime can be positive too much is more harmful.
  • In periods of social change or stress people do not share common values within society and people start to think of themselves rather than following social norms
  • functionalists ignore that people have free will when arguing that they are controlled by society
31
Q

What is the Marxist perspective on crime?

A

they explain criminal behaviour n the following ways:
- The basis of laws
Law creation
Law enforcement
- Individual motivation

32
Q

What are the criticisms of the marxist perspective on crime?

A
  • Over emphasis on class inequalities and ignores other inequalities such as ethnicity and gender
  • Not all individuals are forced into crime by circumstances they cannot control
33
Q

What is the Interactionist perspective on crime ?

A
  • explains why some people or acts are defined as deviant or criminal, while other people carrying out similar acts are not labelled as deviant or criminal
  • Focuses on what is defined as criminal or deviant and how people react to the labels
  • suggests that most people commit criminal or deviant behaviour but only some are labelled for doing so
34
Q

What are the criticisms of the interactionist perspective?

A
  • It tends to remove the blame from the people who commit deviant or criminal behaviour and instead blames those who label the person
  • It assumes that the act is not deviant until labelled so
  • It doesn’t explain why some people choose deviant and criminal behaviour
35
Q

What is the feminist perspective on crime?

A
  • the feminists perspective focuses on female offending and female experiences within the criminal justice system
36
Q

What are the criticisms of the feminist perspective on crime?

A
  • It focuses on gender and ignores other factors such as social class and ethnicity
  • it doesn’t explain how some people choose criminal and deviant behaviour
37
Q

How does social class affect criminal behaviour?

A
  • Inaccurate statistics
  • Socialisation
  • Material deprivation
  • Education
  • Anomie
  • Labelling
38
Q

How do inaccurate statistics affect social class and crime

A
  • Statistics on crime are not necessarily representative
  • Crimes by working class individuals are more identifiable and more targeted by the police
39
Q

How does socialisation affect social class and crime ?

A

-Children develop the norms and values of their parents
- working class children are more likely to develop norms and values different to working class children

40
Q

How does material deprivation affect social class and crime

A
  • Children from working class families may also suffer from material deprivation where they are unable to afford items they need
  • This may result in these individuals to turn to crime to acquire these necessities
41
Q

How does education affect social class and crime

A
  • Working class youths are more likely to be placed in lower sets, fail at school and be in lower paid jobs
  • A lack of money may lead to criminal behaviour
42
Q

How does labelling affect social class and crime

A
  • Poorer groups within society are more likely to be the victims and perpetrators of crime, and police and others tend to label them more readily
43
Q

What are the different types of white collar crimes

A
  • Ocupational crime
  • professional crime
  • corperate crime
  • computer crime
44
Q

What is white collar crime

A
  • Crime commited generally by middle class individuals in the course of their work

Edwin sutherlands theory

45
Q

What are the reasons that statists show that men commit more crimes than women

A
  • Innacurate statistics
  • Different socialisation
  • Oppotunitys to commit crime
  • Social control
  • Civalry thesis
46
Q

How do innacurate statistics depict more men to commit crimes

A
  • male crimes tend to be violent and therefore more noticed
  • women are seen to be innocent and so people may not suspect them of commiting crimes
47
Q

How does different socialisation lead to more men commiting crime

A
  • Traditional gender based characteristics are adopted by men and women leading to:
  • Men being more aggresive and to partake in risk-taking behviours
  • Women may aviod the risk that comes with commiting crime as they have been socialised to be emotional and less competative
48
Q

How do different opportunitys to commit crime lead to men commiting more crime than women

-

A
  • Bedroom culture means that teenage girls tend to spend more time at home
  • Teenage girls tend to be taken to social events by parents compared to boys who may walk
49
Q

How does social control lead to men commiting more crime than women

A
  • women may be forced into more family-centred roles by men
  • men may place themselves into the breadwinning role with more oppotunity to commit crime
  • daughters are more closely controlled than sons
50
Q

How does the civalry thesis lead to more crime being commited by men than women

A
  • male dominated police courts may be more leniant on women because they infantalise women and see it importent for them to care for their family
51
Q

Case study

Women, crime and poverty

Carlen 1988

A
  • She found that working class women who had been convixted of crime felt powerless and oppressed
  • they saw themselves as the victims of injustice when they could not find a ligitimate way of earning a living
  • many of the women felt they had nothing to loose when commiting crime as they already lived in peverty

- she used in depth interviews of a group og mainly working class women

52
Q

what do statistics show about ethnic groups and crime

A
  • there are higher levels of crime amoh=ng certain ethnic groups
  • Afro-carribian males are over represnted within prisons
53
Q

How are black people trated compared to white people within the CJS

A
  • two times more likely to be cautioned by the police
  • three times more likely to be arrested
  • more likely to recive prison sentances
  • five times more likely to be in prison
54
Q

Case study

Outsiders - Becker

1963

A
  • Becker talks bout how an act only becomes deviant once others define it as so
  • whether the act is concidered deviant is dependant on who what where and when the act happened
  • this leads to a master status and deviant carrer

Interactionalist

55
Q

What are factors relating Ethnicity and crime

A
  • Innacurate statistics
  • Labelling
  • Institutional racism
  • Media representation
  • Socialisation
  • Material deprevation
  • Education
56
Q

What are the links between crime and age

A
  • Status frustration
  • Social class
  • Edgework
  • Socialisation
  • Police steriotyping
57
Q

Why are lower class young males more likely to engage in criminal activity

A
  • their subcultures have characteristics thst carry the risk of law breaking with them
  • these are characteristics such as toughness, excitment and mascutlintiy
58
Q

What is edgework

A
  • Alot of youth criminal activity is motivated by young people looking for excitment and thrills

Stephen Lyng (1980)

59
Q

Delinquant boys

1955

A
  • Cohen argues that young people suffer from status frustration in the form of lack of independant status in society
  • They will drift into criminal or deviant behaviour because of lack of responsibility and looking for thill
  • The peer groups become more important than family as it provides identity and status
  • The group identity can envolve crime and deviant acts

Functionalist - Cohen

60
Q

what is social control

A
  • Social control refers to the methods used to control individuals and group bevaiour
61
Q

What is informal social control

A
  • Unwritten rules
  • Approval and disaproval of people around us
  • Positive and negative rewards such as: Praise and job premotions or poor school marks and teasing
62
Q

What is formal social control

A
  • formal rules
  • Police force and the CJS
  • Schools
63
Q

Case study

Women and crime 1985

A
  • Women are more likely to conform to society and therefore commit less crime
  • House and child care restric womens time and movement
  • Men have finantial control over their wives as the breadwinners
  • Daughters are more closely controled than sons

Heidensohn F - Femenist

64
Q

What is the Functionalist perspective on social control

A

233

Sociology (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions