UNIT 5 QUIZ Flashcards
The Human Genome Project
Result of new scientific work on DNA
Biosocial Theories
- suggest biological traits interact with environment to shape behavior
- Categorized in terms of evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and biochemicals
- “broader and more powerful”
Evolutionary Psychology types
- Conditional Adaptation Theory
- Alternative Adaptation Theory
- Evolutionary Expropriative Theory
-
Conditional Adaptation Theory
- Crime is a biological response to hostile environments
- Designed to ensure survival and reproduction
Alternative Adaptation Theory
- Some people inherit a tendency to engage in crime
- These individuals are driven more by mating urges than by nurturing urges
Evolutionary Expropriative Theory
- All humans have a genetic potential for crime
- Humans are genetically driven to acquire resources to ensure reproduction
- May be displayed if environmental factors encourage it
Neurological Theories
- Violence and serious crime may be associated with frontal lobe dysfunction or injury
- Long history of tracing various forms of crime to head and brain injuries
Sarnoff Mednick
Central Nervous System Theory (1977)
- High-risk individuals inherit an abnormal autonomic nervous system (ANS)
- They are less sensitive to environmental stimuli
- Less likely to inhibit antisocial behavior
- Individuals with normal ANS experience fear reduction by inhibiting crime
- Because fear reduction is a powerful effect, that person will learn to
inhibit future antisocial activity and crime
Hypoarousal Hypothesis
- Low pulse rate, blood pressure, and reduced skin conductance of electricity
- Hypoaroused subjects show lower responses to environmental stimuli
Two Neurological Theories to Explain Hypoarousal
- Fearlessness Theory
- Stimulation Theory
Fearlessness Theory
- Low levels of brain arousal are markers for low levels of fear
- The fearless are less likely to avoid situations that bring trouble with the law
Stimulation Theory
- Low levels of arousal creates an unpleasant psychological state
- Results in seeking out trouble to get sensory stimulation to avoid boredom
Biochemical Theories
- Focus on sex hormones and neurotransmitters
- Concentrates on connections between testosterone and aggression
- The chemical effect of testosterone lowers sensitivity to stimuli
- This contributes to aggression, problems with emotional control, and violence
- Other neurotransmitters linked to aggression are low levels of serotonin,
low levels of dopamine, and high norepinephrine
Biosocial theories risk factors
-Over 70% of cases can be attributed to genetics, but environment matters too
-ADHD, ODD, CD, addiction, alcoholism
Criminal Career Research
- When does crime begin (Onset)?
- How long does crime last (Duration)?
- How frequently is crime is committed (Incidences)?
- When does crime stop (Desistance)?
Life-Course/Developmental Theories
- Criminal behaviors develop over time and are not the result of one constant underlying biological, psychological, or social condition
- both continuity and stability in criminal behavior
- What happens during childhood is related to delinquency and adult crime
Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy Theory
- Continuity - Life-course persistent offenders (LCP) begin engaging in antisocial behavior during childhood and continues beyond adolescence
-Change - Adolescent limited offenders (AL) have no antisocial tendencies
during childhood, change during adolescence, and desist into adulthood
Continuity is fostered by three considerations:
- LCPs have a restricted behavioral repertoire due to their neuropsychological deficits
- They become ensnared by consequences of antisocial behavior
- Those who persist in offending into adulthood experience unsavory outcomes
Developmental Taxonomy Theory * Two main criticisms:
- Can offenders be easily divided neatly into two distinct groups?
- Do LCPs and ALs really exist or are they invented concepts by researchers when they draw artificial cutoff points in their data?
explaining continuity and change in offending: types
- There is only continuity/stability in offending (Example?)
- Offending is marked by either continuity or change
- Offending is marked by continuity and change
- Theories that focus chiefly on change in offending
Life Course Persistent Offenders (LCP)
These offenders have neuropsychological deficits
* Affect verbal development and executive functioning
Adolescence Limited Offenders (AL)
Adolescent antisocial misconduct is motivated by a maturity gap and is reinforced by the reactions it evokes
- The vast majority of ALs do not persist in their offending
- Since ALs are psychologically healthy, they experience decreased motivation
- Some can still become ensnared (e.g., pregnancy, incarceration, etc.)
developmental taxonomy theory types of offenders
- Non-Offenders/Conformists
- AL
- LCP
- Late Starters
- Early Starters
Sampson and Laub :Age grade theory
Strong continuity in antisocial behavior from childhood through adulthood across a variety of life domains
- If meaningful social bonds are established during adulthood, though, they can function as a “turning point” that leads offenders into conformity
Integrated Theories
Combine concepts from two or more theories into one
framework
Delbert Elliott, Suzanne Ageton, and Rachelle Canter:
Integrated Strain-Control Paradigm (1979)
Draws on strain, control, and social learning theories
* Suggests that factors from each theory might be important at different life
stages
