Theories of Crime Midterm
Lombroso
Biological and Biosocial Theories, Biological, Criminal Anthropology - Coined the term atavism: Suggested criminality was the result of primitive urges that survived the evolutionary process • Criminal anthropology - The scientific study of the relationships between human physical characteristics and criminality - Also known as the Italian School of Criminology Lombroso has been called "the father of modern criminology" because he was the first criminologist of note to employ the scientific method—particularly measurement, observation, and generalization—in his work. • Atavism implies criminals are born that way • Lombroso's categories of offenders - Atavists, or born criminals—make up 70% of offenders - Insane - Criminaloids—occasional criminals - Criminals incited by passion
Beaver and Walsh
Biological and Biosocial Theories, Biosocial Criminology Anthony Walsh- one of the first proponents of contemporary biosocial criminology —a scientific endeavor that attempts to take all that is known about the biological underpinnings of human behavior, and to use that knowledge to assess how human biology interacts with the surrounding physical, cultural, and social environments in producing a criminal event. Biosocial criminology is not so much a theory about crime as it is a perspective on criminality that recognizes the importance of the interaction between biology and the surrounding physical and social environments. Kevin Beaver- Male is much more criminalistic than female "In virtually every study ever conducted, males are much more likely than females to engage in violence, aggression, and serious crimes. As the seriousness of the offense/behavior increases, the gender gap also tends to increase, such that the most violent criminal acts are almost exclusively a male phenomenon." Beaver calls the differences between female and male rates of offending the gender gap.
Beaver and Walsh
Biological and Biosocial Theories, Biosocial Criminology Evolutionary Theory- Utilizing an evolutionary perspective—or one that (1) seeks to explain behavior with reference to human evolutionary history290 and (2) recognizes the influence that genes have over human traits—they came to the conclusion that behavioral traits are "manifestations of multiple genes working independently and synergistically" in response to the environment. They proposed that some of the same genes must be involved in both reproductive activity and criminality.
Edward O. Wilson
Biological and Biosocial Theories, Sociobiology Coined the term Sociobiology • Sociobiology- The systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior • Wilson said that most social behaviors are shaped by natural selection • Altruism - Facilitates the continuity of the gene pool among altruistic individuals • Territoriality - Wilson's explanation for many conflicts between and among species • Tribalism - Strong feelings of identification with one's own social group
Cesare Beccaria
Classical School, Classical Criminology Punishment as deterrence - Swift, certain, punishment should be only severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits derived from committing crimes Beccaria is responsible for the contemporary belief that criminals have control over their behavior, that they choose to commit crimes, and that they can be deterred by the threat of certain punishment
Jeremy Bentham
Classical School, Classical Criminology • Argued that the pain associated with crime commission must outweigh the pleasure derived from criminal activity • Believed humans are fundamentally rational • Bentham's approach has been termed hedonistic calculus or utilitarianism - Emphasizes the worth an action holds for an individual undertaking it • Recommended the creation of a centralized police force focused on crime prevention and control • Panopticon - A prison design suggested by Bentham that was to be a circular building with cells along the circumference, each clearly visible from a central location - Bentham recommended Panopticons be constructed near or within cities, serving as examples to others who may commit crimes
Clarke and Cornish
Classical School, Neoclassical Criminology Rational Choice Theory- • Based on the belief that criminals make a conscious, rational, and at least partially informed choice to commit crime • Individuals choose to commit crime when the benefits outweigh the costs of disobeying the law • Crime will decrease when opportunities are limited, benefits reduced, costs increased • RCT shifts focus of crime prevention from broad social programs to impediments that would dissuade a motivated offender from offending •it places less emphasis on pleasure and emotionality, more on rationality and cognition Situational Choice Theory- • Situational choice theory is an extension of RCT • Example of soft determinism • Views criminal behavior as a function of choices and decisions made within a context of situational constraints and opportunities • Crime is a matter of motivation and opportunity • The probability of criminal activity can be reduced by changing features of the environment • Focuses on the context in which crime occurs rather than on people who commit crimes • Shifts the approach from a concern with why people commit crime to one asking why crime occurs in specific settings the five objectives are as follows: 1. Increase the effort involved in committing a crime. 2. Increase the risks associated with crime commission. 3. Reduce the rewards of crime. 4. Reduce the provocations that lead to criminal activity. 5. Remove the excuses that facilitate crime commission.
B.F. Skinner
Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Behavior Theory • Behavior theory —the "stimulus-response" theory of human behavior • The frequency of any behavior can be increased through rewards or reinforcements, or decreased through punishment • Operant behavior - A person's behavioral choices operate on the surrounding environment to produce consequences for the individual - Rewards/reinforcements increase the frequency of a behavior; punishments decrease it • Positive reinforcement - Add something desirable to the situation • Negative reinforcement - Remove something distressful from the situation • Positive punishment - Add something undesirable to the situation • Negative punishment - Remove something desirable from the situation • Unlike other psychological theories, behavior theories see the major determinants of behavior as existing in the surrounding environment, not in the individual • Much human behavior is the result of conditioning—people can be conditioned to respond with either prosocial or antisocial behavior • Crime is explained as the result of inappropriate behavioral conditioning
Shank and Abelson
Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Cognitive Theory developed script theory in order to explain the understanding process that occurs during a situation or event. • Scripts - Generalized knowledge about specific types of situations that is stored in the mind • People use ready-made scripts in daily life to anticipate an appropriate sequence of events in a given context • Career criminals routinely follow developed scripts to guide them through criminal activity • Once internalized, criminal scripts help form a criminal identity
Bandura
Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Modeling Theory • Bandura's social cognition theory - Everyone is capable of aggression but must learn aggressive behavior - Key concepts of theory include observation, imitation, modeling • Modeling- People learn how to act by observing others • Aggression can be provoked through assaults, verbal threats, thwarting hopes, obstructing goals • People who devalue aggression may engage in it via the process of disengagement • Disengagement may result from: - Attributing blame to one's victims - Dehumanization - Vindication of aggression by legitimate authorities - Desensitization
Hervey Cleckley
Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Personality Theory • Hervey Cleckley developed the concept of a psychopathic personality - He described the psychopath as a "moral idiot" who does not feel empathy for others • Types of psychopaths - Primary psychopaths: neurologically different from others - Secondary psychopaths: born with a "normal" personality but personal experience when young cause them to develop psychopathic characteristics (sometimes called sociopaths) - Charismatic psychopaths: charming, attractive, habitual liar - Distempered psychopaths: easily offended, fly into rages at even slight provocations, have strong urges that often lead to addiction • Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) - Definitive modern measure of psychopathy - Uses two indicators to assess degree of psychopathy Affective and interpersonal traits Traits associated with a chronic unstable and antisocial lifestyle
Freud
Psychological/Psychiatric Theories, Psychoanalytic Criminology • Sigmund Freud coined the term "psychoanalysis" and based an entire theory of human behavior on it - Concepts later applied to criminal behavior by others • Psychoanalysis views criminal behavior as maladaptive, or the product of inadequacies in the offender's personality - Significant inadequacies can result in full-blown mental illness, which can be a direct cause of crime • Neurosis - A functional disorder of the mind or emotions involving anxiety, phobia, or other abnormal behavior • Psychosis - A form of mental illness in which sufferers are said to be out of touch with reality • Sublimation - The psychological process whereby one aspect of consciousness is symbolically substituted for another According to Freud, the personality is made up of three components —the id, the ego, and the superego The id is the fundamental aspect of the personality from which drives, wishes, urges, and desires emanate The ego is primarily charged with reality testing.The ego inherently recognizes that it may be necessary to delay gratification to achieve a more fulfilling long-term goal The superego is much like a moral guide to right and wrong. If properly developed, it evaluates the ego's plans, dismissing some as morally inappropriate while accepting others as ethically viable • A person may be led into crime as the result of a poorly developed superego - Offenders without a fully functioning superego become dominated by the id's need for instant gratification
Chambliss
Social Conflict and Emergent Theories, Radical Criminology Crime and Economic Stratification • Four key propositions - Life conditions affect values and norms - Complex societies are composed of disparate and conflicting sets of norms - The probability of a group having its norms embodied in law is related to its political and economic position - The higher a group's political or economic position, the greater the probability that its views will be reflected in laws • No act is inherently criminal or immoral - Acts are made so by the successful application of negative labels through the exercise of legislative power by those in control of government • Chambliss said that the economic consequences of crime within a capitalist society partially perpetuate crime
Quinney
Social Conflict and Emergent Theories, Radical Criminology Capitalism and Crime • Almost all crimes committed by the lower classes are necessary for the survival of individual members of those classes • Crime is inevitable under capitalist conditions because it is a response to the material conditions of life • The solution is the development of a socialist society
Hirschi
Social Process and Social Development Theories, Social Control Theory Social Bond Theory • Social bonds are formed between individuals and the social group • When the bond is weakened or broken, deviance and crime may result • Attachment - A person's shared interests with others • Commitment - The amount of time and energy put into conforming activities • Involvement - The amount of time spent with others in shared activities • Belief - A shared value and moral system
Hirschi and Gottfredson
Social Process and Social Development Theories, Social Control Theory The General Theory of Crime • Low self-control accounts for all crime at all times• Self-control: - The degree to which a person is vulnerable to the temptations of the moment - Acquired early in life - Low self-control combined with impulsivity is the main individual-level cause of crime - Self-control development is fostered by parents • The theory is built on a rational choice perspective - Offenders lack control over their own desires • A well-developed social bond will result in the creation of effective self-control mechanisms • The link between self-control and crime depends substantially on criminal opportunity
Terri Moffit
Social Process and Social Development Theories, Social Development • Helps explain why most antisocial children do not become adult criminals, even though adult criminality is usually preceded by antisocial behavior during adolescence • Two-path/dual taxonomic theory of criminality • Life course persisters (LCP) - Display constant patterns of misbehavior throughout life - Result from neuropsychological deficits combined with poverty and family dysfunction - Failure in school and early involvement in delinquency lead to increasingly limited opportunities for legitimate success • Adolescence-limited offenders (AL) - Led into offending by structural disadvantages, such as status anxiety resulting from the transition from adolescence to adulthood (desire for autonomy) - Engage in more inconsistent antisocial behavior
Edward Sutherland
Social Process and Social Development Theories, Social Learning Theory Differential Association • Criminality is learned through a process of differential association with others who communicate criminal values and advocate the commission of crimes • All significant human behavior is learned and crime is not substantively different from any other form of behavior • Principles of differential association: 1. Criminal behavior is learned 2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others in a process of communication 3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups 4. The learning includes techniques of committing crimes and the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes 5. The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable 6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to law violation over those unfavorable to law violation 7. Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity 8. The process of learning criminal behavior involves the same mechanisms involved in other learning 9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those needs and values
Sykes and Matza
Social Structure Approaches, Culture Conflict Techniques of Neutralization • Sykes and Matza suggested offenders are aware of conventional values and understand their offending is wrong • They use techniques of neutralization to overcome feelings of responsibility - Culturally available justifications that can provide criminal offenders with the means to disavow responsibility for their behavior • Delinquents drift into crime when available techniques of neutralization combine with weak or ineffective values espoused by the controlling elements in society • Drift between crime and conventional action, choosing whichever is more expedient at the time • Allow delinquents to overcome guilt without being fully alienated from the larger society
Agnew
Social Structure Approaches, General Strain Theory • A reformulation of strain theory by Robert Agnew and others into a comprehensive perspective • GST sees lawbreaking behavior as a coping mechanism that enables those who engage in it to deal with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations • Sources of strain: - Someone prevents/threatens to prevent an individual from achieving positively valued goals - Someone removes/threatens to remove positively valued stimuli that a person possesses - Someone presents/threatens to present noxious or negatively valued stimuli • GST expands on traditional strain theory in several ways: - Widens focus by including all types of negative relations - Says strain has a cumulative effect on delinquency after reaching a threshold - Gives a more comprehensive account of various adaptations to strain - Moore fully describes the factors affecting the choice of delinquent adaptations to strain
Park and Burgess (Chicago School)
Social Structure Approaches, Social Disorganization Park and Burgess, through their work at the University of Chicago, developed what became known as social ecology, or the ecological school of criminology. The social ecology movement, which was influenced by the work of biologists on the interaction of organisms with their environments, concerned itself with how the structure of society adapts to the quality of natural resources and to the existence of other human groups. • Park and Burgess viewed cities as having five concentric zones • Each zone had its unique characteristics and populations • Residents of inner zones tended to migrate to outer zones as their economic positions improved
Wilson and Kelling
Social Structure Approaches, Social Disorganization • Broken windows theory - Physical deterioration and an increase in unrepaired buildings lead to increased concerns for personal safety among area residents - These lead to further decreases in maintenance and repair and increased delinquency, vandalism, and crime among local residents - This causes further deterioration
Shaw and McKay (Cognitive SChool)
Social Structure Approaches, Social Disorganization • Shaw and McKay applied the concentric zone model to the study of juvenile delinquency • Found rates of offending remained relatively constant over time within zones of transition despite high rates of neighborhood transition • Concluded that delinquency was caused by the nature of the environment in which immigrants lived, not some characteristic of the immigrants themselves • Developed idea of cultural transmission - Traditions of delinquency are transmitted through successive generations of people living in the same area
Merton
Social Structure Approaches, Strain Theory • Sees delinquency as a form of adaptive, problem-solving behavior; usually committed in response to problems involving frustrating and undesirable social environments • Strain- The pressure individuals feel to reach socially determined goals • Merton viewed anomie as a disjunction between socially approved means to success and legitimate goals - Legitimate goals (wealth, status, happiness) are desirable for everyone - Acceptable means (education, hard work, saving) not equally available to all • Crime becomes an alternative means to success when individuals feel the strain of being pressured to succeed in socially approved ways but do not have the necessary tools for success • Another complication is that not everyone accepts the legitimacy of socially approved goals
Criminology of Place
• Criminology of place/environmental criminology - Emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with victimization prevalence • Pattern theory - "Hot spots" of crime - Specific types of crime are associated with certain geographic areas and the social and physical characteristics of those areas contribute to crime's concentration • Policing hot spots of crime —place-based crime prevention
Chicago School
• Social ecology/ecological school of criminology - Links the structure and organization of a human community to interactions with its localized environment • Social pathology - Compares society to a physical organism; sees criminality as an illness or disease • The Chicago School demonstrated the tendency for criminal activity to be associated with urban transitional zones which were typified by lower property values, impoverished lifestyles, and a general lack of privacy • Key contributions of the ecological school - Claim that society, in the form of the community, has a major influence on human behavior - Formalization of the use of official crime and population statistics and ethnographic data
