CRIJ 4309 Chapter 10- Social Process and Control Theories of Crime

______ assumes that all people would naturally commit crimes if not for restraints on the selfish tendencies that exist in every individual

Control theory

______ takes into account associations with persons and images presented in the media.

Differential reinforcement

What does the term collective conscience mean?

Extent of similarities or likenesses that people share. Almost everyone can agree that homicide is a serious and harmful act that should be avoided in any civilized society.

. Sutherland's differential association theory is hard to test because it uses too many different types of learning models.

FALSE

. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes techniques of committing the crime, which are always very complicated

FALSE

4. Sutherland was adamant that such learning about how and why to commit crime occurred through social interaction with significant others and via any media role models, such as those in movies or on the radio.

FALSE

Control theories focus on social or personal factors that explain how and why individuals learn criminal behavior.

FALSE

Neither Burgess and Aker's model nor Sutherland's theory addresses the idea that delinquent associations could occur after criminal activity takes place.

FALSE

Give two (2) examples of a positive reinforcement.

Giving a child a toy, candy, praise, etc. Students must present their own original examples.

Explain Hirschi's four elements of social bonding theory.

Social bonding is a control theory that assumes that individuals are predisposed to commit crime and that conventional bonds prevent or reduce offending. This bond is made up of four constructs: attachments, commitment, involvement, and moral beliefs regarding committing crime

. At the time differential association theory was developed, most academics and society believed what?

Something was abnormal or different about criminals

______ is a learning model based on the association between an action and feedback following the action.

operant conditioning

In the process of classical conditioning, the organism, animal, or person is a(an) ______ actor in the process, simply receiving stimuli and responding.

passive

Spanking is considered an example of ______.

positive punishment

Studies testing differential reinforcement theory have used four groups of variables or factors. Choose the one below that is not considered one of these variables

rewards and punishments

Matza's drift theory is highly consistent with several of the ideas presented by control theorists, including all of the following assumptions EXCEPT:

selfish tendencies appear only during the teenage years

Akers and Burgess integrated Sutherland's work with contributions from the field of ______.

social psychology

The gray area between free will and determinism is called ______.

soft determinism

Tarde introduced imitation theory, which incorporated three laws of imitation. Which law below is not part of the laws of imitation?

the inferior is imitated by the superior

Sutherland was interested in explaining:

why the elderly were not involved in criminal activity and how criminal values and attitudes could be culturally transmitted from one generation to another.

Bandura demonstrated, through a series of theoretical and experimental studies, that a significant amount of learning takes place:

absent virtually any form of conditioning or responses to a given behavior

All of the following are considered learning theories EXCEPT:

collective conscience theory

The four constructs of social bonding theory is made up of all of the following EXCEPT:

conformity

Sutherland introduced ______theory.

differential association

______ theory emphasizes various types of social learning, specifically classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and imitation or modeling

differential reinforcement

. The text states that it is arguable that ______ may have the most empirical validity of any contemporary (nonintegrated) model of criminal offending.

differential reinforcement theory

______ consist of a wide range of constraints on individual propensities to commit deviant acts.

direct controls

What critical influence did Sutherland leave out of differential association theory?

media

The neutralizing techniques found primarily in corporate settings is ______, which essentially is the belief that an individual or group has done so much good that he or she is entitled to mess up by doing something illegal

metaphor of the ledger

Differential associations vary in all of the following EXCEPT:

moderation

How do learning theories differ from other theories?

Unlike other theories that assume we are born with offending tendencies, learning theories assume that our attitudes and behavioral decisions are acquired via communication after we are born

. Explain five (5) of the seven (7) propositions of differential reinforcement theory.

1) Criminal behavior is learned through operant conditioning; 2) criminal behavior is learned both in nonsocial situations and through social interaction; 3) the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs in those groups that comprise the individual's major source of reinforcements; 4) learning criminal behavior is a function of the effective and available reinforcers and the existing reinforcement contingencies; 5) the specific class of behaviors which are learned and their frequency of occurrence are a function of the reinforcers that are effective and available, and the rules or norms by which these reinforcers are applied; 6) criminal behavior is a function of norms that are discriminative for criminal behavior, the learning of which takes place when such behavior is more highly reinforced than noncriminal behavior; 7) the strength of criminal behavior is a direct function of the amount, frequency, and probability of its reinforcement

Sutherland's theory of differential association had ______ different elements

9

Explain the theory of drift and give two (2) examples of when drift may occur.

: Individuals offend at certain times in their lives when social controls, such as parental supervision, employment, and family ties, are weakened. Students must provide original examples

Explain low self-control theory by Gottfredson.

A theory that proposes that individuals either develop self-control by age 10 or do not. Those who do not will manifest criminal or deviant behaviors throughout life.

Explain classical conditioning.

Assumes animals as well as people learn through associations between stimuli and responses

Explain what the Bo-Bo doll experiment was and how it was related to Bandura's theory. What implications did Bandura's findings have? How could these findings be applied to a real-world issue or problem?

Bo-Bo doll experiment: A randomized experimental group of children watched a video of adults acting aggressively toward a Bo-Bo doll (plastic blow-up doll), and a control group of children did not watch. The different groups were then sent to a room with a Bo-Bo doll in it. The experimental group mimicked the adult behavior they had seen by acting far more aggressively as compared with the control group. Bandura believed people learn behavior by watching others or mimicking ("monkey see, monkey do"). Applies to modeling and imitation not only for criminal behavior of individuals but also for the influence of television, movies, video games, etc. Students must come up with original examples.

Apply the five techniques of neutralization to an example of your choice.

Page 261 goes over the five; denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. Examples can vary

______ assumes that in households where the mother and father have relatively similar levels of power at work, mothers will be less likely to exert control over their daughters.

Power-control theory

. Learning criminality is likened to learning everyday activities. Give an example of an everyday activity learned from others as criminality is learned.

Students must give original examples.

______ is considered one of the most influential criminologists of the 20th century and introduced differential association theory.

Sutherland

Neutralization theory is associated with ______ theorists.

Sykes and Matza

Classical conditioning assumes that animals, as well as people, learn through associations between stimuli and responses

TRUE

Learning theories believe that individuals enter the world with a blank slate, or tabula rasa

TRUE

Low self-control theory proposes that individuals either develop self-control by age 10 or do not. Those who do not will manifest criminal or deviant behaviors throughout life.

TRUE

Nonsocial reinforcement is considered self-reinforcement

TRUE

Sutherland was greatly influenced by Shaw and McKay's concept of social disorganization.

TRUE

The assumption that people have innate antisocial tendencies is a controversial one because it is nearly impossible to test.

TRUE

The idea that criminal behavior is learned was a radical idea at the time it was presented

TRUE

The notion of collective conscience can be seen as an early form of the idea of social bonding

TRUE

The weaker the collective conscience in a society, the more crime in that community.

TRUE

______ takes into account associations with persons and images presented in the media.

TRUE

. What are the two (2) propositions related to control-balance theory?

The amount of control to which one is subjected and the amount of control one can exercise determine the probability of deviance occurring.

Explain how having a stake in conformity would prevent most people from committing crime.

This is the extent to which individuals are invested in conventional society; how much is a person willing to risk by violating the law. If an individual buys into societal conventions, they are less likely to break the laws that govern the society they are invested in. If someone has nothing to lose, they are more likely to commit crime

What did Bandura propose as the way individuals learn their attitudes and behaviors?

Through observing the behavior of others or mimicking others.