CRM 210 Ch. 3 READINGS

VIVA

value, inertia, visability, access

heritability

statistical construct that estimates the amount of variation in the traits of a population that is attributable to genetic factors

psychopathy

(any) disease of the mind

Differential association theory

1) criminal mind set 2) criminal values 3) patterns of criminal behavior 4) techniques of crime commission from other criminals

atavism

A condition characterized by the existence of features thought to be common in earlier stages of human evolut. implies that certain people are born criminals.ion

subculture of violence

A cultural setting in which violence is a traditional and often accepted method of dispute resolution.

Positivist School

An approach that stresses the application of scientific techniques to the study of crime and criminals.

Drew, a criminology professor, observes that areas with low levels of literacy generally have high crime rates. If he follows the steps in theory building, what is he most likely to do next?

Drew will ask why literacy and crime are connected.

According to Merton's anomie theory, which of the following statements regarding innovators is true?

Innovators accept the socially approved goals but reject socially acceptable means to achieve those goals.

Which of the following individuals would Merton consider to be an innovator?

Mark is a stockbroker. Because he is not satisfied with his current income, he engages in insider trading.

Which of the following research findings bests support the concept of atavism?

Steve finds that the facial features of incarcerated offenders differ from those of noncriminals.

somatotyping

The classification of human beings into types according to body build and other physical characteristics.

conformists

accept both the goals and means that society holds out as legitimate,

covert pathway

which starts around age 10 with minor covert acts such as shoplifting and lying, quickly progresses to acts of vandalism involving property damage.

questions are raised about causes

why the crime poverty connection?

suitable target

A target can be a person, an object, or a place. If no suitable target is available, crime cannot occur.

A theory-based hypothesis develops

breaking the cycle of poverty will reduce crime

chromosomes

bundles of genes

Ectomorphs

characterized by thinness, fragility, and delicacy of body

adolescent limited offenders

prone to antisocial behavior only during adolescence;

conflict perspective

theoretical perspective that focuses on those forces in society that promote competition and change

Jeremy Bentham

"hedonistic calculus," which essentially said that the exercise of free will would cause an individual to avoid committing a crime as long as the punishment for committing that crime outweighed the benefits to be derived from committing it.

social control theory

(1) emotional attachments to significant others, (2) a commitment to appropriate lifestyles, (3) involvement or immersion in conventional values, and (4) a belief in the "correctness" of social obligations and the rules of the larger society.

supertraits

(1) introversion/extraversion, (2) neuroticism/emotional stability, and (3) psychoticism.

five basic traits

(1) openness to experience, (2) extraversion, (3) conscientiousness, (4) neuroticism, and (5) agreeableness.

Radical Criminology

A conflict perspective that sees crime as engendered by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and other resources, which adherents believe is especially characteristic of capitalist societies.

neoclassical criminology

A contemporary version of classical criminology that emphasizes deterrence and retribution and that holds that human beings are essentially free to make choices in favor of crime and deviance or conformity to the law.

restraint theories

-focus on forces keeping people from crime

Classical and Neoclassical Early Biological Biosocial Psychological Sociological Social Process Conflict Emergent

1) Free will theories Hedonistic calculus Rational choice theory routine activities theory 2) Phrenology atavism criminal families somatotypes body types 3) Gender ratio problem genetics/chromosomes Horomones Nutrition Body chemistry Heredity/Heritability Brain dysfuntion Brain age 4)Behavioral conditioning psychoanalysis psychopathology 5)social disorganization anomie subcultures focal concerns subculture of violence 6)differential association social learning containment social control neutralization labeling social development life course perspective 7) Radical criminology peacemaking criminology 8) feminist criminology postmodern criminology

Cesare Beccaria Jeremy Bentham

1) capital punishment should be abolished punishment should be sufficient to deter crime but not be excessive 2) Hedonistic calculus the punishment must outweigh the benefits of the crime

Denying Responsibility Denying Injury Denying the Victim Condemning the Condemners Appealing to Higher Loyalties

1)I became involved in crime because I was abused as a child. The trouble I get into is not my fault. 2)They're so rich, they'll never miss it. The store is insured so they won't lose anything if I shoplift. 3)I only beat up drunks. The victim deserved to be victimized. 4)The authorities are responsible for their own victimization. Police officers are all corrupt. 5)I committed the crime to defend my family's honor. I have to protect myself

social disorganization

A condition said to exist when a group is faced with social change, uneven development of culture, maladaptiveness, disharmony, conflict, and lack of consensus.

feminist criminology

A developing intellectual approach that emphasizes gender issues in criminology.

psychosis

A form of mental illness in which sufferers are said to be out of touch with reality.

routine activities theory

A neoclassical perspective that suggests that lifestyles contribute significantly to both the amount and the type of crime found in any society.

psychopath

A person with a personality disorder, especially one manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior, which is often said to be the result of a poorly developed superego.

rational choice theory

A perspective on crime causation that holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice. Rational choice theory predicts that individuals will choose to commit crime when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs of disobeying the law.

broken windows theory

A perspective on crime causation that holds that the physical deterioration of an area leads to higher crime rates and an increased concern for personal safety among residents.

peacemaking criminology

A perspective that holds that crime-control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to alleviate social problems and human suffering and thus reduce crime.

social learning theory

A psychological perspective that says that people learn how to behave by modeling themselves after others whom they have the opportunity to observe.

behavioral conditioning

A psychological principle that holds that the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment, and association with other stimuli.

Labeling theory

A social process perspective that sees continued crime as a consequence of the limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from the negative responses of society to those defined as offenders.

anomie

A socially pervasive condition of normlessness. Also, a disjunction between approved goals and means.

biosocial criminology

A theoretical perspective that sees the interaction between biology and the physical and social environments as key to understanding human behavior, including criminality.

deviance

A violation of social norms defining appropriate or proper behavior under a particular set of circumstances

Which scenario is based on principles of classical and neoclassical criminology?

After weighing the pros and cons of robbing a bank, Mark decides it is worth the risk and commits the crime.

classical school

An eighteenth-century approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment and that emphasized the role of free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers believed that punishment, if it is to be an effective deterrent, has to outweigh the potential pleasure derived from criminal behavior.

social development theory

An integrated view of human development that points to the process of interaction among and between individuals and society as the root cause of criminal behavior.

Which U.S. counties show both high rates of violent criminal victimization and high rates of property crime?

Baltimore County, Maryland; Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Fulton County, Georgia; Lubbock County, Texas; and Clark County, Nevada

Criminal behavior

Classical and neoclassical Early biological Biosocial Psychological Sociological Social process Conflict Emergent

You are reviewing the current policies and practices used by your state criminal justice system. Currently, the focus is on imposing swift and severe punishment to deter offenders from future criminal activity. It appears that state policymakers are being influenced by which category of criminological theories?

Classical and neoclassical theories

Several criminology students are discussing their views on crime causation. Which student has adopted the Classical School viewpoint?

Cliff believes that crime results from an individual's free will.

_____ is an emerging approach that challenges and debunks existing criminological perspectives.

Deconstructionist theory

17-year-old Charlie was arrested for stealing money from a convenience store. When the police questioned him, he claimed that he had done nothing really wrong because the store had insurance, so no one was hurt. Which technique of neutralization is Charlie using?

Denial of injury

A group of criminals has been burglarizing homes around the city. The police have discovered that the group includes both men and women, and that the leader of the group is a woman. Who is most likely to be the leader of the group, given modern research into female criminality?

Diana is 35 years old and African American.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

You are studying delinquent boys in a group home. Which of the following boys is most likely to have followed the covert pathway to delinquency?

Jason was caught shoplifting while he was in elementary school. In middle school, he was caught cheating and punished; that evening, he spray-painted graffiti on the school walls. As a teenager, Jason began committing burglaries.

Theorists distinguish between conservative conflict theory and radical conflict theory. Which of the following statements is true of radical conflict theory but not of conservative conflict theory?

Radical conflict theory focuses on the effects of capitalism on crime.

Marcus was caught stealing bread from a local bakery. Which of the following punishments would Cesare Beccaria be most likely to consider appropriate?

Requiring Marcus to work for the baker for an entire week, without pay

Which of the following individuals is using denial of injury to justify a criminal activity?

Skylar believes that it is ok to shoplift from Target and Wal-Mart, because they are such large chains that they will not be affected by the small things she steals.

traits

Stable personality characteristics that are presumed to exist within the individual and guide his or her thoughts and actions under various conditions.

defensible space theory

The belief that an area's physical features may be modified and structured so as to reduce crime rates in that area and to lower the fear of victimization that residents experience.

cranioscopy

The brain is the organ of the mind. The brain consists of localized faculties or functions. The shape of the skull reveals the underlying development (or lack of development) of areas within the brain. The personality can be revealed by a study of the skull.

Which of the following best describes the gender ratio problem?

The gender ratio problem refers to the fact that men commit far more crimes than women.

dangerousness

The likelihood that a given individual will later harm society or others

gender ratio problem

The need for an explanation of the fact that the number of crimes committed by men routinely far exceeds the number of crimes committed by women in almost all categories.

neutralization approach

The neutralization approach centers on rationalizations that allow offenders to shed feelings of guilt and responsibility for their behavior.

moral enterprise

The process undertaken by an advocacy group to have its values legitimated and embodied in law.

phrenology

The study of the shape of the head to determine anatomical correlates of human behavior.

research

The use of standardized, systematic procedures in the search for knowledge.

You are conducting a study of criminal behavior among identical and fraternal/nonidentical twins. Which of the following results would provide the strongest evidence for the claim that criminal behavior has a genetic component?

You find that identical twin pairs are more likely to have similar rates of criminality.

Schizophrenics

a mentally ill individual who suffers from disjointed thinking and possibly from delusions and hallucinations

biological school of crime

a perspective of criminological thought that holds that criminal behavior has a physiological basis.

Psychological school

a perspective of criminological thought that views offensive and deviant behavior as the product of dysfuntional personality

Mesomorphs

a relative predominance of muscle, bone, and connective tissue

theory

a set of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, and predict and utimately control some class of events. Fits the facts and stands up to scrutiny.

Endomorphs

a soft roundness throughout the various regions of the body; short tapering limbs; small bones; and soft, smooth, velvety skin

Containment theory Outer Inner

a type of restraint theory offered by Walter Reckless (1899-1988), assumes that all of us are subject to inducements to crime Outer containment depends on social roles and the norms and expectations that apply to them. Inner containment involves a number of factors, such as conscience, a positive self-image, a tolerance for frustration, and aspirations that are in line with reality.

innovators

accept the goals but reject the means, instead using illegal means to gain money, power, and success.

authority conflict pathway

along which children begin to move during their early years (as early as 3 or 4 years old), involves stubborn behavior and resistance to parental authority.

life course perspectives

an approach to explaining crime and deviance that investigates developments and turning points in the course of a person's life.

hypotheses

an explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation

motivated offender

anyone who is motivated to commit a crime.

Ritualists

are those who reject success goals but still perform their daily tasks in conformity with social expectations.

You are a member of a government agency involved in developing correctional policy. Several criminologists who are advising your office encourage you to eliminate mandatory sentences, emphasize community alternatives to imprisonment, and reduce prison overcrowding. Which type of theories are these criminologists supporting?

conflict theories

Rebels

constitute a special category. Their desire to replace the existing system of socially approved goals and means with some other system more to their liking makes them the revolutionaries of the theory.

capable guardian

crime is likely to occur when a motivated offender and a suitable target come together in the absence of a

Genes

distinct portions of a cell's DNA that carry coded instructions for making everything the body needs.

Rachel is very thin and frail. William Sheldon would most likely have classified her as a(n) ______.

ectomorph

interdisciplinary theories

explains a systematic view of a phenomenon specific to the discipline of inquiry

neuroprediction

forecasts the likelihood of particular forms of human behavior using computer algorithms to assess risk

Katrina has identified the distinct portion of a cell's DNA that carries the coded instructions for making a specific chemical that the body requires. Katrina has identified a(n) _______.

gene

a correlation is observed

high crime rates are associated with poverty.

Social Process Theories

highlight the role of social learning. They build on the premise that behavior—both "good" and "bad"—is learned, and they suggest that "bad" behavior can be unlearned.

A(n) _____ is an explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation.

hypothesis

Freudian theory

id, an ego, and a superego. ID is the source of drives, which are seen as primarily sexual. The ego is a rational mental entity, which outlines paths through which the desires of the id can be fulfilled.. The superego is a guiding principle, often compared to conscience, that judges the quality of the alternatives presented by the ego according to the standards of right and wrong acquired by the personality of which it is a part.

capable guardian

is anyone or anything that protects a target.

overt pathway

is marked by minor aggression, such as bullying, that develops around age 11 or 12. The overt pathway leads to fighting and physical violence during the teenage years and tends to eventuate in serious violent criminality that may include rape, robbery, and assault.

______ is a social process perspective that sees continued crime as a consequence of the limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from society's negative responses to those defined as offenders.

labeling theory

CREB genes

lay down neural pathways in the brain and form the basis of memory;

life course persistent offenders.

life course persisters, continue to reoffend throughout life.

supermales

men with an extra Y chromosome whose chromosome structure is diagrammed XYY.

Franz Joseph Gall

one of the first thinkers to theorize about the idea that bodily constitution might reflect personality.

theory based social policy results

opportunites for success are increased so that the cycle of poverty can be broken.

the hypothesis is tested

pilot projects to measure the impact of increased opportunties on crime rates in specific geographic locations are funded and begun.

theory based understanding is achieved

poverty is a root cause of crime

a theory is proposed

poverty leads to fewer social opportunities which reduces success in life. Less happiness leads to more crime.

Albert works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He assists investigators by conducting psychological evaluations of crime scenes. Albert is a specialist in ______.

psychological profiling

______ is a conflict perspective that sees crime as caused by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and other resources, which adherents believe is especially characteristic of capitalist societies.

radical criminology

Albert Cohen's concept of _______ refers to the rejection of middle-class values by lower-class youths who seek status but are unable to access approved opportunities for success.

reaction formation

Retreatists

reject both the goals and the means and usually drop out of society by becoming derelicts, drug users, hermits, or the like

psychological profiling

the attempt to derive a composite picture of an offender's social and psychological characteristics from the crime he or she committed and from the manner in which it was committed.

Cesare Beccaria

the founder of the Classical School of criminology.

_________ is the primary unit of analysis in psychological theories of crime causation.

the individual

reaction formation

the process whereby a person openly rejects that which she or he wants or aspires to be but cannot obtain or achieve.

personality

the relatively stable set of behaviors, attitudes, and emotions displayed over time that makes people different from each other

neuroscience

the scientific study of the nervous system

Neuroscience

the scientific study of the nervous system, has advanced quickly in recent years due to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other technologies that can effectively map cognition in the human brain as it occurs.

psychopathology

the study of pathological mental conditions -that is mental illness.