Exam 1 Study Guide CJ4340.003 & .006Crime Theory and Victimization

Differential association (theory)

Crime is learned through associations with criminal definitions. Interacting with antisocial peers is a major cause of crime. Criminal behavior will be repeated and become chronic if reinforced. When criminal subcultures exist, many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location, and crime rates—including violence—may become very high.

Donald Cressey

Crime is learned through associations with criminal definitions. Interacting with antisocial peers is a major cause of crime. Criminal behavior will be repeated and become chronic if reinforced. When criminal subcultures exist, many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location, and crime rates—including violence—may become very high. worked with Edwin Sutherland The second approach argues that the deviant rationalizes his behavior so that he can at once violate the rule and maintain his belief in it. Donald R. Cressey has advanced this argument with respect to embezzlement, and Sykes and Matza have advanced it with respect to delinquency. In both Cressey's and Sykes and Matza's treatments, these rationalizations (Cressey calls them "verbalizations," Sykes and Matza term them "techniques of neutralization") occur prior to the commission of the deviant act Donald R. Cressey can be considered the founder of the modern study of organized crime. His book "Theft of the Nation: The Structure and Operations of Organized Crime in America", published in 1969, remains the most widely cited and perhaps also the most controversial scholarly book on organized crime.

Delinquency vs. criminality

Delinquency implies conduct that does not conform to the legal or moral standards of society; it usually applies only to acts that, if performed by an adult, would be termed criminal

Parental monitoring

Developmental/Life course: Continuity Gottfredson and Hirschi's o how does parenting affect the development of a child's self-control? First, there's parental monitoring If a child has a high level of parental monitoring, they are less likely to develop low self-control.

Travis Hirschi

Developmental/Life course: Continuity Most prominent continuity perspective: theory of self-control whether an individual has high or low self-control. That is, how impulsive are they, do they need short-term gratification, can they establish long-term goals and then conduct themselves in a way that allows them to achieve those goals, even when it might be difficult or against their immediate self-interest to do so, etc Instead of saying that self-control is hard-coded into our genetics or neurology, Gottfredson and Hirschi say that it's largely influenced by the way an individual is parented during early to mid-childhood.

Turning points

Developmental/Life course: Pathways and turning points (continuity and change) Sampson and Laub People can be caught in life trajectories that are hard to break; antisocial behavior starts in childhood... ■But change is possible when someone encounters key turning points in life. a good marriage or a good job—are turning points that cause offenders to pivot away from criminal pursuits

Developmental/life course(including the different types)

Developmental/life course criminologists contend that theories that attribute delinquent or criminal acts to the social context in which they occur are incorrect because they fail to consider that the offender started on that trajectory of delinquency/crime in childhood, long before they committed the act itself. Continuity-theory of self-control Continuity or change -Life-course-persistent (LCPs) and adolescence-limited (ALs) continuity and change -Pathways and turning points

Duration

Differential Association Effects of differential association varies according to another easy one—how long the association lasts. This is one reason why classmates and teachers are generally very influential—you're around them all day, five days a week (well, unless you're learning at home because of the pandemic).

Priority

Differential Association Effects of differential association varies according to how early in an individual's life the association occurs (one reason that parents are so important in a child's development)

Intensity

Differential Association Effects of differential association varies according to how important that association, or relationship, is to the individual. For example, a relationship with a very respected grandparent would have a higher intensity, and therefore be more influential, than a relationship with a youth pastor who tries to be cool during youth group but really just embarrasses themselves

Frequency

Differential Association Effects of differential association varies according to this one is easy; it's how often an individual is exposed to a particular association, like participating in an after-school sport every day versus seeing cousins a few times a year

Ronald Akers

Differential Association: Causal path Social learning theory builds on differential association by further explaining the process by which individuals learn to commit crime. This theory was proposed because Burgess and Akers felt that differential association fell short in some areas. Therefore, they addressed these shortcomings through two critiques The key concepts added by social learning theory are differential reinforcement and imitation Ronald Akers proposes three processes through which crime is learned. -Acquires beliefs defining crime as desirable, justifiable, or excusable-Imitation-Criminal behavior is differentially reinforced, either positively or negativelyIndividuals commit crime because they imitate of others

Definitions unfavorable toward crime

Differential association. Differential association refers to the process whereby one is exposed to normative definitions favorable or unfavorable to illegal or law-abiding behavior

Classical

Emerged in mid to late 1700s-Individuals are motivated by self-interest-Maximize pleasure, minimize pain-Cause of crime is natural, not supernatural ■Came about in the Age of Enlightenment during the second half of the the 1700s used to counteract political abuses/ power ■-Cesare Beccaria = first and most notable classical criminologist ■Testable, unlike the demonic perspective, because it focuses on natural, observable forces ■Assumes individuals are rational. ■Basis for many Western countries' legal systems ■Offenders as rational beings is the foundation of the U.S. legal system ■Criminals choose to commit crime, they are not born that way ■(Appropriate) punishment is just ■Equal application of the law to everyone-Punishment should fit the crime, not be based on the personal characteristics of the offender

Heritability

Genetic studies have revealed consider-able heritability estimates for criminal behavior Neurobiological research from several different domains has provided a more thorough under-standing of the etiology of criminal behavior. Genetic studies have found substantial heritability estimates for antisocial behavior and implicate a number of candidate genes in the development of crime . Structural and functional neuroimag-ing research has demonstrated that antisocial populations have deficits in frontal, temporal, and subcortical brain regions, which may lead to difficulties with moral socialization, behav-ioral inhibition, emotion regulation/generation, and fear conditioning.

Biological risk factors for criminality

Genetics, Neuroimaging(brain),Neuropsychology, Intelligence, Executive Function,

Michael Gottfredson

He argued that the key causal factor for crime was "self-control." Travis Hirschi joined with Michael Gottfredson to author A General Theory of Crime (1990), a volume in which he set forth the premise that a lack of "self-control" was the chief source of criminal behavior

Social bonds throughout the life course

Hirschi's work is called "Social Bond Theory." If people have social bonds, they will not go into crime; if social bonds are weak, they will go into crime. . Travis Hirschi's "social bond theory" would have these characteristics. He would clearly specify four social bonds (attachment, commitment, involv-ment, and belief) and then show how these bonds could be measured and tested against competing theories.

Definitions favorable toward crime

How do people learn this criminal behavior? That's right—differential association, which is basically hanging out with people who hold attitudes or definitions favorable toward crime. Sutherland says an individual will tend toward crime when the definitions they acquire through this association are more favorable toward crime than they are unfavorable. This is Sutherland's sixth principle of differential association, and it is important that you know and understand it. Individuals are most likely to engage in crime if they are exposed to definitions favorable to law violation (1) early in life, (2) on a relatively frequent basis, (3) over a long period of time, and (4) from sources they like and respect.

What was the major criticism of Reckless's concept of "inner containment"?

In the end, Reckless's multidimensional con-cept of inner containment may have proved too detailed and too difficult to measure

Tautological

"If behavior is reinforced, it will be strengthened

Positivist

-Emerged in late 1800s-Criminals are born, not made-Crime is due to forces beyond an individual's control ■Proposed in response to Classical Theory ■Emerged in late 1800s ■Initially: idea of the "born criminal" ■Most prominent positivist was Cesare Lombroso Charles drawn, and seemed as it crime was increasing ■Criminals are not normal, rational people ■Lombroso based his theory on his work as a physician ■Physical features indicating criminality ■Later on, environmental factors were also incorporated into the theory-genetic throwbacks or savager some environmental factors influence

Deterministic vs. Probabilistic

-deterministic: if ___ happens during development, ____ will be the outcome (definite) -probablistic: if ____ happens during development, ______ might happen social traits and makes someone more likely to commit a crime-if someone had this trait they will definitely commit a crime

Adoption studies

Adoption studies focus on children who were separated from their biological parents early in life. The traits of these children are compared to the traits of their biological parents. If crime is inher-ited, we would expect more crime among adopted children whose biological parents are criminal than among adopted children whose biological parents are not criminal. than among adopted children whose biological parents are not criminal Most data suggest that this is the case.

Thomas Hobbes

Beccaria and other classical theorists thought that this system was both unjust and ineffective at controlling crime. They based their critique on the work of several philosophers, one in particular was Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes argued that people naturally pursue their own interests and that this pursuit of self-interest frequently leads people to harm one an-other. People, being rational, agree to give up some of their freedom to the state in order to prevent this harm from occurring ■17th century British political philosopher ■Life is "nasty, brutish, and short" ■The pursuit of self-interest naturally leads people to harm one another ■People willingly give up some of their freedom to the state in exchange for protection from harm ■I.e. a social contract of sorts.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats 1904-1990; Field: behavioral; Contributions: created techniques to manipulate the consequences of an organism's behavior in order to observe the effects of subsequent behavior; Studies: Skinner box

Social learning

Social learning theory builds on differential association by further explaining the process by which individuals learn to commit crime This theory was proposed because Burgess and Akers felt that differential association fell short in some areas. Therefore, they addressed these shortcomings through two critiques differential reinforcement and imitation ■Expansion of Sutherland's differential association theory ■Emphasizes the learning component of association ■Incorporates B. F. Skinner's concept of operant conditioning from behavioral psychology and Bandura's concept of imitation ■Adds those concepts as differential reinforcement and imitation, respectively differential association associationoperant conditioning differential reinforcement and imitation

External containment

Society, the state, family, and other groups keep individuals within bounds of accepted norms and expectations; provide meaningful roles and activities. In any event, for Reckless, outer containment is substantially the opposite of social disorganization. It occurs when individu-als are enmeshed in "effective family life and an effective supporting structure in the neighbor-hood and the larger society"

Genetic influence on crime vs. external environment

most of the gender difference in crime is due to the fact that females are less likely to pos-sess the personality traits of low constraint and negative emotionality . They argue that while these traits are in part socially produced, they are also heavily influenced by biological factors—such as genetic inheritance In short, considering these bio/psych factors gives us a more complete picture, more information Second, biological factors might influence the -way someone reactsto their environment, and do so such that these factors increase the likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior. Some of the more sophisticated approaches—often called biosocial criminology—argue that individual traits do not lead directly to crime but rather interact with the social environment to create a person-situation nexus that is criminogenic

From a biological view of crime, what is the approximate range of percentages of an individual's criminality that can be assigned to genetic factors?

most of the research into genetic correlates of crime, which tends to show that between 40 and 60 percent of the variance in the dependent variable related to criminality is due to genetic influences.,

What is the key difference between differential association and social learning theories?

The key concepts added by social learning theory are differential reinforcement and imitation, which will be detailed on later slides.

Edwin Sutherland

one of the most prominent and influential criminologists in the field. He first proposed Differential Association theory in 1939. The main proposition behind Differential Association is that criminal behavior is learned which is concidered a classical perspective nine principles

Unsupervised time with peers

poor self-control, social bonding, influenced, immitation, diffential association

Pulls

pull theories showed how people could be lured into crime by providing antisocial models and criminal companions. Differential association or social learning theories would fall into this rubric ex: differential association and social learning

Positive punishment

receiving a punishment/something undesirable to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

Negative punishment

removing something desirable to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

Looking-glass self

The looking-glass self describes the process wherein individuals base their sense of self on how they believe others view them. Using social interaction as a type of "mirror," people use the judgments they receive from others to measure their own worth, values, and behavior. Cooley's concept is notable because it suggests that self-concept is built not in solitude, but rather within social settings. In this way, society and individuals are not separate, but rather two complementary aspects of the same phenomenon.

Feedback effect

The notion that thoughts and feelings have a direct influence on behaviour. As expectations can be self-fulfilling, people's own attitudes affect the outcome of events.

Direct control (by parents)

self control, builds social bonding, less likely to do deviance, in which direct controls influence male delinquency

Self-Control Theory

self-control theory contends that criminal propensities are established in childhood, and thus that miscon-duct is stable across the life course self-control theory claims that any apparent empirical relationship between social bonds (e.g., attachment to others, commitment to schooling) and crime is spurious. Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi

Graham Sykes & David Matza

techniques of neutralization, which was proposed by ---Graham Sykes & David Matza. Essentially, the idea of techniques of neutralization is rooted in the contention that criminals understand that committing crime is wrong and therefore have to create a mental state within themselves that justifies, or neutralizes, the crime they want to commit prior to committing it. This is in opposition to the idea that criminals are part of --deviant/criminal subcultures -where delinquents and criminals learn that criminal behavior is normative, that is, they think of it as ok and the default way to behave, as opposed to conforming, law-abiding behavior. Sykes and Matza said that no, people who commit crime live in the same society as everyone else, therefore they know that criminal behavior is wrong because they are exposed to the same influences as the vast majority of the population, who generally abide by laws.

Involvement

the act or process of taking part in something

Differential reinforcement

the balance of anticipated or actual rewards and punishments that follow or are consequences of behavior. ■The probability of an individual repeating an act increases when they receive reinforcement for it, either positive (a reward such as a peer approval, money, adrenaline rush) or negative (avoiding something unpleasant, like arrest or overdose).■The probability of an individual repeating an act decreases when they receive punishment for it, either positive (imposition of a punishment, such as arrest, being shunned by friends, etc.) or negative (being grounded, losing your license for a DUI, etc.)

Free will

the freedom and ability to choose

Desistance

the tendency of individuals to age out of crime over the life course Desistance from crime is due to opportunities for change and to offenders experiencing a cognitive transformation.

(Components of low) self-control

traits like hyperactivity, impulsivity, low empathy, and a reduced ability to learn from punishment, risk-taking, impulsivity, irritability,

Terrie Moffitt

The primary theorist of Developmental/Life course: Continuity or change She suggests that the jump in crime during the teenage years conceals two groups that take very different developmental pathways into crime. One group, which she calls life-course-persistent offenders (LCPs), start antisocial acts early and continue their waywardness into and beyond adolescence. The second group, which she calls adolescence-limited offenders (ALs), start and finish their criminality during the teenage years. Argues that it's a more complicated process that involves a child's individual traits interacting with the social environment in the case of life-course persistent offenders, this creates a cycle that traps them in a life of antisocial behavior that includes criminality

Parental attachment

The relationship of a child to his or her parents characterized by different possible levels of stability and security.

Robert Sampson

used Shaw and McKay's theory to illuminate crime in today's society argued that crime was high in inner cities because the residents had lost the capacity to exercise "in-formal social control." Especially in neighbor-hoods where most families were "broken," the adult resources needed to supervise youths and involve them in wholesome activities were depleted. Coming from a broken home per se was not the key issue, said Sampson. Rather, it was living in a neighborhood where a high proportion of families were headed by a single parent that created a context in which control could not be exercised effectively. Sampson stressed that independent of the traits of individuals, communities varied in their capacity to regulate conduct and suppress criminal behavior Developmental/Life course: Pathways and turning points (continuity and change)

Demonic possession

■Individuals commit crime because they succumb to Satanic temptation, possessed by evil forces .■Crime is a sin and an offense against whatever higher power a given society worships .■Brutal methodsoften used to determine demonic possession. ■"Possessed" individuals often harshly punished

Adolescence-limited offenders

■Maturity gap" between biological development into adults but not being allowed to "be adults" for several years drives their delinquency. ■Delinquency through social mimicry of LCPs and/or older teenagers. ■Delinquency symbolizes autonomy and maturity .■ALs desist from crime asthe maturity gap closes and they can assume the adult rols

Age-crime curve

■Participation in crime overall peaks in the teenage years .■Specifically, around age -17-18 .■Violent crime peaks a bit later .■By early 20s, the number of active offenders drops by more than 50%. ■By age 28, almost 85%of offenders have desisted.

Techniques, attitudes, and beliefs

■Techniques: specific behaviors/skills one needs to know in order to successfully commit a crime (ex.: where to buy weed and how to pack a bowl in order to smoke it, how to evade security measures when shoplifting, and everyone's favorite, how to get rid of a body after committing a murder) .■Definitions: attitudes and beliefs about delinquency/crime (ex. "these laws are stupid," "it is socially desirable to smoke weed," "this store won't miss this steak," "dude had it coming.")

Twin studies

advantage of seeing how two people in ostensibly the same environment growing up (different than non-siblings, because twins are the same age, so temporal exposure is controlled for) differ in criminality between 100% shared DNA and ~50% shared DNA. Studies have shown that largely, identical twins are more similar in criminality than fraternal ones, and that nonshared environmental factors - that is, different experiences - have a much stronger effect on criminality than shared influences.

What was a major criticism of Sutherland's differential association theory

although one of the criticisms of differential association (which, spoiler alert, led to social learning theory) is that Sutherland did not elaborate too much on how exactly these things were defined

Attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation There is the individ-ual's emotional bond or attachment to conventional others, such as family members and teachers.

Negative reinforcement

avoiding a punishment by engaging in a certain behavior

Empirical

based on observation or experiment

Positive reinforcement

being rewarded for engaging in a certain behavior

Maturity gap

between biological development into adults but not being allowed to "be adults" for several years drives their delinquency

Conformity

compliance with standards, rules, or laws.

Marxian

crime results from the power imbalance created and maintained by capitalism

(Differential) peer association

differential association, social learning, and social bond/social control, those theories state that peer groups play a major role in determining an individual's criminal behavior. Influence of peers increase in adolescence, family influence decrease Attitudes and definitions are what they sound like: how other people feel about crime and law like a peer group who is cool with smoking weed, or friends who define shoplifting as acceptable. Conversely, a peer group might find smoking weed unacceptable and believe in the legitimacy of laws prohibiting it.

Cesare Beccaria

first and most notable classical criminologist Beccaria's book, An Essay on Crimes and Punishments, presents the first of the modern or scientific theories of crime. The book, first published in 1764, became the foundation for the classical theory of criminology, which dominated explanations of crime for close to 100 years. According to classical theory, people are rational and concerned with minimizing their pain and maximizing their pleasure. Their ef-forts to do so often lead them to engage in crime, unless they are deterred by the threat of punishment Beccaria's book is primarily concerned with crit-icizing the legal system in the 1700s and offering proposals for its reform,

Social reinforcement

goes beyond the direct reactions of others in the moment of the act. It includes the whole range of actual and anticipated tangible and intangible rewards valued in society or subgroups of society. People act as others/as if others are watching them, even when alone (go back to the --looking-glass self

Indirect control (by parents)

indirect controls better explain female delinquency

Internal containment

individual's conscience; positive self-concept; good tolerance for frustration; general adherence to norms and values of society.

operant conditioning

is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior

Social environment

just as our environment shapes us, we shape our environment. Those same impulsive and thrill-seeking traits might cause a person's social groups to react to them in such a way (hostility, shunning, etc.) that causes the person to respond with criminal/delinquent behavior. Or, those traits might cause the person to seek out environments , like delinquent peer groups, that are more conducive to crime. This is where we see "well, it depends" and "it's complicated" start to creep in to crime theory—because, as you'll learn when we talk about differential association, social learning, and social bond/social control, those theories state that peer groups play a major role in determining an individual's criminal behavior

Pushes

When answering why people committed criminal acts, push theories demarcated forces that would "push" or propel individuals onto the other side of the law the way capitalism creates intense pressures toward crime would qualify as a push theory ex: strain theory

rational choice

a choice that uses the available resources to best achieve the objective of the person making the choice

Belief

a descriptive thought that a person holds about something

Commitment

a promise or pledge to do something A recent study by Baumer and Gustafson (2007), however, found that crime is higher in areas in the United States where people express a high commitment to monetary success and a low commitment to the legitimate means for achieving such success

Norms

a standard or pattern, especially of social behavior, that is typical or expected of a group.

Life-course persistent offenders ■Make up only about ---of population.■Antisocial behavior ---■Disruption of normal brain development by ---,---,or---■These traits are linked to the emergence of ---and----■They also "ensnare" people in ---: one deviant/delinquent/antisocial/criminal act leads to another and establishes a pattern that's nearly impossible to break.

5% varies developmentallyexposure to toxins prenatally or in early childhood.misconduct and social failure.antisocial life

At about what age did Gottfredson and Hirschi say an individual's self-control is pretty much determined for life?

8

Criminals as generalists vs. specialists

A generalist offender would commit different offenses on various occasions, with no inclination to pursue a specific criminal act or pattern of criminal acts whereas a specialist offender shows a greater tendency to repeat the same crime or offense over time

Psychopathy

A relatively large body of research has shown psychopathy to be one of the strongest predictors of involvement in crime, violence, and other antisocial behaviors - in fact, it's estimated that psychopathy is 25 times higher among prison inmates than the nonincarcerated population. traits associated with psychopathy are short-temperedness, lack of remorse, an inability to empathize or accept responsibility, guiltlessness, impulsiveness, thrill-seeking, etc. roughly 37% of the variance in psychopathic personality traits was influenced by genetic measures , and the remaining 63 percent was due to environmental factors This is consistent with most of the research into genetic correlates of crime, which tends to show that between 40 and 60 percent of the variance in the dependent variable related to criminality is due to genetic influences.,

Theory

A theory is a set of interconnected propositions that explain how two or more events, factors, concepts, etc. are related to one another. ■More simply put, theories are proposed answers to problems or questions. ■They provide explanations for why things are the way they are or happen the way they do.

Social structure and social learning

Akers (2009) has recently extended macro-level learning theories of crime. In particular, his theory of "social structure and social learn-ing" argues that group differences in crime rates are more than a function of group differences in values or beliefs conducive to crime argues that features of the larger social environment affect crime by influenc-ing all of the mechanisms by which individuals learn to engage in crime—including association with criminal others, the differential reinforce-ment for crime, exposure to criminal models, and the adoption of beliefs favorable to crime Akers's theory is compatible with Sutherland's theory. Like Sutherland, Akers argues that we learn to engage in crime through exposure to and the adoption of definitions favorable to crime. Akers, however, more fully describes the nature of such definitions.

Social control

Although social control is often a response to deviant behavior, it should not be equated with formal regulation or forced conformity by institutions such as the police and courts. Rather, social control refers generally to the capacity of a group to regulate its members according to desired principles—to re-alize collective, as opposed to forced, goals.

Differential association (the concept)

An important concept upon which Sutherland based differential association theory is Charles Cooley's "looking glass self." This idea is, briefly, that the way we perceive ourselves is influenced by the way we believe we are perceived by others.

Sutherland's sixth principle of differential association

An individual becomes criminal when their definitions favorable toward the violation of the law outweigh their definitions unfavorable toward the violation of the law

Antisocial vs. prosocial behaviors

Antisocial- Problem child-problem parent interactions and the emergence of antisocial behaviors. I be-lieve that the juxtaposition of a vulnerable and difficult infant with an adverse rearing context initiates risk for the life-course-persistent pat-tern of antisocial behavior. Further, thid behavior that starts early in life and persists throughout has been found to be more heritable than antisocial behavior that manifests in childhood only and then desists. prosocial - Typi-cally, they attempt to change the social contingen-cies in the family environment so that children are rewarded in some way for appropriate or prosocial behaviors and punished in some way for inappro-priate or antisocial behaviors.

Appropriate vs. inappropriate and consistent vs. inconsistent punishment

Appropriate - justifiable and equal,certin inappropriate - overpowering, leient, unjustifiable consistent - swiftly, fair, preciennce inconsistent punishment- long, forgetful

Definitions (for learning delinquency)

Attitudes or "beliefs" Attitudes and definitions are what they sound like: how other people feel about crime and laws like a peer group who is cool with smoking weed, or friends who define shoplifting as acceptable. Conversely, a peer group might find smoking weed unacceptable and believe in the legitimacy of laws prohibiting it bout delinquency/crime (ex. "these laws are stupid," "it is socially desirable to smoke weed," "this store won't miss this steak," "dude had it coming.")

Burgess

Burgess and Akers developed social learning out of behavioral psychology principles, specifically operant conditioning, which was popularized by B.F. Skinner

John Laub

Ironically, social bond theory received its most potent shot in the arm from two former students of Gottfredson and Hirschi, Robert Sampson and John Laub Sampson and Laub take Gottfredson and Hirschi to task for committing what Elliott Currie (1985: 185) calls the "fallacy of intractability—the belief that because child-hood problems often appear early in life they are therefore fundamentally irreversible, portents of criminality worsening into adulthood. their first book, Crime in the Making, Robert Sampson and John Laub (1993) set forth an important paradigm for understanding the development of crime they were alluding to the fact that people can be caught in life trajectories that form a continuous line over a substantial time period. With regard to crime, they noted that the trajectory may extend to childhood, and that there is "considerable evidence that antisocial behavior is relatively stable across stages of the life course" (p. 11). By "turning points," they were raising the possibility that entering a criminal trajectory is not a life sentence Developmental/Life course: Pathways and turning points (continuity and change)

Biological harms

Keep in mind too that those of lower socioeconomic status are not just at higher risk of exposure to bio harms, they likely have a lower ability to mitigate them. Like, if you live in a place where you're exposed to high levels of lead, whether in the drinking water, paint, or because you live near an airport, and you're lower-income, you can't just move away, you don't have the money to sue your landlord to compel them mitigate the exposure, you might not have adequate health insurance to seek treatment...etc.

Biological/psychological

Modern biological/psychological theories of crime acknowledge that history, and generally approach theory development by focusing on the way these possible genetic or biological causes interact with an individual's social and/or physical environment. They don't approach these bio/psych causes as deterministic, but rather probabilistic. yes, social environment matters, but so does biology Modern biological/psychological theories of crime are not saying that if someone has a criminal gene or other biological trait linked to criminal activity, they are definitely going to become a criminal. They are not saying that there is some sort of way we can definitely determine if someone is or will become a criminal, either by looking at their genes or brain scans giving them psychological tests, etc. They are saying that these factors may interact with others to produce traits more conducive to committing a crime.Also, to clarify, probabilistic just means an increasedchance over someone without that trait. It doesn't mean a better than 50 percent chance, or that the person is probably going to commit crimes.

Cesare Lombroso

Most prominent positivist Lombroso's own theory, first proposed in 1876, soon replaced classical theory as the dominant explanation of crime Lombroso based his theory on his work as a physician Lombroso argued that many criminals are "genetic throwbacks," or primitive people in the midst of modern society. Their primi-tive, savage state is what leads them to engage in crime Lombroso, arguing that individuals differ greatly in their motivation for crime, with such differences being determined by forces largely beyond their control, including biological factors and the social environment. Lombroso is sometimes called the "father" of modern criminology in part because of his emphasis on scientifically testing theories.

Nonsocial reinforcement

Nonsocial reinforcement mainly concerns things like the physical effects of getting high, or the rewards or punishments of shoplifting.

Recognition of deviance

Parental recognition of deviance kind of teaches children right from wrong and also shows them that their bad behavior is undesirable and will be called out. Developmental/Life course: Continuity Gottfredson and Hirschi's

Walter Reckless

Reckless identified two categories of theories that were popular in his day: "push" the-ories and "pull" theories. When answering why people committed criminal acts, push theories demarcated forces that would "push" or propel individuals onto the other side of the law the way capitalism creates intense pressures toward crime would qualify as a push theory In contrast, pull theories showed how people could be lured into crime by providing antisocial models and criminal com-panions. Differential association or social learn-ing theories would fall into this rubric advanced the "containment theory" perspective, 1940s-1960s. The theory contends that a series of external social factors and internal qualities effectively insulate certain individuals from criminal involvement even when ecological variables induce others to engage in crime

Containment

Reckless's theory was that its scope in-cluded internal and external sources of control The theory contends that a series of external social factors and internal qualities effectively insulate certain individuals from criminal involvement even when ecological variables induce others to engage in crime

According to A General Theory of Crime, why are criminal parents more likely to raise children who turn out to be delinquent than are parents with non-criminal backgrounds? (the complete, correct answer goes beyond "low self-control")

Studies have found support for the hypothesis that there is more crime among-adopted children with criminal bio parents (i.e. nature) than there is among adopted children with criminal adoptive parents (nurture). However, they have also found that both the adoptive AND bio parents having criminal histories is the strongest predictor of criminality in adopted children.

Criminal subcultures

Subcultures supply the outcast offender with the opportunity to reject her rejectors, thereby maintaining a form of self-respect. In contrast, the consequence of reintegrative shaming is that criminal sub-cultures appear less attractive to the offender. Criminal subcultures are sets of rationalizations and conduct norms which cluster together to sup-port criminal behavior.

Techniques of neutralization (what they are in general and the five types)

Sykes and Matza provide insight on what specific definitions or beliefs might encourage offending They delineate a core set of beliefs—which they label "techniques of neutralization"—that they argue are learned and permit law-breaking to take place But if this is so, how is it possible—as Sykes and Matza put it—that people violate laws that they believe in? Sykes and Matza's contribution is in developing a theory of how controls are neu-tralized. They argue that there are sets of beliefs that, when invoked, in effect say that it is "okay" to commit a criminal act "in this circumstance The Denial of Responsibility- accident, how they were raised The Denial of Injury- vandalism The Denial of Victim- homosexuals, crooks The Condemnation of theCondemners- hypocrits The Appeal to Higher Loyalties- the gang

Imitation

The engagement in behavior after observing similar behavior in others. ■Peer groups model delinquent/criminal (or conforming ) behavior for the individual to imitate when they commit a delinquent/criminal (or conforming) act of their own. ■Whether a modeled behavior is imitated is influenced by the characteristics of the models, the observed behavior, and the observed consequences of that behavior. ■Imitation is salient in both deviant and conforming behavior. ■More important in the initial acquisition and performance of a behavior than in the maintenance of or desistance from that behavior (but it does still have some effect on maintenance of behaviors).

Social Bond

Travis Hirschi's "social bond theory," one would make a "mental note" that this work is in the part on "control theory." sometimes referred to as social control theory. It is the belief that socialization and the forming of personal relationships are among the most significant aspects of human development that keep us from committing crimes or other acts of social deviance. A control theory that states that individuals will commit criminal or delinquent acts when their ties (bonds) to society are weakened or have broken. There are four types of bonds: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. When the bonds are strong, an individual will refrain from criminal activity Social bond theory asserts that experiences beyond childhood can affect a person's ties to conventional society, and thus that as bonds strengthen or weaken, people's involvement in crime can ebb and flow Start by asking the question, "Why don't people commit crime?" It is assumed that criminal motivation is widespread. The key factor in crime causation is thus the presence or absence of control. This control or containment might be rooted in relationships (e.g., social bonds) or be internal (e.g., self-control). Further, when normative controls exist, crime might still be possible through the use of "techniques of neu-tralization" that justify breaking the law under specific circumstances. seen as control theorists, because they examined how people become free to commit crime only when beliefs can be evoked to "neutralize" the restraint normative standards usually exert over them.