SOC109 TT2 Lecture Summaries

Classical Criminology

A school of thought that focuses on individualistic explanations for criminal behavior, rejecting spiritualism and emphasizing rationality and free will.

Punishment

Actions taken to penalize individuals for committing crimes, with a focus on deterrence, individualization, and proportionality.

Objectives of Sentences

Various goals of sentencing including general deterrence, specific deterrence, denunciation, incapacitation, rehabilitation, reparations/restitution, and retribution.

Rational Choice Theory

The idea that offenders and non-offenders make decisions based on similar processes, considering background factors, prior experiences, and immediate situational factors.

Routine Activities Theory

A theory that suggests changes in lifestyle and societal factors contribute to increased victimization, focusing on the presence of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and capable guardians.

Situational Crime Prevention

A strategy that aims to reduce crime by altering the physical, social, and organizational environment to increase the effort, risk, and reduce the rewards and provocations of crime.

Criminal Profiling

A technique used in law enforcement that aims to predict characteristics of offenders, but can be inaccurate and prone to biases like racial profiling.

Techniques of Situational Crime Prevention

Methods to prevent crime by increasing the effort and risk of committing a crime, reducing the rewards and provocations, and eliminating excuses for criminal behavior.

Social disorganization

The breakdown of social structures and institutions within a community leading to increased crime and deviance.

Crime

Behavior that violates laws and regulations set by society, often challenging social norms and values.

Mechanical solidarity

Social cohesion based on shared beliefs and values, typical of traditional societies.

Organic solidarity

Social cohesion based on interdependence and specialization, characteristic of modern societies.

Repressive sanctions

Punishments aimed at maintaining social order and punishing those who deviate from societal norms.

Anomie

A state of normlessness or lack of social cohesion, leading to feelings of alienation and disconnection.

Modes of adaptation

Different ways individuals respond to societal pressures and blocked opportunities, including conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

Mertonian strain

A theory that links crime and deviance to the lack of opportunities and structural circumstances in society, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods.

General strain theory

Expands on Merton's work by considering non-monetary stressors and individual responses to strain that may lead to criminal behavior.

Control theory

A perspective that emphasizes the role of social bonds and controls in preventing individuals from engaging in criminal activities.

Social bonding theory

The idea that crime is a result of weakened social bonds and attachments that connect individuals to society.

Low self-control

A personality trait characterized by impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, and a lack of consideration for consequences, often associated with criminal behavior.

Socio-ecological theories

Theories that focus on the relationship between economic disadvantage and crime, drawing on perspectives rooted in the socio-structural paradigm.

Sociocultural environment

The environment that contributes to our socialization, exercise of agency/free will, and includes factors like neighbors, built environment, life experiences, and societal issues.

Social class

A hierarchical system that groups individuals into categories based on economic, social, political, or educational status, such as low, middle, upper, and upper class.

Stratification

Disparities between groups, especially in wealth, power, and prestige, leading to social divisions based on social class.

Socio-economic inequality

Concerns arising from mounting poverty levels and wealth concentration, with the top 1% controlling a disproportionate amount of wealth.

Chicago school of sociology

Focuses on neighborhood conditions and crime, with early studies conducted in Chicago as a representation of urban life changes.

Assimilation

The process where individuals from different cultural backgrounds adopt American beliefs and traditions, aiming to adapt to the American lifestyle.

Concentric zone theory

Theory that suggests social problems are spatially distributed, with neighborhood characteristics being a crucial determinant of social issues.

Social disorganization theory

Theory that highlights how weak social bonds and low levels of social control in communities lead to high crime rates.

Collective efficacy

The behavior of neighborhoods to identify and solve shared problems, aiding in controlling deviant behaviors and preventing crime.

Social Learning Theory

Theory that suggests individuals learn norms, values, and motivations for engaging in crime and deviance through interactions with family, friends, and imitation.

Primary Socialization

The process that occurs during childhood where immediate family influences and shapes an individual's behaviors and beliefs.

Secondary Socialization

The process that occurs during adolescence where peers become the strongest influence on behavior, potentially leading to involvement in deviant behaviors.

Peer Pressure

Influence from peers that can lead individuals to engage in deviant behaviors in order to fit in with the group.

Community Norms

Norms shaped by the social environment of neighborhoods and communities, influencing individuals' behaviors and perceptions of what is acceptable.