Criminology quiz 2

What is the positivist school?

• emerged in Italy

• 1800s

• centered around LombroSo's writing

• studies what makes individuals criminals (biologically… influenced by Darwinism) 

What is correlation?

systematic variation of two variables together

What is a positive correlation?

Variables increase/decrease together

What is a negative correlation?

Variables increase and decrease opposingly

What is causation?

the relationship between variables that leads to one variable influencing another

What is a time sequence used for?

to establish causality, the cause must occur before the effect

What is the absence of spuriousness?

the relationship between variables must not be influenced by a third, unrelated variable

What is theoretical rationale?

provides a coherent explanation of why or hour one variable may cause another

What did the early historical influences on positivist thinking do?

people connected physical characteristics to moral behavior

What were Shakespeare's books "the tempest “ and "Homer's Iliad about?

Connecting physical characteristics to moral behavior

What did Johan Caspar lavatEr do invent (1741 - 1801)?

Physiognomy

What is physiognomy?

Linked facial features to behavior

What did Franz Joseph gall (1758 - 1828) invent?

Phrenology

What is phrenology?

Linking skull shape to mental functions

Early biological theories were about…

Biological determinism

Who is Cesar lombroso (1835 - 1901)?

The father of modern criminology

Cesar lombroso relied on…

Darwin's evolutionary theory

What did Cesar lombroso write?

A book called "born criminal - criminal man“

What did Cesar lombroso think?

• thought criminals are primitive and less evolved

• thought criminals were throwbacks to lesser developed humans

• thought physical characteristics are linked to crime

What did Cesar lombroso focus on?

the whole body rather than just the head/face

What are the features of criminals (according to lombroso)?

• deviations in head size and shape

• asymmetry of the face and brain

• large jaws and cheekbones

• unusually large/small ears

• fleshy-lips, abnormal teeth, receding chins

• abundant hair/wrinkes, long arms, extra fingers/toes

What are the three classes of criminals (according to lombroso)?

1. Born criminals, 2. Insane criminals, 3. Criminaloids

What are born/autalistic criminals?

Criminals that can be distinguished by physical abnormalities

What are insane criminals?

Mentally ill criminals

What are criminaloids?

The majority of criminals that are created by the environment (no physical/ mental/ emotional marks)

What did goring say in response to LombroSo's born criminal theory?

He Argued that it is impossible to distinguish between born criminals, insane criminals and criminaloids

What was Charles Goring'S study (1901 - 1913) about?

• compared prisoners with officers

• found that prisoners are usually shorter by 1-2 inches and weigh about 3-7 pounds less

• general hereditary inferiority = "minor physical anomalies"

• suggested crime was due to defective intelligence and is interested through parents

What are the 3 body types in the body type theories?

Endomorphic, mesomorphic, ectomorphic

What is an endomorphic body type and what characteristics is it associated with?

Chubby, viscertonic (an extroverted softie)

What is an mesomorphic body type and what characteristics is it associated with?

Somotonic (an active and aggressive person)

What is an ectomorphic body type and what characteristics is it associated with?

Cerebrotonic ( a nerdy and introverted person)

What are identical/ monozygotic twins?

twins that share 100% of their genes because they come from a single fertilized egg that splits in two

What are fraternal/dizygotic twins?

twins that share 50% of their genes

What do twin studies show?

that crime has a genetic component, not that criminality is wholly or completely determined by genes

What did Schulsinger's adoption study in 1972 show?

That criminality in adopted boys is higher when biological fathers had criminal records

What did the adoption study by Hutchins, mednick, and Sarnoff in 1977 find out?

That criminality of the biological father was a major predictor of the child's criminal behavior

What did the adoption study by mednick, Gabrielli, and Hutchings in 1984 find out?

~~13. 5% of adoptees with no biological/adopt Parents were convicted

~~20% of adoptees with criminal biological parent ONLY, were convicted

~~24. 5% of adoptees with both biological and adoptive criminal parents were convicted

What is the major criticism of adoption studies?

when the adoption environment is different From the normal population, Petty/property offenses are more frequent so hereditary effects are Easier to find.

What 2 thing did the first ted talk we watched in class talk about?

all traits are influenced by heritability,

The core issue in criminology is the traditional approach that focused only on environmental factors, biology + environment shape criminal behavior

What are the two major factors affect how genetics and criminal behavior are inked ?

Age and type of crime

What does biosocial criminology do?

It integrates genetics, neuroscience, psychology, and sociology to explain criminal behavior.

What does biosocial criminology emphasize?

the interaction between biological predisposition and environments factors

What does biosocial criminology study?

risk and protective factors to inform policies and interventions that prevent crime and rehabilitate offenders

What are the three neurotransmitters that are important to this class?

Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine

Low serotonin correlates with…

Aggression and low self control

What else can effect neurotransmitter levels?

Drugs (ssri's), food (fish), environment (stress).

What was the Hans Brunner 1993 study?

A study that proved that Maltreated children were more likely to develop antisocial personality disorder but this likeliness increased if the children had low Mao

How do hormones play role in criminality?

-Men with high testosterone and low serotonin have more aggressive behavior

-During ovulation there is a temporary spike in testosterone

What is the central nervous system?

Brain and spinal chard

What are the 4 lobes in the brain?

Frontal (front), parietal (top), occipital (back), temporal (around ears)

What does the frontal lobe deal with?

violence, goal directed behavior, impulses

What does the temporal lobe deal with?

violence, sex, emotional expression

What is in the temporal lobe?

Has the limbic system and the amygdala

What is neurocriminology?

Applies brain imaging techniques and principles from neuroscience to understand, predict, and prevent crime

A murderer has…

less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, reduced amygdala size/activity

___of sexual sadists have abnormal brain structures in____

50% ; temporal lobe

50% of murder suspects have…

Brain atrophy (a loss of neural pathways)

___ Individuals with anti social personality disorder had an 11% reduction in____ in the____

21; grey matter; prefrontal cortices

Unsuccessful psychopaths have less...

Prefrontal matter

What is the autonomic system (ans)?

• peripheral nervous system (blood pressure, heart rate)

• fight or flight instinct

• skin conductance (a way to gauge arousal)

• resting heart rate (lower= more likely to be antisocial )

What are the two theoretical mechanism of what people commit crimes/do dangerous Things?

Fearlessness theory, and the stimulation seeking theory

What is the fearlessness theory?

• less fear conditioning, poor socialization → less tear of punishment/consequences

What is the stimulation seeking theory?

• under arousal is uncomfortable, thrill seeking helps raise arousal to comfortable levels

What other biological factors correlate to people committing crimes?

Nutrition (fish and omega 3 fatty acids → less aggressive), fetal alcohol syndrome, and lead exposure

What are the consequences of fetal alcohol syndrome?

1. Minor physical anomalies (fetal maldevelopment)

2. Prenatal Nicotine/alcohol exposure

3. Brain damage -- head injuries

What are the consequences of lead exposure?

1. reduced cognitive function

2. Behavioral changes, such as irritability and aggression

What are the two criticisms of looking at the biological factors of crime?

• promotes the idea that crime can be controlled through biological manipulation ratter than social reform

• shifts the debate away from the Social conditions that contribute to criminal behavior

Is there a single crime gene?

No

Who were the two people who did intelligence and personality tests on criminal behavior?

Darwin and Richard dugale

What did Darwin think about criminal behavior in relation to intelligence and personality?

That it was based on evolution and heredity (people inherited intellectual disibilities)

What did Richard Dugale'S prison experiment in 1874 do?

1. Found 6 family members in jail (jukes)

2. Traced genealogy (he thought the criminals were inherently inferior)

3. Argued that degenerate families shouldn't be allowed to reproduce

Who was Henry H. Goddard and what did he do?

• wrote the kallikak family: a study in the heredity of table-minded (1912) where he advocated for eugenics

• was a Prominent psychologist

What was the Buck vs. Bell case in the Supreme Court/SCOTUS in 1927?

upheld sterilization law in the VA (due process rights)

• • done to improve the human race by eliminating "defectives" from the gene pool

• • Focuses on prevention rather than reparations a

What was Alfred Binet's (1857 - 1911) IQ test?

mental age / chronological age x 100 = IQ score

• when mental age > chronological age, IQ = 100+

What was goddard's addition to Alfred binet's IQ tests?

• Goddard administered it to inmates( huge portion of IQ below 75 ) - feebleminded

• all feebleminded people are potential criminals

• shaudn'T be allowed to reproduced

• looking at WWI soldiers casted doubt on these theories

How does race play a role in delinquency and IQ?

• African AmericanS Score 15 points less than European Americans

What was Arthur Jensen (1969) write about/hypothesize in the Harvard educational review?

• 80% of individual differences in IQ is genetic

• hypothesis = delinquency is related to the individual's biology

What did Gordon's theory (1976) state?

That youths with lower IQs, regardless of race, were more likely to become delinquent

What did hirschi and hindelang argue for in 1977?

That IQ is at least as important as class Or race in predicting delinquency

More serious offenders have...

Lower IQ

Life course persistent offenders have______ points lower than normal.

17 IQ

______ is associated with delinquency

Low verbal IQ

What are three approaches to what IQ really measures?

1. Inherited = innate ability

2. Dominant culture (tests are skewed and written to benefit dominant culture

3. Environment= School, classes, etc

Who believed in the inherited explanation of IQ?

Gordon, hirschi and Hindelang, Gottfredson, Wilson, herrnstein

Who believed in the dominant culture explanation of IQ ?

Jane Mercer

Who believed in the environment explanation of IQ?

Simmons and Flynn

What is the Flynn effect?

It says that IQ can't be attributed to genetics because it is the result of the environment and technology

What is personality?

The set of emotional, cognitive and behavioral traits that define how a person interacts with the world

What was freud's psychoanalysis theory?

Human behavior is influenced by unconscious thoughts, urges, and memories

What was moffitt's life course - persistent offenders theory?

That life course - persistent offenders have neuropsychological problems that to impulsivity and that they don't get out of a life of crime

What are the two abnormal/ pathological perspectives about personality and criminal behavior?

Freud'S psychoanalysis theory and moffitt's life course _persistent offenders theory

What is the normal / nonpathological perspective about personality and criminal behavior?

The big 5 personality inventory

What traits are in the big 5 personality inventory?

• openness, conscientiousness, extroversion,agreeableness, and neuroticism

What is openness?

Lack of secrecy

What is neuroticism?

A person's tendency to experience negative emotions

What is conscientiousness

Responsibility, carefullness

What is impulsivity a key personality characteristic in?

Antisocial personality disorder

What did Wilson and herrnstein write about?

People who focus on short term consequences are more likely to become criminals

What are adolescent limited offenders according to moffitt's

Adolescent limited offenders engage in delinquent behavior During teenage years then stop when they mature into adulthood

What is antisocial personality disorder (APD)?

Pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation, of the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and comes into adulthood