Criminology- Exam 2

3 “superfactors” of personality

1.Constraint, 2.Negative emotionally, 3.Positive emotionality

Human ecology and Urban ecology

Focuses on the humans and their environments, while the other focuses specifically on city-based sociological systems.

Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory (1969)

1. Attachment- importance of emotional relationships that lead to internalization of norms

2. Commitment- “stake in conformity” or amount invested in conventional society

3. Involvement- Keeping busy with conventional activities; “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”

4. Belief- Respect for the law; moral obligation to conform because crime is wrong

Biosocial criminology

Subfield that focuses on the interaction of biological and social factors in explaining crime.

Centrifugal

From the center of the city to outwards in radical growth

Discordance/Concordance rates

Not sharing the same trait compared to both sharing the exact same traits.

Implicit bias

Bias in judgement or behavior that results from subtle, subconscious cognitive processes, unconscious attitudes, and beliefs.

Somatotypes (3 types)

Endomorph: Higher body fat

Mesomorph: Muscular body

Ectomorph: Tall and skinny

Ego Ideals

Who younger boys aspire to be or look up to

Concentric zones model/theory

Theory of city growth; cities grow from the center outward, centrifugal movement. Ripple effect, domino effect, radial growth, suburbanization.

Social disorganization

The inability of a community to realize common values or maintain effective social controls over problem behaviors, common value: safety (crime free neighborhoods)

Cultural transmission

The process of passing cultural beliefs, behaviors and language through social learning for each generation.

Differential social organization

The structural antecedents that lead to weak social control, like poverty, racial and ethnic heterogeneity and residential turnover.

Social capital

Networks of relationships that facilitate common actions and make possible the achievement of common goals.

Concentration effects

The outcomes of living in places with high levels of poverty, joblessness and family disruption, like the combination of these structural disadvantages.

Social isolation

Lack of contact or sustained interaction with people and institutions that represent mainstream society.

Cognitive landscapes

Place based norms and expectations, or perceptions and tolerance for certain behaviors that result from one’s community context.

Collective efficacy

The shared belief among group members in their ability together to accomplish goals and overcome later challenges

Defensible space

Range of mechanisms that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents.

Drift

A limbo between convention and crime, such as both good and bad behavior

Anomie

The breakdown of social norms and a condition in which those norms no longer control members of society (Durkheim), strain theories as a group emphasize frustration or anger as the primary cause of crime, resulting from anomie.

Relative deprivation

Disadvantaged groups’ awareness that they are deprived while others are not. Implies a comparison of themselves to others, consciousness of inequality. Discrepancy between one group and another in terms of resources.

Tabula Rasa

The assumption that people are blank slates, start off neither good or bad.

Punishment and Reinforcement

Punishment decreases and eliminates a certain behavior, while Reinforcement increases and often rewards certain behaviors.

Stakes in conformity

The amount one has invested or has to lose, such as job, relationships and reputation.

Self-control

The amount of control one has of their thoughts or emotions in certain situations.

Tagging

The labeling of youths as sorts of criminals or to be seen as evil

Amplification effect

A small change on something that can lead to disproportionately larger consequences later down the road.

Primary vs Secondary deviance

Primary deviance is not a long time affecting term on ones social status, while secondary deviance is subsumed into the labeled person’s identity and becomes all that they are known as.

Master Status

Where words such as criminal or deviant become the defining words that are used to describe someone

Self-fulfilling prophecy (Merton)

False definition of a situation that evokes a behavior, which causes the perception to come true.

Defiance

The net increase in future offending caused by a proud, shameless reaction to the administration of a criminal sanction.

3 types of general strain theory (Agnew)

1. Goal blockage is the strain that most versions focus on, also…

2. Loss of something valued, and

3. Presence of something bad, other classifications, objective vs subjective, experienced vicarious and anticipated.

Sykes and Matza’s Five Techniques of Neutralization (1957)

1. Denial of responsibility

2. Denial of injury

3. Denial of victim

4. Condemnation of the condemners

5. Appeal to higher loyalties

Three Components of the Routine Activity Theory (Cohen and Felson 1979)

1. Motivated offender (this is assumed: we take criminal inclination as given”)

2. Suitable target

3. Absence of suitable guardians

Macro vs Micro

Macro expands upon groups and links each social structure, while Micro focuses on individual level interactions

Structure vs Process

Structure focuses on how society is fully organized, while Process focuses how how people become criminals

Conflict vs Consensus

Conflict is the idea that laws are weapons and are used by more powerful groups to enforce their own morality and self-trust, while Consensus states that laws are a product of shared customs and norms where you cannot separate law from morality.

3 key findings from genetic & environment scholarship

1.JD juvenile delinquency was due to mobility, heterogeneity and poverty

2.rates decrease as one moves from outward to the suburbs or commuter zone

3.JD rates stable despite racial and ethnic composition

Elijah Anderson’s distinction between “street” and “decent” families

Street families and cultures develop in opposition to decent middle class families and their values.

Conclusions from social disorganization theory in Chicago

High crime rates were often due to the neighborhood conditions rather than one’s individual characteristics.

Main institutions that intersect in Rosenfeld & Messner’s “institutional-anomie theory”

Economic, political, educational, and familial institutions

Merton’s strain theory (5 modes of adaptation)

1.Conformity: pursue the goals and means

2.Innovation: accept goals but pursue means

3.Ritualism: abandon success

4.Retreatism: reject both

5.Rebellion: reject goals and means

Different types of conditioning (learning theory)

Classical conditioning: (Pavlov’s dog)- stimulus produces an association, passive learning.

Operant conditioning: (BF SKinner; rewards and punishments like rats pressing levers, active learning.

Becker’s 4 types of deviant behavior

Conformist (obedient/not perceived),

Falsely accused (Obedient/perceived),

Secret deviant (rule-breaking, not perceived)

Pure deviant (rule-breaking, perceived)

Disintegrative vs. reintegrative shaming

Disintegrative uses guilt or outcasting techniques like a degrading letter, while Reintegrative uses community forgiveness and loves the sinner yet hates the crime.

Subcultural theories (Wolfgang & Ferracuti, Elijah Anderson, regional/Southern)

Wolfgang and Ferracuti’s “subculture of violence” theory - used to explain unplanned “heat of the moment” or passion homicides

Elijah Anderson: Violent behaviors are a response to threats to masculinity and reputation, result of lack of faith in the justice system.

Regional subculture of violence in the south- people who are socialized in the south have a higher tolerance for violence as a way of solving disputes and enhancing reputation.

Why race is connected to crime (Sampson & Wilson)

Social isolation- lack of contact or sustained interaction with people and institutions that represent mainstream society. Economical shifts, lack of education.

Gottfredson & Hirschi’s A General Theory of Crime

The need for self-control is important, this is due to low self-control (LSC), which is measured by being easily frustrated, unstable commitments and self-centered throughts, as well as need for adventure taking and risks.

3 components of effective parenting: Monitor, recognize, and punishment.

Sutherland’s theory of differential association

Several propositions: Criminal behavior is learned in association with intimate others by interacting and communicating with them.

Akers’ theory of differential reinforcement

The violent behavior should be differently reinforced over normal behavior.

Main people- Names associated with major theories (Social disorganization and definace)

Social disorganization theory: Shaw & McKay

Defiance theory: Sherman

Main people- Names associated with major theories (Routine activity and social bond)

Routine activity theory: Cohen and Felson

Social bond theory: Hirshci

Main people- Names associated with major theories (modernization and differential association)

Modernization theory: Durkheim

Differential association theory: Sutherland

Main people- Names associated with major theories (strain and subculture of violence)

Strain theory: Merton

subculture of violence theory: Wolfgang and Ferracuti

Findings from biosocial/trait studies

Identical twins (MZ) separated at birth: Higher concordance rates for criminality than twins raised together (supporting genetic argument).

Adoption studies: 4 groups of adoptees:

-Biological parents contributed more to offspring criminality than adoptive parents

-Combination = highest likelihood of criminality

-Not “nature vs nurture” but nature via nurture