CJUS 2340 Exam II - Exum

r/K theory

An evolutionary theory of crime that relates to reproductive potentials

r men

have a lot of offspring
invest little/no resources on offspring

women's preference of r/K men

prefer K man for reproductive success

r men's evolutionary response

good liars, deceivers, manipulators
appear to be K men
more pushy for sex
psychopaths/offenders

offenders (r/K theory)

larger families
have sex earlier
higher rates of twins etc

Nature v Nurture debate - all about it

Determines behavior
Originally between biologists & sociologists - competitive

Biosocial theory

bio and socio play a role separately (or may interact)
environment can "turn on" genes

Crime Gene

4 Studies
1. Family studies
2. Twin studies
3. Adoption studies
4. Identical Twins Separated studies

Family studies

earliest and simple
crime runs in family

Intergenerational transmission

crime runs in family
2 or 3 generations

Twin studies

Identical (MZ)
Fraternal (DZ)
concordant rates of crime

Lang

MZ and DZ studies found that MZ twins are more concordant

Concordant

both twins engage in crime

Monozygotic (MZ)

Identical - same DNA

Dizygotic (DZ)

Fraternal - share 50% same DNA
(Think Delta Zeta for fraternal twins)

Twin studies concerns

Identical twins are dressed and treated the same by the public and expected to behave the same way

Adoption studies

Better able to separate nature from nurture
To see if adopted children behave like biological parents

Mednick et Al (Denmark)

Adoption study w/4,000 children
Biology matters more

Adoptive studies concerns

Policy of selective placement could bias the results

Selective placement

trying to place children with families who are similar in demographic and background to bio parents

Identical Twins Separated studies

MZ twins
Best separates nature from nurture
Few number of cases

Twins Separated findings

similar criminal tendencies
more research needed

Biosocial theories conclusion

Glenn Walters
not sure which matter more
recent research says it may be 50-50

xyy syndrome

super male
Danish study 42% of super males commit 1 nonviolent crime

Testosterone

competitive, aggression
weak relation between crime and higher testosterone

Estrogen

before & first few days of of menstrual cycle
pms and crime MAY be linked

Neurotransmitter related to crime

serotonin

Serotonin and crime

low leads to aggression

Factors that decrease serotonin

alcohol
pms

Frontal lobe

reasoning and rationality

Temporal lobe

emotions

causes of brain injury

birth, child abuse, trauma

regions of injured brain related to crime

frontal lobe (reasoning)
temporal lobe (emotions)

brain hypoactivity

low levels of brain activity

low blood flow to brain

aggression

K men

few offspring
invest in offspring
k-kind

autonomic nervous system (ans)

arousal levels
heart, lung, electrical activity

low ans

linked to offending
10 BPM
uncomfortable - hunger

maternal smoking

mild neuro deficits - impair emotional regulation
can lead to crime/delinquency

Nutrients linked to behavioral problems

B3
B6
C

Omega 3

low levels leads to aggression

high sugar diets

energy drinks lead to risky sexual behavior
serious fighting

lead

toxin that disrupts to brain function

ingestion of lead

linked to conduct disorder, including crime

sources of lead exposure

paint, water pipes (flint), pollution (gasoline)

policy implications of biological positivism

incapacitation of offender
treat/fix the problem
Eugenics
deterrence
rational choice options

Eugenics

mandatory sterilization

Hard Determinism

incapacitation
treat/fix
eugenics

Soft Determinism

hard determinism & deterrence/rational choice options

intelligence levels and crime

low level of intelligence

Alfred Binet

French psychologist
Father of intelligence testing
wanted to help kids grow intelligence

Binet and IQ testing

Binet-Simon scale
Average = 100
intelligence is not fixed - CAN change

Henry H. Goddard

Father of US intelligence testing
Modified Binet test

Goddard and Intelligence

intelligence is fixed
IQ accurately measures intelligence
feebleminded people

Feebleminded people

IQ < 75
No skilled labor
alcoholic
criminals
sexually promiscuous

Goddard's infleunce

Eugenics until mid 1970s
Controlled immigration until mid 1960s

IQ & crime

crime is linked to low IQ
African Americans linked to low IQs

Robert L. Williams

African American psychologist
IQ test for Af. Americans 1970s

Black Intelligence Test for Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH)

Af. Americans did better than whites
Criticized testing bias

3 conclusions of Hirschi & Hindelang

1. delinquents have a slightly lower IQ
2. IQ difference is true for all races
3. IQ difference is true for all SES

IQ fosters crime - how?

lower IQ weakens ties to prosocial activities/norms
weakens performance in school
lowers enjoyment&value of school
weakens value in conventional norms

Policy implications for intelligence and crime

incapacitation
certain, swift, severe
eugenics

Caspi et al
2 personality traits linked to crime

lack of constrain - general disregard of social norms
negative emotionality - susceptible to anger/aggression

anti-social personality disorder (ASPD)

severe lack of moral development
psychopaths
may engage in crime

5 characteristics of ASPD

lack of conscience
impulsive behavior
ability to put up a front
inability to learn from punishment
inability to maintain strong interpersonal relationship

Possible causes of ASPD

bio - under aroused autonomic nervous system
socio - lack of affectionate parents

Treatments for ASPD

by 30-40 behaviors die down
no known effective treatments

Testing ASPD

difficult to measure
MMPI Scale 4
DSM criteria for ASPD

Other ways to measure ASPD

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) old woman picture make up story
Rorschach (inkblot)

Link et al

NY residents
healthy and mentally ill groups
uses official data and self-report

Link's mentally ill subjects

more violent crime arrests
not all mental illnesses are the same - psychotic symptoms are key

comparing mental illness to other factors

age, sex, and education are better predictors than mental illness

policy implications for mental illness

therapy - personality disorders are hard
incapacitation? too many

poverty and crime

commonly considered cause of crime

culturally accepted goal in the US

money

culturally accepted means in the US

good education and jobs

Why American isn't balanced (Merton)

goals over means (strained)
winning at any cost
unequal access to means

anomie

laws/CJUS system loses their legitimacy

strain is caused when

there is a block between means and your goal

5 modes of adaptation

1. Conformity
2. Innovation
3. Ritualism
4. Retreatism
5. Rebellion

most common mode of adaptation

conformity

most common deviant mode of adaptation

innovation

Cohen's strain theory is based on....

status

Merton's strain theory is based on...

money

Cohen's modified crime theory diagram

strain leads straight to crime

how is status achieved?

dress, behavior, scholastic performance, etc

who sets standards for status

middle class

when do kids first encounter the "measuring rod"?

school

status frustration

strain felt due to failure in school performance and lack of respect among peers

reaction formation

adopting attitudes or committing behaviors that are opposite of what is expected as an act of defiance or to feel less guilty for not living up to society's standards

types of crimes gangs commit

malicious and negativistic

college boy

overcomes disadvantaged situation despite unlikely chances for success

corner boy

accepted his place in the lower class and passively makes the best of life at bottom of social order

Cloward and Ohlin's different types of gangs

Criminal gangs
conflict gangs
retreatist gangs

Criminal gangs

lower-class origin, organized structure of adult criminal behavior

Conflict gangs

develop in neighborhoods with weak stability and little or no organization
primary illegal activity is violence - used to gain prominence and respect
youths

Retreatist gangs

primary want to escape reality
primary offense is drug use

Agnew's General Strain Theory

tries to explain "all" crime
strain is broad

3 types/sources of general strain

1. failure to acheive positively-valued goals
2. remove positive stimuli
3. exposure to negative stimuli

main emotion Agnew's general strain theory focuses on

anger