Crime Theory Exam 1

What is a theory?

A set of logically interrelated (two or more statements in the form of empirical assertions about property of infinite classes of events or things

What is a macro-theory?

theory explain grouped together crime rates over individual behavior. (Large scale) Neighborhoods,cities, counties, states in the US, regions

What is a micro-theory?

Theory that focuses on individual behavior, personal choices, small group interactions to explain why specific people commit crimes.

True or false: The probabilistic concept of causation suggests that human behavior is determined by external forces with little exercise of free will

False.

List and define the criteria for causality

Non-spuriousness - making sure A causes B not being due to an outside factor

Temporal order - time order, determining what happens first A has to happen before B

Association - must be related in someway

What does it mean when a theory is parsimonious?

The theory efficiently doing its work simplicity while maintaining accuracy, scope, range)

True or false: according to Lombroso's theory of the born criminal, inherited characteristics make the person prone to commit crime, but the nature of there characteristics cannot be objectively identified

False I combroso argued people inherit physical traits and that creates born criminals.

How do modern biological theories explain the relationship between biological factors and crime or delinquency?

Modern theories explain the factors interact with each other but biology is not a direct cause for criminal behavior, bio interacts with environmental factors

What types of policies or interventions have been proposed or used based theories on biological of criminal behavior?

Restrictive & invasive policies were proposed; isolation, sterilization etc. in some cases brain surgery to alter violent behavior. Older theories I control, isolation, prevent reproduction. Modern bio I treatment prevention

Why does including prior criminal behavior in the psychopath checklist revised (pclr) make it difficult to argue that psychopath causes crime?

It makes it hard to prove non-spuriousness Feedback loop.

Using Freud's id ego, and superego briefly explain how early psychoanalytic theory might account for criminal behavior?

Ego-mediates between id and superego

Id - impulses, immediate gratification, sex aggression

Superego - ambitions, ideals /morals

People who commit crime have overdeveloped id and underdeveloped ego.

True or false: empirical tests of personality trait and psychopathic personality theories of crime and delinquency have no problem with tautology because the items on the personality inventories and checklists measuring them are completely different from the measures of delinquent and antisocial behavior

False, the items on the checklist are not completely different

List and describe the properties of punishment relevant to deterrence theory.

Certainty - the likelihood of getting caught for committing crime

Severity- how harsh is the punishment in respect to the crime

Celerity -The timeliness of punishment, how soon will the person receive their punishment

True or false: The classical criminologists were more interested in providing a rationale for legal and penal reform than in explaining criminal behavior

True. They cared about fairness - proportionate punishment.

Define deterrence, and explain the difference between general and specific deterrence

Deterrence - is the commission or curtailment of crime in fear of legal punishment

Specific- Fear of legal punishment from those who have received punishment (individual).

General- fear of legal punishment through vicarious experiments have not gone through it themselves

List and define the key components of cohen and FelSon's routine activities theory

Motivated offender - this assumes that a person willing to commit crime is always motivated to commit

Lack of capable guardianship - nothing or no one there to intervene to stop the crime

Suitable target -how easy is it to require acquire this target easy to take advantage

According to Stafford and Warr (1993), how do offenders experience general and specific deterrence

Offenders experience a mixture of direct and indirect experiences because they may have experienced and observed legal punishment researchers should focus on the experience and not treat general and specific as separate things

What is incapacitation and how does it differ from deterrence as an explanation for why punishment may reduce crime

Incapacitation means to imprisonment, there are less opportunities to commit crime I deterrence has to allow for the chance for an individual to commit a crime

According to Shaw and McKay (addt'l reading), what did the persistence of high delinquency rates in the same Chicago neighborhoods—even as the populations of those neighborhoods changed—suggest about the causes of delinquency?

This shows that delinquency is not mainly caused by individuals but by neighborhoods, poverty, instability

In your own words, what does “social disorganization” mean? Is physical deterioration by itself a good measure of whether a neighborhood is socially disorganized? Why or why not?

Social disorganization is the result of lack of community it is when people are displaced and delinquent behavior becomes accepted, physical deterioration is a factor but by itself,it's not a good measure because it is one of the characterization of a high delinquency neighborhood.

True or False: Shaw and McKay found that delinquency remained concentrated in particular areas of Chicago even as the populations living in those areas changed.

True, because social disorganization is not only tied to individuals, it has a stronger link to places

What is the zone in transition, and why was it important to the development of social disorganization theory?

The zone of transition is an area where businesses expand into residential areas. It's important to the social disorganization theory development because the same characteristics of high delinquent areas are shown within this zone

How did Sampson and Groves provide a more direct test of social disorganization theory? Identify at least one direct measure they used.

They measured neighborhood conditions like unsupervised teens, local friendships, and low organizational participation.

What is collective efficacy, and why do Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls (addt'l reading) expect neighborhoods with greater collective efficacy to have less violence?

Collective efficacy is when people in a neighborhood trust one another to maintain order there will be less violence because they have a greater sense of community and drive to address problems

True or false: One of the controversies surrounding social learning theory is whether it identifies the correct temporal sequence of delinquent peer associations and delinquency.l

True, it provides an issue with temporal order

What is the principle of differential association, according to Sutherland?

Criminal behavior is a learned behavior. We learn through techniques and attitudes/ definitions. Two types of definitions favorable and unfavorable

Sutherland argues that associations vary along four dimensions. Identify and briefly explain each dimension.

Frequency - How often, more frequent,more influential

Duration-how long?

Priority How early in life? Earlier = more influential

Intensity - How important is the relationship?= amount of care

What is the difference between reinforcement and punishment in operant conditioning? What is the difference between positive and negative consequences in operant conditioning?

Reinforcement is increases behavior. Punishment decreases behavior.positive /adds something to get desirable behavior. Negative - takes something away to get desirable behavior

How does Social Learning Theory differ from Differential Association in the relationship it proposes between association, learning, and delinquency?

DA = We learn delinquency from others.
SLT = We learn it from others AND are influenced by rewards, punishments, and imitation.

What does it mean for peer association to have a “direct effect” on delinquent behavior?

A “direct effect” means that being around delinquent peers can increase your own delinquent behavior, even beyond what you learn from them.

What is the central question asked by social control theories, and how does it differ from the question asked by many other criminological theories?

Social control theory asks the question, why conform and why not commitcrimes? Most theories ask the opposite.

List and define the elements of social bonds, according to Hirschi. 

Attachment to others

Commitment (investments in life)

Involvement in activities (time)

Belief less belief in law, more likely to commit crime endorse norms)

True or false: According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, the major cause of low self-control is ineffective child-rearing in the family.

True → low self control ineffective parenting

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, why is low self-control alone insufficient to explain whether a person commits a particular crime?

low self-control creates the tendency toward crime, but it doesn’t create the opportunity to commit a specific crime. Low self-control + opportunity = crime

Explain what techniques of neutralization are, according to Sykes and Matza, and explain two techniques. 

Neutralization = excuses that make delinquency feel acceptable.
Responsibility: “It wasn’t my fault.”
Injury: “Nobody got hurt.”

What are “analogous acts,” and how do they help self-control theory explain why offending tends to decline with age?

Analogous acts = risky, exciting behaviors that aren’t crimes but satisfy the same low-self-control desires.
As people age, offending declines partly because they have fewer opportunities for crime and may substitute other risky behaviors.