Introduction to Criminal Justice - Chapter 2 Vocabulary

A complete collection of vocabulary flashcards defining key criminological terms, concepts, and theories from Chapter 2.

Consensus View

The view that certain behaviors must be outlawed or controlled, and that criminal law is designed to protect citizens from social harm.

Conflict View

The view that the law is an instrument enabling the wealthy to maintain their position of power and control the behavior of those who oppose their ideas and values or who might rebel against the unequal distribution of wealth.

Interactionist View

The view that criminal law is structured to reflect the preferences and opinions of people who hold social power in a particular legal jurisdiction.

Moral Entrepreneurs

People who wage campaigns to control behaviors they find immoral or wrong.

Crime

A violation of social rules of conduct, interpreted and expressed by a written criminal code, created by people holding social and political power.

CSI Effect

The phenomenon where the media hypes up a criminal case and compares it to what is seen on television crime shows.

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

A national survey compiled by the FBI collecting criminal acts reported to more than 18,000 police departments across the United States.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

An FBI reporting program replacing the UCR that gathers detailed data on specific criminal incidents, requiring local police agencies to provide accounts of each incident and arrest including victim and offender information.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

A comprehensive national survey begun in 1973 asking respondents about their experiences as victims of nonfatal personal crimes and household property crimes.

Self-Report Surveys

Surveys asking offenders themselves to report on their criminal behaviors, attitudes, values, and personal information.

Relative Deprivation

Increased criminal activity resulting from extreme social and economic differences among people living within the same community.

Broken Windows Hypothesis

The contention that deteriorating neighborhoods attract criminal activity.

System Bias

The unequal treatment of people of color by the criminal justice system.

Racial Threat Hypothesis

The view that racial and ethnic minorities are subject to greater police control.

Cultural Bias

The view attributing elevated crime rates in communities of color to the legacy of racial discrimination.

Structural Bias

The view that racial differences in the crime rate are a function of social and economic disparity in the structure of society.

Chronic Offenders

Juveniles who have been arrested five or more times before reaching the age of 18 and who have a high probability of becoming adult offenders.

Delinquency in a Birth Cohort

A study following the criminal careers of 9,945 boys in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Criminologists

Social scientists who use the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.

Choice Theory

The belief that people choose to commit crime after weighing the potential benefits and consequences of their criminal act.

Situational Crime Prevention

A crime prevention approach focused on reducing the opportunity to commit specific crimes.

General Deterrence

A crime control strategy designed to make potential criminals fear the consequences of crime.

Specific Deterrence

A strategy that punishes known criminals severely so that they will never be tempted to repeat their offenses.

Trait Theories

Theories suggesting that crime is caused by inherited and uncontrollable biological and psychological traits.

Conduct Disorder (CD)

A pattern of repetitive behavior that violates the rights or social norms of others.

Psychodynamic Theory

A psychological theory suggesting that problems encountered during early development cause a personality imbalance that leads to crime.

Bipolar Disorder

A psychological condition where moods swing between wild elation and deep depression.

Social Learning Theory

A theory suggesting that people learn the techniques and attitudes of crime from interactions and close relationships with criminal peers.

Cognitive Theory

A theory concerned with the way people perceive and mentally represent the world in which they live.

Antisocial Personality

A personality condition marked by regular trouble, failure to learn from experience or punishment, callous and hedonistic behavior, emotional immaturity, and low levels of guilt and anxiety.

Social Structure Theory

A theory suggesting that a person's place in the socioeconomic structure influences their chances of becoming a criminal.

Culture of Poverty

The view that people in the lower class of society have a separate, sometimes violent, culture.

Social Disorganization Theory

A theory stating that poor citizens violate the law because of low or broken-down social control mechanisms in their neighborhoods.

Collective Efficacy

Mutual trust and cooperation found in neighborhoods with high levels of social control.

Strain

The emotional turmoil or frustration caused when people are unable to achieve success through legitimate means.

Anomie

A state of normlessness in society to which people adapt through innovation, retreatism, and rebellion.

Cultural Deviance Theory

A theory holding that a lower-class subculture is created as a result of strain and social disorganization.

Cultural Transmission

The process by which subcultural values are passed down through generations.

Differential Association Theory

Sutherland's theory stating that attitudes and behaviors that cause crime are learned in close, intimate relationships.

Social Control Theory

A theory maintaining that everyone has the potential to become a criminal, but most people are controlled by their bonds to society.

Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory

A theory suggesting that people become criminals when significant members of society stigmatize and label them as such, and they accept those labels as a personal identity.

Social Conflict Theory

A perspective viewing economic and political forces in society as the fundamental causes of criminality.

State (Organized) Crimes

Criminal actions committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as government representatives.

Early Onset

The beginning of antisocial behavior during early adolescence, after which criminal behavior is more likely to persist throughout the lifespan.

Latent Trait Theory

The view that human behavior is controlled by a master trait (or criminal propensity) present at birth or soon after that guides behavior.

Life Course Theory

The view that criminal behavior is a dynamic process influenced by a mix of individual characteristics and social experiences over time.

Cumulative Disadvantage

The clustering and accumulation of social problems that undermine success over a person's life course.

Trajectory Theory

A developmental theory finding multiple independent paths to a criminal career and different types and classes of offenders.

Victim Precipitation Theory

A theory examining the role of the victim in initiating or contributing to a criminal incident through active or passive participation.

Lifestyle Theory

A theory suggesting that individuals may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders.

Routine Activities Theory

The view that crime is a product of three factors: motivated offenders, suitable targets, and a lack of capable guardians.