The Justice System: Race, Class, and Gender Exam 1

empirical validity

the theory has been supported by research

empirical falsification

a theory must be open to evidence that may counter or disprove its hypothesis with negative findings in order for the theory to be testable

ideology

a belief system and a set of core values or philosophy

internal logical consistency

a theory needs to be presented in logical manner and to have clearly states propositions

macro

macro theories of criminal behavior explain the “big picture” of crime—crime across the world or across a society. they attempt to answer why there are variations in group rates of crime.

micro

micro theories of criminal behavior focus on a small group of offenders or on an individual crime. they attempt to explain why some individuals are more likely to commit crimes than another.

necessary condition

this means that X must be present to produce effect Y

outcome evaluation

evaluations to verify a program’s effectiveness that utilize experimental designs, with both pre and post-intervention measures, and random assignment of subjects to treatment (experimental) and control conditions

parsimony

the best theory is the simplest one

policy implications

in the theory is empirically valid, and what solutions are suggested

process evaluation

evaluation to see if the program has indeed been implemented in the proper manner and with the proper participants as specified by the theory and goals underlying program

probabilistic causality

X is more or less likely to cause effect Y—X tends to cause Y

scope

refers to how much or how many types of crime or deviance the theory covers

soft determinism

the view that human behavior is not wholly causes, determined, or predictable by any set of biological, psychological, or sociological forces but that these interact with exercise of choice and will by individuals

sufficient condition

each time X is present, effect Y will always occur

tautology

circular reasoning—X happens bc of X

testability

to be valid and ultimately useful, a theory must be able to be subjected to scientific research

traditional causality

cause X must precede and produce effect Y

usefulness

this refers to the real-world applications that the theory proposes or suggests, and the ability to implement those applications

California Psychological Inventory (CPI)

a test designed to measure personality traits such as dominance, tolerance, and sociability

ego

referred to as the executive or rational part of the personality, and it acts to keep the id in check

five-factor model

uses a factor analysis statistical technique to discern that certain adjectives tended to cluster together to form a broader trait or factor

Freudian

claims that criminal activity is the result of a conflict between the id, ego, and superego, which can be traced back to a conflict in early childhood

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

a test designed to use different scales of questions to measure abnormal personality traits, such as depression, hysteria, paranoia, psychopathology, and compulsiveness

OCEAN

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

personality theory

this theory believes that criminal activity is the result of a defective, deviant, or inadequate personality

psychoanalytic theory

a general perspective stating that the causes of criminal behavior can be found in the mind of the individual

psychological theory

a general perspective that looks to the psychological functioning, development, and adjustment of an individual in explaining criminal or deviant acts—the criminal act highlights an underlying mental issue

psychopathic

a general term referring to a variety of antisocial personality disorders

psychopathy checklist (PCL-R)

developed by Hare, this is a tool comprised of a checklist that is designed to measure the feeling and relationships of an individual, and their social deviance

Adolescence-limited delinquency

onset or acceleration of delinquency after age 13 that does not persist into adulthood

alleles

pair of genes found in specific locations in the chromosomes and come in different “repeats”

adoption studies

studies that have been done with children reared by biological parents compared to their siblings or twins reared by adoptive parents in an attempt to demonstrate a genetic link to criminal behavior

atavism

a throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution, and will commit crimes against society unless specifically restrained from doing so—part of the theory developed by Lombroso in which a person is a “born criminal”

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Mednick’s theory that individuals who inherit a slower than normal autonomic nervous system learn to control aggressive or antisocial behavior slowly or not at all

behavior genetics

this covers a range of theories in which a combination of genetics and the environment influences behavior

biological school

a view of crime, also referred to as biological positivism, that claims that criminal behavior is the result of biological or inborn defects or abnormalities

biosocial arousal theory

this theory states that an individual’s level of arousal works in conjunction with the social environment—low levels are less likely to learn appropriate ways to deal with aggression and violence and thus are more prone to commit crime

born criminal

one of three criminal types identified by Lombroso—this type is the most dangerous, and can be identified through his or her stigmata or identifying characteristics

concordance

this examines the degree to which a criminal or law-abiding behavior of siblings, identical twins, or fraternal twins is similar to one another

criminaloid

one of three criminal types identified by Lombroso—motivated by passion, and will commit criminal acts under the proper circumstances

determinism

refers to the view that an individual’s criminal lifestyle or actions is the direct result genetic inheritance or biological predisposition

evolutionary theory

a broad-based view that certain types of criminal behavior are genetic and passed down from one generation to the next through evolutionary processes of natural selection and survival

gene-based evolutionary theory

a general approach that suggest that the process of natural selection has resulted in criminal genetic tendencies that are passed down from generation to generation

insane criminal

one of three criminal types identified by Lombroso—the insane criminal type includes idiots, imbeciles, epileptics, psychotics, and the mentally unstable. Unable to control their actions

life course-persistent

delinquencies that begin by age 13 and continue into later life stages

mental functioning and delinquency

a neurophysiology approach that believed that delinquents were feebleminded or had some form of a learning disability

nonshared environment

different experiences in family and siblings, peer groups, and teachers

r/k selection

continuum for reproductive strategies in which the r end of the continuum (quantitative, mating) reproduce often but invest very little in raising offspring,, and those at the k end (qualitative, parenting) reproduce less often with fewer sexual partners but invest more time and energy is raising their offspring

shared environment

similarly experienced environments such as class, parents, and religion

stigmata

characteristics claimed by Lombroso that could be used to identify the “born criminal”—such as extra fingers or toes, large lips, or large monkey-like ears

testosterone and criminal aggressiveness

a biochemistry approach that looks at the relationship between the male hormone testosterone and antisocial aggressive behavior