Theoretical Perspectives, Chapters 3, 4, 5

Biological Theories refute what theory?

Classical Theory

Classical theories focus on crime, while biological theories focus on what?

the measurable characteristics of criminals

Are biological theories voluntaristic or deterministic?

Deterministic because they take into account the environment/society’s role in shaping a person

Father of criminology and creator of early biological theory

Cesare Lambroso (The Criminal Man, 1876)

According to Lambroso, a person’s what indicates a physiological makeup that causes one to commit crime

A person’s physical makeup (face, body, caused by genetics)

According to Lambroso, Criminals are what compared to non-criminals?

Distinctly different and biologically inferior to non-criminals

Atavism

An individuals born with primitive features that resemble earlier and more savage species of human or are less evolved (closer to primates)

Examples of Atavism in a person

asymmetrical face, large ears/lips, soft chin, long arms, wrinkled skin

Biological Theorist Hooten proposed that

criminals are organically inferior (key features are forehead, nose bridge, paw, eye color, ears)

Biological Theorist Goring

compared inmates to students, soldiers, professors, and hospital patients, found no physical differences in body/face traits, IQ was the main thing that separated them

Biological theories eventually stopped being used in favor of what theories

Biosocial theories (biology + environment/society)

Biosocial theory focuses on what

biochemistry, genetics, neurophysiology

According to Biosocial theories

It is not the behavior that is inherited but the way the individual responds to the environment

Modern Biosocial theories on IQ were proposed by who

Hernstein and Murray (IQ and the bell curve), Hirschi and Hindelang (IQ and intelligence)

Psychologists who studied personality

Eysenck and Mednick

eysenck studied what

biosocial arousal theory, differences in levels of arousal affect conditioning

Mednick studied what

Adoption studies, twin studies, MZ and DZ twins

Empirical validity of Biological/biosocial theories

support is very limited, usually only supported indirectly through psychological or sociological variables

Three Psychological theories

Psychoanalytic, Personality, and Pychopathy

Psychoanalytic theory

propose emotional maladjustment and abnormal personality traits as cause of crime, focuses only on early childhood, everything else is irrelevant (unconscious mind, Freud)

In psychoanalytic theory, Freud proposed what three ideas

Id, Ego, Superego

Id

part of our personality we are born with, our innate primitive desires, wants, not aware of outside world (irrational, selfish) (age 1-3) primarily sexual

Ego

(3-5 years) part of personality where we become aware of the external environment, rational, decision-making part that mediates between the Id's desires and the Superego's restrictions

Superego

(7-9 years), internalize society’s norms, Do’s, don’t, manners, right from wrong, conscious

In Psychoanalytic theory, criminal behavior is merely a symptom of what

poor development

Personality Theory

similar to psychoanalytic theory but focuses on personality traits not emotional development

MMPI

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Psychopathy Theory creator

Robert Hare

Robert Hare preferred the term what over what

“psychopath” over “sociopath”

A psychopath is what

self centered, charming, intelligent, manipulative, lack of conscience (superego) formed through biological and social factors

psychopathy is said to be a

syndrome, a group of symptoms which consistently occur together, two facets: feelings/relationships, social devience

Author of differential association theory

Sutherland

Differential association theory believes that

crime is learned

According to commit a crime, Sutherland believes that you need to learn two things

1. Techniques (how to do it)

2. Definitions (how you think about it)

according to Sutherland, behavior is learned through

differential associations

According to differential association, the only difference between criminals and non-criminals is what

what has been learned

FDIP (Social Learning Theory)

Frequency, Duration, Intensity, Priority

Frequency (Differential association)

that occur most often (How often you see them

Duration (Differential Association)

Over longer periods of time (How long are you with them each time you visit)

Intensity (Differential Association)

That you assign greater importance to (how important/deep is the relationship

Priority

Those relationships that occurred first (how long you’ve known them)

Differential Association Step 1

Criminal Behavior is Learned

Differential Association Step 2

Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication

Differential Association Step 3 

Learning occurs within intimate personal groups

Differential Association Step 4

Learning includes techniques and motives, drives, and rationalizations

Differential Association Step 5 

Delinquency results from an excess of definitions favorable to law violations

Differential Association Step 6

The Specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable

Differential Association Step 7

Differential Associations vary according to frequency, duration, intensity, and priority

Differential Association Step 8

The process of learning criminality is the same process as any other learning

Differential Association Step 9

Although criminal behavior is an expression of needs and values, it is not explained by those needs and values

Social Learning Theory was developed by who?

Ronald Akers

Social Learning theory was developed because sutherland never did what

Sutherland never started HOW people learn

4 Steps in Social Learning Theory (4 steps that lead to crime)

1. Differential association

2.  Definitions

3. Differential reinforcement

4. Imitation

Definitions

attitudes and meanings that are attached to behavior

Differential Reinforcement

Whether a behavior is performed depends on past, present, and anticipated future rewards and punishments for actions (continuance, if you continue to do it)

Imitation 

Performing the behavior after observing someone else (explains onset of behavior, first time you did it)

Social learning theory is in what unit/level

It is in the Micro level

Social learning theory explains what percentage of offending?

30%-70%

Social Learning Theory Patterson

Delinquency is affected by parent-child interactions

Social Learning Theory McCord

Delinquency is affected by parental criminality

Social Learning Theory Lauritsen

Delinquency is affected by sibling criminality (even when controlling for parenting differences)