Sociology of Crime: EXAM 2

Sigmund Freud

Founder of Psychoanalysis (Id, Superego, Ego)

Id (Freud's Model of the Mind)

1. Unconscious part of the mind

2. The most primitive part of a person's personality

3. Pleasure Principle (immediate gratification)

Superego (Freud's Model of the Mind)

1. Develops through socialization

2. Moral & Social Norms

3. Internalized Rules (guilt, shame, self-criticism)

Ego (Freud's Model of the Mind)

1. Mediator

2. Balancing the desires of the Id & Superego

Freud's view on crime

Crime occurs when there is an imbalance between the Id and the Superego.

Criticisms of Freud's Model

Hard to test & lacks operational definitions

Secure Attachment

Feels comfortable with closeness and trust, forms healthy relationships, and can handle time apart

Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment

Worries about being abandoned, seeks reassurance, and may become upset when a loved one is unavailable

Anxious/Avoidant Attachment

Avoids emotional closeness, values independence, and may have difficulty expressing feelings or relying on others

Anxious/Disorganized Attachment

Wants closeness but also fears it, leading to conflicting behaviors, often associated with frightening or unpredictable early experiences

Sociopath

• Don't care about others

• Impulsive

• Product of their environment (learned)

• Empathy in certain situations

• Unstable

Psychopath

• Pretend to not care about others

• Methodological (calculated)

• Born this way (Inherited)

• No empathy

• "Stable"

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

Disregard for others, disregard for laws/rules, no remorse, and dangerous behaviors.

Strain Theories

Theories focusing strictly on environmental factors and the American Dream.

Mechanical Societies

• Traditional society

• Cohesion through similarity

• Limited division of labor

• Repressive laws

Organic Societies

• Modern society

• Cohesion through interdependence

• Greater individualism

• Extensive division of labor

• Restitutive law

Social Disorganization Theory

The inability of a community to maintain social values due to instability and poverty

The Chicago School

• Massive immigration

• Industrialization

• Urban growth

• Residential instability

• Ethnic enclaves

Zone of Transition (Burgess' Model)

1. Central business district: factories, businesses, polluted air

2. Zone of transition: working-class, bad air, most crime occurs here

3. Zone of independent workers homes: better housing opportunities, apartments, small homes

4. Zone of better residences: single family homes, small yards, less apartments

5. Commuter's zone: transportation, big houses, big yard, all single-family homes

Collective Efficacy

Social cohesion + a willingness to intervene for the common good

Social Learning Theory

the idea that behavior, including crime, in learned socially

Sutherland's Differential Association Theory

People become criminal when they experience: "an excess of definitions favorable to violating the law"
over definitions unfavorable to violating the law.

Four Dimensions of Differential Association

1. Frequency

2. Duration

3. Priority

4. Intensity

Aker’s Social Learning Theory

• Differential association

• Definitions

• Differential reinforcement

• Imitation

Labeling Theory

Examines the effects of the criminal label and societal reactions on an individual.

Primary Deviance

Initial rule-breaking or the initial criminal act

Secondary Deviance

Rule-breaking that happens after a person is labeled as a criminal

Cohen's Delinquent Subcultural Theory

Crime can arise from group value rather than individual pathology

The “Measuring Rod” Metaphor

everyone is measured/ judged by the same ruler (the middle-class system)

Status Frustration

A loss of self-respect and a sense that mainstream rules are unfair.

Reaction Formation

Throwing out mainstream standards and seeking status through risk-taking or defiance.

Cloward & Ohlin’s Differential Opportunity Theory

Theory stating criminal behavior requires opportunity

• criminal

• conflict

• retreatlist

Miller's 6 Focal Concerns

1. Trouble

2. toughness

3. Smartness

4. Excitement

5. Fate

6. Autonomy