Criminological Theory Test 3

what is an anomie?

state of formlessness or norm confusion within a society

what is a social system?

society, community, or subsystem within a society

norms and values

what is merton’s theory?

people who realize they cannot achieve the American dream and exhibit a type of behavior

what is conformist in relation to merton’s five behavior?

accepts that they will not achieve the dream and continue to strive for success

what is innovator in relation to merton’s five behavior?

one maintains commitment to success goals but takes advantage of illegitimate means to attain them

what is the rebel in relation to merton’s five behaviours?

rejects the system all together and replaces it with violence to overthrow the system

what is retreats in relation to merton’s five behaviours?

becoming a social dropout, giving up on the goals and the effort to achieve them,

what is the ritualist in relation to merton’s five behaviours?

gives up the struggle and tries to get back to the norms of society

what is cohen’s status deprivation and delinquent subcultures?

status deprivation leads to status frustration which produces criminal behavior for juveniles

what is criminal subcultures in relation to cloward and ohlins delinquent subcultures?

found in lower class neighbourhoods that contain adult influences from criminal lives

commit income producing offences

what is conflict subculture in relation to coward and olin’s delinquent subcultures?

found in lower class neighbourhoods that are socially disorganized and contain minimal adult roles

what is retreatist subculture in relation to coward and olin’s delinquent subcultures?

consists of double failures, they don’t do well in society as non criminal and as a criminal

what did gangs and delinquent subcultures determine?

neither gang members nor other delinquents sustain a behavior that promotes values and norms contrary to conventional culture

what did we learn from school and dropout delinquency?

school dropouts had high rates of delinquency while in school but reduced their offences after dropping out

arrests increased after they had dropped out

what are aspirations?

what one hopes to achieve in life, economically, educationally, or occupationally

what are expectations?

what one believes is realistically possible to achieve

what did discrepancy tell us between aspirations and expectations?

the greater the discrepancy the higher the chances of individual engaging in criminal activities

what are the four value orientations (for the American dream)?

achievement orientation

individualism

universalism

fetishism of money

what is mesner and rosenfield’s institutional anomie theory?

give priority to economic institutions weakening other social controls thus creating high levels of crime

what are Agnew’s 4 types of strain?

subjective

objective

vicarious

anticipated

what are some programs based on anomy and subcultural theories?

Boston mid city project

mobilization for youth

what are policy implications of anomie and strain theories?

strengthening non economic institutions by implementing pro family economic policies

what is conflict theory?

society is divided in two or more groups competing with ideas and values

what is social control?

rules concerning the way people should and should not behave (informal, formal)

what is socialization?

teaching and learning values, norms through example

what are informal social controls?

rules and regulations administered by the family, friends and other groups (church and neighborhood)

what are formal social controls?

includes law and the criminal justice system, legally enforced by authorized agents

what is consensus theory?

laws are a result of general in society

views right and wrong

what is functionalist theory?

looks at how the law acts to resolve everyday disputes in society

what did research on legislation determine?

investigated background and nature of group conflict in the formation of laws on theft, prostituion,

what did research on public option on crime and criminal justice determine?

conensus that cuts across class, age, sex, educational, racial, and regional groups on the condemnation of criminal behavior found in the core criminal law

what did research on social threat determine?

found weak to moderate support for black or poor crime control efforts

what did research on extralegal variables in criminal justice decision making determine?

criminal justice decisions are based on extralegal variables and legal variables

what is research on racial profiling?

disparities in the criminal justice system such as arrests, convictions sentencing

what is conflict theory on criminal behavior?

process of law making, law breaking, and law enforcement can be viewed as a power struggle between economic and political groups

what are some policy implications on conflict theory?

suggests that conflict is necessary to society, but also a primary source of societies’ problems

what is the bourgeoisie?

ruling class

what is proletariat?

working class or labourers in capitalist society

what are crimes of accommodation and resistance according to Marx?

crimes committed by the lower class against upper class

what is crimes of control according to Marx?

crimes committed by criminal justice personnel

what is crimes of domination and repression according to Marx?

crimes committed by the ruling class against the lower class

what is crimes of government according to Marx?

crimes committed by both appointed and elected officials

what did Marx theory determine from law and criminal justice?

law appears to operate in the interests of the whole society, but in reality it is made to serve only the interests of the ruling class

what is instrumental marxism?

politics is always and only a tool of the capitalist class to oppress the working class

what is structural marxism?

political state is not under the control of the ruling elite and their members are in control from the state

what did bonger think on theory of crime?

law is controlled by the ruling class

what are crimes committed by the working class according to Quinney?

crimes of accommodation and resistance

what are crimes committed by the ruling class according to Quinney?

crimes of domination and repression, control, government

what is critical criminology?

extension of marxist theory that goes beyond the examination of the effects of capitalism on crime

what is constitutive criminology according to Henry and miliovanovic?

examines how relationships between criminals, victims, and agents of control act and react to from our understanding of crime

what is postmodernism?

discover and eliminate the power of language and text that is used to give power and privilege to specific groups while denying it to others

what 3 parts is constitutive criminology composed of?

people who seek to control the crime

people who commit crime

people who want to explain the crime

what is left realism?

examines the role of capitalism plays in society (developed by young)

recognizes the impact, damage, and fear caused by traditional street crime

what is cultural criminology?

looks at the cultural forces in and around the crime, the offender, and the criminal justice system

what is peacemaking criminology?

an attempt to get all players in society (victims, offenders, and criminal justice agents) to recognize and reduce the violence that is at the heart of society and the system