CRIM 2004 Exam 2 Review: Crime and Criminality

Exam Format

• Total Points: 100

• Number of Questions: 31

• Types of Questions:
    - Multiple Choice
    - Short Answer

• Platform: Taken on Canvas and in class

• Date and Time: Wednesday, 4/15, from 1:00 – 1:50 PM

Chapter 7: Political Approaches to Crime

• Key Concepts:
    - Familiarize with political approaches relating to crime, particularly the differences between liberal and conservative perspectives.
    - Freudian Psychology:
      - Identify the three parts of a personality according to Sigmund Freud:
        - Id
        - Ego
        - Superego
    - Eysenck’s PEN Model:
      - Understand and describe the PEN model which includes:
        - Psychoticism
        - Extraversion
        - Neuroticism
    - Lykken’s Psychopaths:
      - Distinguish between primary and secondary psychopaths according to Lykken:
        - Primary psychopaths are characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse.
        - Secondary psychopaths are often reactive, exhibiting emotional disturbances and resultant criminality.
    - Psychopath vs. Sociopath:
      - Outline the differences:
        - Psychopaths typically have more organized and planned behaviors, lack emotional responses.
        - Sociopaths may exhibit impulsive behaviors, often showing emotional outbursts.
    - CJ System as New Asylum:
      - Discuss the notion of the criminal justice system functioning as a contemporary asylum, wherein it acts to confine and manage individuals without addressing underlying social issues.
    - Diversion Courts:
      - Define diversion courts as specialized courts that redirect offenders from traditional criminal justice processing, often focusing on rehabilitation.
    - Treatment Approaches to Crime:
      - Analyze how crime is treated according to aforementioned political perspectives and the implications of these approaches.

Chapter 8: Micro-Level vs. Macro-Level Theories

• Distinguish Theories:
    - Micro-level theories focus on individual behaviors and interactions, while macro-level theories examine larger social structures and institutions.

• Historical Influence on Strain Theories:
    - Identify the major historical event in the U.S. that influenced the development of strain theories—a crucial component to understanding social disjunctions.

• Relative Deprivation:
    - Define relative deprivation as the perception of being worse off relative to others, leading to feelings of injustice and potential criminal behavior.

• Anomie Concepts:
    - Compare Durkheim’s anomie (a breakdown of social norms) with Merton’s interpretation—focused on the disjunction between societal goals and means.
    - Basis of Merton’s Strain Theory:
      - Examine how strain emerges when individuals cannot achieve culturally prescribed goals through legitimate means.

• Adaptations to Strain:
    - Explore Merton’s five adaptations:
      - Conformity
      - Innovation
      - Ritualism
      - Retreatism
      - Rebellion

• General Strain Theory (Agnew):
    - Outline how Agnew expands upon strain theory by incorporating various sources of strain and resulting negative emotions influencing criminality.

• Status Frustration (Cohen):
    - Discuss Cohen’s assertion of status frustration, which posits that lower-class youth experience strain due to their inability to achieve status through legitimate means.

• Differential Opportunity Theory:
    - Explain the theory which states that the availability of legitimate and illegitimate means of achieving goals influences the pathways individuals may take toward criminality.

• Types of Gangs:
    - Identify the three types of gangs recognized within differential opportunity theory:
      - Criminal gangs
      - Conflict gangs
      - Retreatist gangs

Chapter 9: The Chicago School of Criminology

• Concept Overview:
    - Define the Chicago School of Criminology as a key framework focusing on urban sociology and crime as a social construct influenced by environment.

• Concentric Zone Model:
    - Illustrate the concentric zone model, identifying the differing zones within a city and their related social issues.
    - Determine which zone is the most criminogenic, largely being the zone of transition.

• Elements of Social Disorganization:
    - Define elements contributing to social disorganization: poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic diversity.
    - Discuss how social disorganization leads to increased crime rates within communities.

• Collective Efficacy:
    - Define collective efficacy as the social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, linking it to lower crime rates.

• Anderson’s Code of the Streets:
    - Discuss Anderson’s concept of the 'code of the streets', focusing on how street credibility and status are acquired and maintained through respect and violence.

• Policy Implications:
    - Analyze policy implications that arise from understanding urban crime dynamics and how they inform crime intervention strategies.

Chapter 10: Social Learning Theory

• Basis of Social Learning Theories:
    - Examine the foundations of social learning theories, emphasizing how behaviors are learned through observing and imitating others.

• Differential Association:
    - Identify differential association as a pivotal theory proposed by Edwin Sutherland explaining how individuals learn deviant behavior through their relationships.
    - Understand the tenets of differential association theory:
      - Criminal behavior is learned.
      - Learning occurs through interaction with others.
      - The direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable.

• Differential Reinforcement:
    - Define differential reinforcement as the concept that behavior is shaped or reinforced by the consequences that follow after it, enhancing the understanding of social learning theory.

• Policy Implications:
    - Explore how these theories inform the development of crime prevention programs and interventions aimed at modifying behavior through positive reinforcement.

Chapter 10: Social Control Theories

• Control Theories Overview:
    - Define control theories as approaches that emphasize the role of socialization in inhibiting or controlling criminal behavior.
    - Make distinction between internal vs. external social controls:
      - Internal controls include personal morals and conscience.
      - External controls include laws, regulations, and social norms enforced by society.

• Techniques of Neutralization:
    - Define techniques of neutralization as rationalizations that offenders use to justify their deviant actions, with examples:
      - Denial of responsibility
      - Denial of injury
      - Denial of the victim
      - Condemnation of the condemners
      - Appeal to higher loyalties

• Social Bond Theory:
    - Outline social bond theory posed by Hirschi, which asserts that strong social bonds help prevent crime, detailing the four elements of a social bond:
      - Attachment
      - Commitment
      - Involvement
      - Belief

• General Theory of Crime:
    - Explore this theory, which posits that poor self-control is the core factor behind criminal behavior and how socialization influences this capacity.

• Policy Implications:
    - Discuss approaches to crime prevention based on strengthening social bonds and enhancing self-control measures.

Chapter 11: Labeling Theory

• Labeling Theory Overview:
    - Define labeling theory as a perspective that argues the societal response to offenders and the process of being labeled can exacerbate criminal behavior rather than deter it.

• Lemert’s Deviance Stages:
    - Discuss Lemert’s concepts of primary and secondary deviance:
      - Primary deviance refers to initial acts of rule-breaking.
      - Secondary deviance occurs when an individual adopts a new identity based on being labeled, leading to further criminal behavior.

• Becker’s Behavioral Types:
    - Identify the four types of behavior according to Howard Becker:
      - Conforming behavior
      - Primary deviant behavior
      - Secondary deviant behavior
      - Falsely accused behavior

• Assumptions of Labeling Theory:
    - Familiarize with labeling theory assumptions that focus on societal reactions and stigmatization affecting individual identity and actions.

• Policy Implications:
    - Explore the implications for policy approaches, emphasizing the need for sensitivity towards labeling and its consequences on offenders' rehabilitation.

Chapter 11: Conflict Theory

• Conflict Theory Overview:
    - Define conflict theory as an approach that emphasizes the struggle between different social classes and the unequal application of laws.

• Social Reality of Crime:
    - Discuss the social realities of crime, pointing out how it is shaped by power and economic disparities in society.

• Peacemaking Criminology:
    - Explain how peacemaking criminology advocates for methods of addressing criminal behavior through restorative practices rather than punishment.

• Marxist Criminology:
    - Identify the basis of Marxist criminology, which asserts that crime is a product of capitalist societies and the inequalities inherent therein.

• Law Creation Under Conflict Perspective:
    - Discuss who creates the law within this framework, generally the ruling class, to serve their interests.

• Restorative Justice:
    - Define restorative justice and how it aims to repair the harm caused by criminal behavior rather than focusing solely on punishment.

• Policy Implications:
    - Assess the implications of conflict theory for policies against crime, emphasizing structural changes to address root causes of criminal behavior.