Midterm Study Guide SO-302

Midterm Study Guide SO-302 Demonic Perspective

  • Concept: Crime is often attributed to evil spirits or demonic possession.

  • Focus: Emphasis is placed on punishment and exorcism rather than understanding the underlying behavior associated with criminal acts.

Age of Enlightenment

  • Key Figure: Thomas Hobbes

    • Major philosopher who argued that humans are naturally self-interested.

    • Proposed that social contracts are necessary for maintaining order and preventing chaos in society.

Classical School of Criminology

  • Creator: Cesare Beccaria

  • Crime Producing Conditions:

    • Based on the concepts of free will and rational choice.

    • Decision-making driven by pleasure vs. pain principles.

  • Types of Deterrence:

    • Specific Deterrence: Aimed at preventing an individual from committing further crimes.

    • General Deterrence: Aimed at society to discourage crime through the threat of punishment.

Jeremy Bentham’s Impact

  • Hedonistic Calculus: Developed a systematic method of weighing pleasure against pain in decision making.

  • Advocated for punishment that is:

    • Swift: Quick to follow the crime.

    • Certain: Guaranteed to occur.

    • Proportionate: The severity of punishment matches the gravity of the crime.

Neoclassical School

  • Modifies classical theory.

  • Recognizes mitigating factors such as:

    • Age of the offender.

    • Mental illness considerations.

Early Biological Theories

  1. Craniometry: The study of skull size and shape as indicators of character and criminality.

  2. Phrenology: The theory that bumps on the skull correlate with personality traits and behaviors.

  3. Physiognomy: The idea that facial features can indicate criminal tendencies.

Positivist School of Criminology

  • Creator: Cesare Lombroso

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Foundational belief in biological, psychological, and social factors contributing to crime, suggesting determinism rather than free will.

Impact of H.H. Goddard

  • Linked intelligence (measured by IQ) to tendencies toward crime.

  • Introduced the term “feeblemindedness” as a supposed cause of criminal behavior.

Body Type Theory

  • Creator: William Sheldon

  • Types of Body Types:

    • Endomorph: Soft and sociable body type.

    • Mesomorph: Muscular and aggressive; most associated with criminality.

    • Ectomorph: Thin and introverted.

Early Social Structure Theorists

  1. Auguste Comte: Introduced positivism, advocating for the scientific study of society.

  2. André-Michel Guemy: Known for his work on crime statistics.

  3. Adolphe Quetelet: Conceptualized the “average man” and identified patterns within crime statistics.

Impact of Emile Durkheim

  • Types of Societies:

    • Mechanical Society: Cohesion based on similar values and lifestyles.

    • Organic Society: Cohesion arising from dependence on different sectors of activities.

  • Functionalism & Impact of Crime: Crime is viewed as normal and necessary within societal contexts, reinforcing social norms and values.

  • Classic Anomie: Describes the state of normlessness that can lead to increased deviance.

Social Structure & Anomie

  • Creator: Robert K. Merton

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Occurs when there is a strain between culturally prescribed goals and the legitimate means available to achieve them.

  • Five Adaptations to Strain:

    1. Conformity: Accepting cultural goals and means.

    2. Ritualism: Abandoning goals but rigidly adhering to means.

    3. Innovation: Accepting goals but using illegitimate means.

    4. Retreatism: Rejecting both goals and means.

    5. Rebellion: Rejecting existing goals and means, creating new ones.

  • Criticisms of Theory: It overlooks individual differences and is primarily applicable to lower-class crimes.

Variations of Strain Theory

  • Findings of Cohen: Delinquency arises from status frustration among youths leading to gang formation.

  • Findings of Cloward & Ohlin: Addressed the unequal access to legitimate versus illegitimate opportunities for achieving success.

General Strain Theory

  • Creator: Robert Agnew

  • Crime Producing Conditions:

    • Failure to achieve positively valued goals.

    • The presence of noxious stimuli (negative influences).

    • Removal of positive stimuli (loss of valued items).

Chicago School of Criminology

  • Context: Rapid urbanization, immigration, and poverty in Chicago during the late 1800s to early 1900s.

  • Impact of Ecology: Emphasizes how the environment shapes individual behavior.

  • Robert Park & Ernest Burgess: Studied urban areas as ecological systems.

  • Concentric Zones: The concept of urban areas divided into five zones:

    1. Central business district

    2. Zone in transition

    3. Working-class zone

    4. Residential zone

    5. Commuter zone

Social Disorganization Theory

  • Creators: Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Identified aspects like poverty, high residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity as correlates of crime.

  • Robert Sampson’s Contributions: Introduced the concept of collective efficacy as a measure of community control and social cohesion.

The Elements of Culture

  • Components: Beliefs, values, norms, symbols, and language that shape societal behaviors and practices.

Subculture Theories

  • Walter Miller’s Theory: Focused on lower-class focal concerns that lead to delinquency.

  • Marvin Wolfgang & Franco Ferracuti’s Theory: Proposed that a subculture of violence exists where violence is normalized.

  • Method Used: Ethnography is the primary research method for studying these theories.

Code of the Street

  • Creator: Elijah Anderson

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Factors include social disadvantage, a lack of trust in police, and the community's need for respect.

Social Process Theories

  • Categories: Consist of learning theories and control theories.

Differential Association Theory

  • Creator: Edwin Sutherland

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Crime is learned behavior acquired through interaction with others.

  • Impact of Pavlov: Conditioning emphasizes that behaviors can be learned.

  • Criticism of the Theory: Issues arise over the ratio of definitions (law-abiding vs. criminal), and there are challenges in establishing a causal order within the theory.

Techniques of Neutralization

  • Creators: Gresham Sykes and David Matza

  • Five Techniques of Neutralization:

    1. Denial of responsibility: Claiming that one's actions are not one's fault.

    2. Denial of injury: Arguing that the victim is not harmed.

    3. Denial of victim: Justifying actions by blaming the victim.

    4. Condemnation of condemners: Distrusting those who judge.

    5. Appeal to higher loyalties: Prioritizing group loyalty over societal norms.

Impact of Operant Conditioning

  • Creator: B.F. Skinner

  • Concept: Behavior is shaped and influenced by the consequences of rewards and punishments.

Impact of Theory of Imitation & Modeling

  • Creator: Albert Bandura

  • Concept: People learn behaviors by observing and imitating others, particularly models perceived as successful or rewarded.

Social Learning Theory

  • Creator: Ronald Akers

  • Crime Producing Conditions/Elements:

    • consist of differential association, reinforcement, imitation, and definitions that individuals carry.

  • Reactions: Behavior may be reinforced (rewarded) or punished, affecting future behavior.

Unique Aspects of Control Theories

  • Focus: These theories emphasize understanding why individuals refrain from committing crimes rather than why they commit them.

Human Nature & Social Control

  • Concept: Humans are inherently selfish; social controls exist to manage and regulate behavior.

Early Control Theories

  1. Albert Reiss’ Theory: Weak personal or social controls can lead to criminal behavior.

  2. Jackson Toby’s Theory: The stake in conformity can prevent crime.

  3. F. Ivan Nye’s Theory: Identified family control mechanisms including direct, indirect, and internal controls.

  4. Walter Reckless’ Theory: Introduced the concept of containment, including both inner and outer controls influencing behavior.

Social Bond Theory

  • Creator: Travis Hirschi

  • Crime Producing Conditions/Elements: Weak social bonds in four areas lead to higher potential for crime:

    1. Attachment: Emotional bonds to family and friends.

    2. Commitment: Investment in conventional activities.

    3. Involvement: Participation in conventional activities.

    4. Belief: Acceptance of societal norms and values.

  • Criticisms: The theory fails to explain all types of crime and makes assumptions about shared values across diverse populations.

Impact of Age on Crime (Age-Crime Curve)

  • Key Paper: Conducted by Hirschi and Gottfredson analyzing the relationship between age and crime rates.

  • Marshmallow Test: Developed by Walter Mischel in the 1960s demonstrating delayed gratification correlates with self-control capabilities.

General Theory of Crime

  • Creators: Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson

  • Crime Producing Conditions: Proposed that low self-control is a primary factor in criminal behavior.

  • Childrearing: Critical in fostering self-control; parents are crucial in:

    • Monitoring children's behavior

    • Recognizing deviant behavior

    • Punishing unacceptable behavior.

  • Critical Age: Affects peak criminal behavior primarily located between ages 15-17.

  • Effect on Age: Researchers argue that patterns of criminal behavior remain consistent across different demographic groups.