Criminology

Theory

Logical relationship between two or more variables

Theories of Law and Criminal Justice

Why are some actions considered to be legal/illegal?

Theories of Criminal and Deviant Behavior

Why is it that people commit crime and why do some people choose to conform?

Macro/Structural theories of crime
Ex.?

Theory that looks at circumstance that lead to crime. Fall under things being beyond control of their self interest.
Ex. crime filled neighborhood, poverty, educational system

Micro/ Professional theories of crime

Deals with the individual for him or herself

Biological theories of crime

something wrong with their genetics. Something wrong with their brains

Psychological theories

a person's personality or emotional maladjustment is responsible for their behavior

Sociological theories

cultural explanations of crime

Empirical validity*****

it has been observed, the evidence tends to support the theory or how we observe it. "Preponderance of Evidence

Logical consistency

it makes sense that an independent variable is influencing a dependent variable

Scope

The range of phenomena. A large portion of behavior that we see

Parsimony

saying things in a simple concise way.
Should be completely understandable. When a person is making an argument to you it should be taught in a clear language.

Testability
Ex.?

in order for a theory to be valid it must be "falsifiable" it has to be open to evidence that disproves.
Theory must be measurable meaning each variable in a theory must be measured in a precise way
Ex. Education --> crime

Necessary condition

in the absents of the independent variable the dependent variable does not occur. The independent variable is NECESSARY for the dependent variable to occur

Sufficient condition

Dependent variable ALWAYS occurs in the presence of an independent variable

Probabilistic causality

there are no absolutes

Deterrence Theory

classical conditioning" if the pain/punishment outweighs the gain/pleasure of the crime, a person will be deterred from the crime

punishment serves to offset the pain they will get from that crime

Met in the U.S., punishment serves to offset the pleasure they will get from that crime

the deterrent must be administrated quickly so the punishment stays effective

Celerity

makes sure that they punishment will be carried out as it is documented. MOST IMPORTANT VARIABLE

Certainty

General Deterrence

when punishments are severe, swift, and certain then the rest of the population will be deterred

Specific Deterrence

an individual is deterred based on the punishment variables (severity, celerity, certainty)

Experimental effect

The more experience someone has with the criminal justice system the less afraid they become of the system

Informal Deterrence

Personal punishments in the form of loss of reputation, employment, opportunities, and family are all ways to deter people to commit crime. You are worried about your status among the people that you care about
Personal guilt

Informal Sanctions

anything that is not a legal penalty that causes you pain
Disappointing your family

Rational Choice Theory

The idea that you are using logic when making a choice (similar to the pleasure/pain calculus) and economic expansion of deterrence theory.
Selectively used to explain some phenomena

expected utility

choices are made that maximize profit or pain and minimize costs. Principle of deterrence. Makes an economic argument from deterrence theory
Focuses on material things (objects of money)
Helps us explain white collar crime

Routine Activities Theory

Motivated Offender
A suitable target
Presence of a capable guardian
one of these three have to be manipulated in order to impact crime
how we go about our lives impacts the rate of crime. as our activities changed, so has crime rates

Lombroso

one of the first criminologists who came up with atavism, stigmata, insane criminal, and criminaloid

atavism

a person who is most likely to commit these crimes was labeled a born criminal

stigmata

mark them as an evolutionary missing link

insane criminal

has a biologically defiant mind and cannot control emotions. also likely to commit these crimes

criminaloid

passion with circumstance (not biological)

Sheldon

believed body type can predict crime, in the world there are 3 body types
all theories are proven to be empirically invalid
Endomorph
Ectomorph
Mesomorph

Endomorph

Heavy set person- living a life of leisure

Ectomorph

Thin person

Mesomorph

muscular persons. Ones we have to worry about***

Goring

lower intelligence, more crimes committed; higher intelligence, less crimes committed

XYY Super Male Criminal

making them more violent

Gordon

there is connection between intelligence and crime. the smarter you are (measure by IQ scores) the less likely you are to commit crime

Freud

believed human mind divided in half
conscious mind
unconscious mind- influences actions and thought in some degree
mind divided into 3 points
ID
EGO
SUPEREGO

ID

basic animalistic desires. A human being at their most basic

EGO

balancing point. Practical balance between the two figuring out what path to follow. Doesn't develop till around the age of 3

SUPEREGO

moralizing portion of your mind. Your higher self. What is right and wrong

Oediupus complex

the unconscious love of the mother and the hatred or fear of the father by the boy

Electra complex

the unconscious love of the father and hatred or fear of the mother by the girl

Neofreudians

if your parents are absent then that can cause crime as well as parents that are cruel
significant because they are the first ones who are saying its about how parents treat their kids
childhood is crucial

Personality Theory

measuring traits through testing and evaluations

Differential Association (Sutherland)

Sociological theory a micro or processional theory
9 propositions Sutherland believed why people commit crime

crime is learned

1st proposition of Sutherland

criminal behavior is learned through interaction with others: our associations with other people is how crime is learned

2nd proposition of Sutherland

learn crime from our "social intimates

3rd proposition of Sutherland

learning crime through techniques both simple and complex and attitudes about crime

4th proposition of Sutherland

definitions of crime: we view the code favorable or unfavorably?

5 proposition of Sutherland

delinquency occurs when definitions favorable to breaking the law out numbers or out weighs the definition unfavorable to breaking the law

6th proposition of Sutherland (most important)

differential association varies from person to person depending on frequency, duration, priority, and intensity of the definition

7th proposition of Sutherland

process of learning crime involves the same mechanisms as any other learning

process of learning crime involves the same mechanisms as any other learning 1. learning through practice

although crime's an expression of needs and values, it is not explained by needs and values

9th proposition of Sutherland

Differential Association: (Akers)

people are exposed to "definitions

Social Learning Theory (Akers)

takes an existing theory and then adds more making it a different theory

referent groups

group that we care about and being deterred because of those people

definitions

we not only learn from others but we also give our own personal assessment of those definitions

General definitions

an overall attitude about the law that favors conformity.

specific definitions

a specific belief about a particular act or law. the more someone supports that law the less likely they are to engage

positive definition

an affirmative belief that an action should be permissible

neutralizing definition

a justification for an action

discriminative stimuli

a signal as to how you should act

differential reinforcement

a system of rewards and punishments

rewards (positive reinforcement)

Anything that increases the probability of committing or recommitting an act. The granting of pleasure in hope that the person will commit or recommit an act

punishment (negative reinforcement)

decreasing the probability of committing an act by causing pain

positive punishment

pain is attached to a behavior

negative punishment

a reward is removed as a consequence

imitation

the idea that we follow people we care about and mirror their behaviors

control theories
reasoning

the idea that we are asking the wrong question, "why do people conform"?
reasoning: deviance is taken for granted. people have a natural motivation to deviate.
the whole idea is that there are social controls in place to keep us conforming

Internal and External Control (Reiss)

keep people conforming minus the controls that are in place

Personal Control

self control over your own behavior

social controls

the legal system/social sanctions- society is set up in a way that when you conform you are rewarded. there are punishments for deviating/legal punishments

Direct Control

(social control) a reward for conformity or punishment of misconduct (Parents have a big control on this)

indirect control

the notion that the reason we conform is because of the pain and disappointment we would cause others as a result of our actions

internal control

(personal control) conscious morality, right/wrong

attention, affection, recognition, security, new experiences

Influence of childhood

Theory of Containment (Reckless)
Why do people conform?

Containments in place that keep them conforming

Outer Containment

external supports that counter delinquency. There are containments in place to keep people to conforming

Inner Containment

the idea of our moral conscious. ** good self-concept: developed at the age of 12

Inner pushes

our psychological drive towards deviance- feelings of rebellion, aggressiveness, and anger

outer pushes

the macro or structural variables that we know to be linked to delinquency

outer pulls

personal inducement to commit crime

drift

not everyone even if you are a deviant individual you are not deviant 24 hours a day.

episodic release

when people drift in and out of deviant behavior

social bond theory (Hirschi)

there is a bond in place the keeps them conforming. one of the most empirically valid theories

attachment

people need to feel a close personal relationship with other people. When an individual is socially detached they are much more likely to deviate

commitment

an investment or stake in conventional society. people conform b/c they invest themselves in conventional things

involvement

the amount of time it takes to achieve conventional goals. Don't have time to commit crime

Belief

laws and societal rules are correct and should be obeyed. conform because they think that laws are correct

Theory of Low Self Control

people conform because they have high self control and those who deviate do so because they have low self control

Ineffective child rearing leads to low self control which leads to crime/deviance

3 variables in the theoretical

what behaviors define low self control?

acting out
when a child displays emotion inappropriately and excessively.
antisocial behavior w/peers- solving problems physically instead of verbally

operationalization

the process of articulating measurement. telling the reader exactly how you define a variable

policy implications

the actual strategies the come out of the theory. looking at if they work

classical conditioning

dates back to the 18th century Europe. the criminal justice system was very unfair and was very unpredictable

apprehension

there has to be some degree of certainty that will be caught for doing that crime.

recidivism

the recommitting of crime after the individual has been caught or punished

formal deterrence

does not seem to work very well

motivated offender

someone needs to be motivated to commit crime

suitable target

a person's property

the (lack of) capable guardian

not a person or a thing in place that stops a person from committing a crime

psychoanalytic theory

the upbringing and the experiences you have, along with any abnormal adjustments contribute to crime

neutralization

an attempt to justify the episodic release

denial of responsibility

the deviance i have drifted into is not my fault I cannot help it

denial of injury

well I didn't hurt anybody doing this

denial of victims status

puts the blame on the victims and doesn't actually think they are a victim

condemnation of the condemner

I am not wrong but the person pointing the figure at me is wrong

appeal to a higher authority

people justify committing a crime because they are doing it for some greater good