Chapters 3-5 Flashcards
(110 cards)
The idea that criminals are a throwback to a more primitive stage of development.
atavistic beings
The most common neurobehavioral childhood disorder, which is characterized by the following symptoms: inattention and hyperactivity that cause difficulty in school, poor relationships with family and peers, and low self-esteem.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Theories that frame delinquency as the outcome of rational thought.
choice theories
A school of thought that blames delinquency on the choices people make.
classical school
A prison sentence of a fixed amount of time, such as 5 years.
determinate sentence
Fraternal twins who develop from two eggs fertilized at the same time.
dizygotic twins (DZ)
A branch of psychology that examines the ways that evolutionary forces shape patterns of human cognition and behavior.
evolutionary psychology
The idea that people can and do choose one course of action over another.
free will
A person’s genetic composition.
genotype
A prison sentence of varying time length, such as 5-10 years.
indeterminate sentence
The idea that criminal law must reflect differences among people and these circumstaances.
individual justice
The ability to learn, exercise judgement, and be imaginative.
intelligence
A person’s intelligence quotient, defined as the ratio of one’s mental age multiplied by 100 and divided by one’s chronological age.
IQ score
A corrections philosophy that promotes flat or fixed-time sentences, abolishment of parole, and use of prison to punish offenders.
justice model
Factors that may be responsible for an individual’s behavior, such as age, insanity, and incompetence.
mitigating circumstances
Identical twins who develop from one fertilized egg. MZ twins have identical DNA.
monozygotic twins (MZ)
A school of thought that considers mitigating circumstances when determining culpability for delinquency.
neoclassical school
A school of thought that blames delinquency on factors that are in place before a crime is committed.
positive school
Theory suggesting that delinquents are rational people who make calculated choices regarding what they are going to do before they act.
rational choice theory
A punishment philosophy based on society’s moral outrage or disapproval of a crime.
retribution
Theory arguing that motivated offenders, suitable targets, and absence of capable guardians produce delinquency.
routine activities theory
The idea that criminals can be identified by physical appearance.
somatotype
Distinctive physical features of born criminals.
stigmata
An integrated set of ideas that explains and predicts a phenomenon.
theory