Evaluations Flashcards
(16 cards)
what are 2 positives of born criminal theory? (physiological)
- lombroso first to study crime -> against religion
- helped start the idea to focus on traits to build a character profile
what are the 2 disadvantages of the born criminal theory? (physiological)
- not everyone with atavistic traits is a criminal
- the traits describe those of the African descent (e.g. full lips, wrinkled skin) -> racism
what are the 2 advantages of the somatotypes theory? (Physiological)
- good sample size
- most delinquent in the sample Sheldon used were very mesomorphic
what are the 2 disadvantages of the somatotypes theory? (physiological)
- not all criminals have mesomorphic bodies -> doesn’t explain how ends/ecto can commit crime too
- somatotypes aren’t fixed and can change throughout your life
what are the 2 advantages of the psychological theory? (individualistic)
- describes hoe some measurable tendencies can increase the risk of offending
- Eysenck predicts that high PEN scores lead to criminality and studies support predictions as offenders tend to have a high P, E & N
what are the 2 disadvantages of the psychological theory? (individualistic)
- FARRINGTON examined some studies -> show many prisoners actually have high P&N but not E
- Eysenck used self-report questionnaires so results might not be valid as he may have lied to make his theory sound more viable
what are the 2 advantages of the social learning theory? (individualistic)
- real life application as the experiment has been replicated many times before showing similar results -> increases validity
- it accounts for the nurture argument as people learn behaviour from around them and not just from biological hereditary traits
what are the 2 disadvantages of the social learning theory? (individualistic)
*ethical issues -|> exposes children to an aggressive environment with the understanding that they must imitate -> can create physical and mental harm
- novelty aspect of the doll for those kids that have never played with a doll before experiment. -> most likely to follow adults actions
what are the 2 disadvantages of the XYY Theory? (Genetic)
- Not everyone with an extra Y chromosome is criminal
- doesn’t focus on 1behaviourist approach
what are the 2 advantages of the XYY Theory? (Genetic)
- the study by Jacob et al found that a significant number of men in prison had the XYY chromosome rather than just XY
- Adler et al 2007 -> its possible for aggressive/violent behaviour to be partly determined by genetic factors
What are the 2 advantages of the twin studies? (Genetic)
- its a natural experiment as relationship between twins is a naturally occurring variable
- Christiansen supports the view that criminality doesn’t have a genetic component.
What are the 2 disadvantages of the twin studies? (Genetic)
- small sample used -> not representative of the whole population
- Lange’s research was inadequately controlled and lacked validity as DZ/MZ was decided from appearance rather than DNA.
what are the 2 advantages of the Social Structure theory? (sociological)
- highlights impact of selective law enforcement -> white collar crimes underpoliced
- provides explanation for crime that covers all social classes and variety of offences
What are the 2 disadvantages of the social structure theory? (sociological)
- largely ignores other inequalities such as gender/ethnicity
*there are many famous prosecutions for the white collar crimes -> Bernie Madoff/The Wolf of Wall Street.
what are the 2 advantages of the left realism theory? (sociological)
- recognises multiple causes of crime -> Lea and Young’s square of crime
- explores the role of victims of crime in more depth than other theories.
what are the 2 disadvantages of the left realism theory? (sociological)
- fails to explain white collar crimes
- arguably made of a mix of other theories pulled together.
