Final Exam (Ch 7-13) Flashcards
(114 cards)
What is theory?
A set of concepts and the relationships among these concepts.
Define hypothesis.
A statement about the dirction of the relationship between two concepts.
Why do we use theory?
To explain why crimes are committed and who commits them.
Acronym: LC,P,S,T,ES.PU
What are the six charachterisics of a good theory?
- Logical consistency : Do the propositions (statements) made within the theory make sense with one another
- Parsimonious:
A theory should contain the minimum number of concepts / statements that is required to understand the phenomenon - Scope: How much of a given phenomenon the theory seeks to explain.
Larger the scope the stronger the theory - Testable :Can you conduct empirical tests to verify the validity (i.e., the ‘truth’) of the theory.
- Empirical support: A theory is only valid if studies empirically verify its concepts and their proposed relationships.
- Practical Utility: A good theory will contain predictions that can be used to prevent crime and/or perform interventions
What is not a characterstic of a good theory?
Subjectivity
Think the chart at the begining of every class
What are the seven theoretical classifications?
- Classical school
- Positivist School
- Biological
- Psychological
- Sociological
- Consensus
- Conflict
What was the timeline of Classical and Pre-Classical school?
Pre-Classical: Pre 18th century
Classical: During the 18th century
Think early stages of evolution
What theory took place in the 19th century?
Early Positivist
Acronym is SCI
Which three theories took place in the 20th century?
Early: Sociological Positivist
Mid: Conflict perspective
Late: Integrated perspectives
Main Idea, Response and Limitation
Pre Classical
Main Idea: Possessed by demon/evil spirit
Response: Extreme things carried out by religious authority(forced confessions, toture, dealth penalty)
Limitation: No laws or safegaurds to protect accused rights
Main Idea, Response and Limitation
Classical School
Main Idea: Free will, choice to commit crime
Response: Swift,Certain and severe punishments
Limitation: oversimplified in effectiveness of deterrence
JB & CB
Who were the two key theorist in Classical school?
Jeremy Bentham & Cesare Beccaria
What was Benthams belief?
- Had rational choice
- Will base it on if it brings pleasure or pain
What was Beccarias belief?
- That certain,swift and severe punishments would deter crime
- Foundation of the modern CJS
- Crime=Punishment
Define specific deterrence.
Punshiment that prevents the offenders from reoffending in the future
Death penalty, life sentence
What is general deterrence?
Punishment to deter socity from engaging in crime
public arrest
Define Effective deterrence.
- Certain: how likely you will be caught
- Swift: how likely someone you be punished
- Severe: how severe is the sentence
Classical theorist attribute criminality to:
Free and Rational choice
Main Idea, Response, Limitation
Early Positivist school.
Main Idea: Crime is inherited genetically
Response: Sterilization, indeterminate sentence
Limitation:Supports eugenics and didnt account for sociological factors
What is the Criminal Man of 1876?
Applied scientific method to study criminaly by measuring the skulls and bodies of prisoners.
What did Ceseare Lombroso believe?
- Darwins theory of eveolution
- Criminals were evolutionary throwacks and can be identified through physical attributes
How were criminals identified by atavistic stigmata?
- Strong jaws
- Strong K-9 teeth
- Reseading hairlines
- Big ears
- Tattoos
- Long arms
Define the Medical Model.
Crime is a disease and needed treatment or rehab
An early positivist theorist is most likely to suggest which of the following explanations for a criminal’s behaviour?
The individual is a throwback to an earlier stage of evolution