Key terms

Question 1

Violent offences

Answer 1

Aggressive crimes resulting in physical harm or death to the victim.

Question 2

Drug related offences

Answer 2

Crimes involving trading in or using illegal substances

Question 3

Acquisitive offences

Answer 3

Crimes where capital or belongings are acquired through illegal means e.g. theft

Question 4

Sexual offences

Answer 4

Crimes where a victim victim is forced to commit or submit to a sexual act against their will

Question 5

Anti-social offences

Answer 5

Criminal acts that cause harassment, alarm or distress to people who do not share a home with the perpetrator

Question 6

Subjectivity

Answer 6

Based on personal opinion rather than fact

Question 7

Social construct

Answer 7

A concept that exists as the result of interactions between people who make up a society

Question 8

Deviation from norms

Answer 8

When an act or behaviour goes against the accepted standards of a society

Question 9

Culture

Answer 9

A collective set of norms and values that determine the way of life of a group of people

Question 10

Anti-social behaviour

Answer 10

Behaviour by a person which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the person

Question 11

Self-report

Answer 11

A method that involves participants reporting on themselves through answering questions

Question 12

Social Learning Theory

Answer 12

A theory that explains behaviour in terms of observation and imitation

Question 13

Role model

Answer 13

A person held in esteem by another

Question 14

Identification

Answer 14

The process where a person aligns themselves with another

Question 15

Observation

Answer 15

The process where people pay attention to behaviours and retain them in memory

Question 16

Imitation

Answer 16

A process where people recall behaviours and reproduce them in their on actions

Question 17

Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 17

When a behaviour is strengthened by an individual observing this same behaviour and being rewarded in another

Question 18

Direct reinforcement

Answer 18

When a behaviour is strengthened an likely to be repeated due to positive outcomes for the individual

Question 19

Internalisation

Answer 19

The process whereby a behaviour becomes an integral part of an individual’s personality due to continuous reinforcement

Question 20

Consequences

Answer 20

The result of something, usually negative

Question 21

Aggression

Answer 21

Spoken or physical behaviour that is threatening or involves harm to someone

Question 22

Arousal

Answer 22

Activation of the nervous system making individuals awake, alert and attentive

Question 23

Disinhibition

Answer 23

When people have a lack of control over their own behaviour because they are not concerned about what is expected

Question 24

Criminal personality

Answer 24

A set of relatively fixed traits associated with people who commit crimes

Question 25

Genetic inheritance

Answer 25

When genetic information is passed on from parents to child through the pairing of chromosomes at conception

Question 26

Extraversion

Answer 26

A trait measuring how out-going an individual is

Question 27

Neuroticism

Answer 27

A trait measuring how anxious an individual is

Question 28

Psychoticism

Answer 28

A trait measuring how impulsive and aggressive an individual is

Question 29

Biological

Answer 29

Relating to brain and body

Question 30

CNS

Answer 30

A system consisting of the brain and spinal cord, to which sensory impulses are transmitted and from which motor impulses pass out

Question 31

Reticular activation system

Answer 31

A neural network that mediates consciousness and alertness

Question 32

Cerebral cortex

Answer 32

The outer layer of the brain which is important for conscious awareness

Question 33

Dopamine reward system

Answer 33

A neural network that is responsible for people experiencing pleasure

Question 34

Automatic nervous system

Answer 34

The system responsible for unconscious control of the body's internal organs

Question 35

Limbic system

Answer 35

A neural network that controls emotional expression

Question 36

Dopaminergic neurons

Answer 36

Nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine

Question 37

Synaptic transmission

Answer 37

The process where neurotransmitters are released by a a presynaptic neuron and bind to and activate the receptors of postsynaptic neuron

Question 38

Conditioning

Answer 38

Learning by association and consequence

Question 39

Early socialisation

Answer 39

The process where young children are conditioned to accept the norms and values of their family and wider society

Question 40

Individual differences

Answer 40

How people are unique and different from on another

Question 41

Self-esteem

Answer 41

How much an individual values themselves

Question 42

Punishment

Answer 42

When negative consequences follow a certain behaviour and reduce the chance of that behaviour and reduces the chance of that behaviour happening again

Question 43

Prison

Answer 43

A place where people are confined as a punishment

Question 44

Fine

Answer 44

A monetary charge imposed on an individual who has committed an offence

Question 45

Community sentence

Answer 45

Time that has to be given back to the community in the form of unpaid work

Question 46

Deterrent

Answer 46

Something that reduces the likelihood of a crime being committed

Question 47

Rehabilitation

Answer 47

The process of reintegrating a convicted person back into society, with the aim that they will no longer want to commit crimes

Question 48

Pro-social behaviour

Answer 48

Behaviour that involves us being caring, helping and sharing. We may show pro-social behaviour because we are concerned about the well-being of others around us.

Question 49

Restorative justice

Answer 49

A way of rehabilitating offenders by giving them the choice to be aware of the consequences of their actions