Knowledge questions Flashcards
(25 cards)
What does compare mean?
(COMAND TERM)
Candidates will give an account of the similarities and differences between two or more issues, referring to both, or all, of them throughout.
What is crime?
Deviant behaviour involving serious, harmful acts that are wrong against society.
Regarded as so disruptive state must intervene to forbid and punish them.
What is deviance?
Behaviour that differs from the normal = unusual/uncommon/out of the ordinary/disapproved of
What is the difference between norms, morals and values?
Norms = socially accepted standards that govern peoples behaviour.
Morals = Basic set of rules, values, principles held by an individual/group/organisation/society as a whole.
Values = Principles how we should live our lives
What is social control?
Society ensuring that members behave appropriately. It is enforced through sanctions.
What are formal sanctions?
Given by courts and police for certain offences such as custodial sentences or financial penalties
What are informal sanctions?
Imposed by public. Such as dirty looks, making fun of you, name calling
What does explain mean?
Command term
Candidates will identify interpret and outline the key features of the set issue
What is the social construction of crime?
Something that has been made or defined by society rather than occurring naturally
What is culture?
Social behaviour and norms and human societies. Shared values, beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.
How do laws change in different places?
Difference in legal systems. Some places where an action is deemed a crime in one place may not be in another place. E.g Right to bear arms USA vs England.
How do laws change from culture to culture
Religious beliefs, tradition, public opinion, different norms and values
How are laws applied differently according to the circumstances in which the actions occur?
If some1 stole something usually minor like water then they would typically have little to no punishment. But if they did it during a riot then they would receive a harsher punishment than usual.
What does describe mean?
Command term
Candidates were given an account that addresses the features of the set issue and considered appropriate supporting material
What does evaluate mean?
Command term
Candidates will make a substantiated judgement based on the strengths and limitations of the relevant evidence
What is atavism?
A biological theory in which Lombroso argued that criminals were physically different from non-criminals
How does Lombroso link Atavism to criminality?
Spent years recording details of the heads and faces of thousands of prisoners 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by at Vista characteristics
What are the strengths and limitations of Lombroso’s theory for explaining the causes of criminality?
Strengths:
Lombroso first person to study criminality scientifically using objective measurements to gather evidence.
Crime not always a free choice. Determined by biological factors helps us focus how we can prevent further offending rather than punishments.
Weaknesses:
Gender bias didn’t study female criminals
Not everyone with atavistic features as a criminal and not all criminals have them
What is a somatotype?
A biological theory focused on body types. Researcher: William Sheldon.
How did Sheldon link somatotypes to criminality?
According to Sheldon, most criminals have mesomorphic body type this is because they had personality traits such as being an adventurous sensation seeking assertive and domineering they also enjoy physical activities. The least likely to be criminals were ectomorphs. This is because they were self-conscious, fragile and generally lacked fat and muscle.
What are the strengths and limitations of Sheldon’s theory for explaining the causes of criminality?
Strengths:
Sheldon used a large sample (200) and he had a control group of non-offenders (students) to compare his results to
Most serious delinquents in Sheldon sample were the ones with the most extremely metamorphic body shapes.
Weaknesses:
Sheldon doesn’t account for those endomorph and ectomorph who commit crimes nor does he explain whether the mesomorphs commit crimes other than violence.
Criminals may build a mesomorphic body shape as a result of needing to be physically tough to succeed in prison.
Which areas of the brain process emotion, mood and personality?
The amygdala which is inside the frontal lobe processes emotions especially fear and is an important part in the brain. Area in frontal lobe called prefrontal cortex shows to be important in monitoring and regulating our behaviour
What did Raine discover about the brains of murderers, compared to non-murderers?
The amygdala is reduced by 18% in psychopaths.
What does the case of Phineas Gage imply about brain damage and criminality?
Gage had severe damage to his frontal lobe. He had head trauma which led to a personality change. He had also suffered from seizures as a result of the incident.
The personality change could play a factor towards criminality as the criminal may be more impulsive in the actions and lack emotion
