theories

Question 1

What are the three positive functions of crime according to Durkheim?

Answer 1

Boundary maintenance, social change, and social cohesion.

Question 2

What does Durkheim mean by boundary maintenance?

Answer 2

Reaffirming what is right/wrong through public punishment or condemnation of offenders.

Question 3

What causes crime in Strain Theory?

Answer 3

A gap between cultural goals and the means to achieve them.

Question 4

What are the five adaptations to strain?

Answer 4

Conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion.

Question 5

What is primary vs secondary deviance (Lemert)?

Answer 5

Primary: acts not labelled as deviant. Secondary: results from being labelled.

Question 6

What does Becker say about deviance?

Answer 6

Deviance is not the act itself, but the label attached to it.

Question 7

What is ‘master status’?

Answer 7

When the deviant label dominates all aspects of a person’s identity.

Question 8

What are the main causes of crime according to right realists?

Answer 8

Rational choice, inadequate socialisation, biological differences.

Question 9

Name a solution supported by Right Realists.

Answer 9

Zero tolerance policing, target hardening

Question 10

What are the main causes of crime according to left realists?

Answer 10

Relative deprivation, marginalisation, subcultures.

Question 11

Name a solution supported by Left Realists.

Answer 11

Multi-agency approach, addressing social inequality.

Question 12

What is criminogenic capitalism?

Answer 12

Capitalism causes crime through poverty, consumerism, and alienation.

Question 13

What is selective enforcement?

Answer 13

Laws are applied more harshly to the working class.

Question 14

Which personality traits are linked to criminality?

Answer 14

High extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

Question 15

What are the three parts of Freud’s personality theory?

Answer 15

Id, Ego, Superego.

Question 16

What causes deviance according to Freud?

Answer 16

Imbalance in personality due to childhood experiences.

Question 17

What does Sutherland’s differential association theory propose?

Answer 17

Crime is learned through association with criminal peers.

Question 18

What is the role of reinforcement in operant learning theory?

Answer 18

Behaviours are repeated if rewarded, avoided if punished.

Question 19

What did Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment show?

Answer 19

Aggression can be learned through observing role models.

Question 20

What does the XYY theory suggest about crime?

Answer 20

Males with XYY chromosomes are more aggressive.

Question 21

What do twin studies suggest about crime?

Answer 21

Higher concordance rates in MZ twins suggest a genetic influence.

Question 22

What do adoption studies show?

Answer 22

Children resemble biological parents more in criminality, suggesting genetics.

Question 23

What are atavistic features?

Answer 23

Physical traits (e.g., strong jaw, asymmetry) linked to criminals.

Question 24

Which body type is most associated with criminality?

Answer 24

Mesomorphic – muscular, risk-taking.

Question 25

How can brain injury relate to crime?

Answer 25

Damage to the prefrontal cortex can reduce self-control and increase aggression.

Question 26

How does serotonin relate to criminality?

Answer 26

Low serotonin levels are linked to aggression.

Question 27

What is the effect of steroids on behaviour?

Answer 27

Increase testosterone, leading to violence.

Question 28

What is a key weakness of Durkheim’s Functionalism?

Answer 28

He doesn’t specify how much crime is “healthy” for society.

Question 29

What is a criticism of Marxist theory?

Answer 29

It ignores other inequalities like gender and ethnicity.

Question 30

Why is Left Realism criticised?

Answer 30

Too soft on criminals; lacks detail on punishment.

Question 31

What is a flaw of Right Realism?

Answer 31

Over-focus on street crime and ignores white-collar crime.

Question 32

What is the main critique of Interactionism?

Answer 32

It’s too deterministic – not everyone accepts their label.

Question 33

What is a limitation of Strain Theory?

Answer 33

It mainly explains economic crime, not violent crime.

Question 34

What’s a flaw in Freud’s psychodynamic theory?

Answer 34

It’s based on the unconscious mind – difficult to research or prove.

Question 35

What’s a criticism of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 35

Personality questionnaires may be unreliable due to dishonest responses.

Question 36

What is a criticism of Social Learning Theory?

Answer 36

Doesn’t explain why some people exposed to crime don’t offend.

Question 37

Why is the XYY theory limited?

Answer 37

It ignores environmental influences.

Question 38

What is a problem with twin studies?

Answer 38

Small sample sizes make generalising difficult.

Question 39

What is a limitation of biochemical explanations?

Answer 39

Can’t explain non-violent crimes like fraud.

Question 40

What’s a major flaw in Lombroso’s theory?

Answer 40

Not all criminals have atavistic features, and not all with these features commit crime.

Question 41

What’s the weakness in Sheldon’s theory?

Answer 41

It ignores that ectomorphs and endomorphs can also commit crimes.