yeye Flashcards
(9 cards)
what is Marxism(sociological)
Society may influence a person to become criminal.
sees crime as something the ruling class use as social control.
the criminal justice system encourages conformity.
assumes the disadvantaged social class is the primary cause of crime, starts in youth.
nature of capitalism encourages a two-tier system. one group is forced to crime.
suggest crime is a result of unfavourable conditions.
what is interactionism(socialogical)
Theory focuses on the way people in society interact with one and other. According to Howard Becker the labelling theory can explain criminality.
The labeling theory suggest that no act is criminal or deviant in itself, it only becomes so when other label it as such.
Once a person is labelled, then they tend to adopt the label and behave as expected. Their master status then becomes that of the label and hence a self-fulfilling prophecy. this label can result in criminality.
Primary deviance-involves acts that have not been publicly labelled. such as not paying for a train ticket.
Secondary deviance- results from labelling. people may treat the offender solely in terms of his label, this then becomes their master status.
What is Lambrosos Born criminals theory
Lombroso argued that criminals are physically different from non-criminals, a separate species that is between modern and primitive humans.
Link physical characteristics to criminal behaviour, did this by measuring and recording the sizes of prisoners heads.
Criminals had atavistic features that were throwbacks to an earlier from of life.
features include low sloping heads, large jaws or forward projection of the jaw, monkey like ears, high check bones and long arms.
What is Jacobs XYY theory
(genetic)
Jacob argues that an XYY syndrome (super-male) in males makes them genetically predisposed to criminality.
He compared the rate of XXY in imprisoned criminals with general population.
Found that a Higher than average proportion of inmates had XYY syndrome
Jacob found that criminals with XYY syndrome were Very tall, well-built, low intelligence, high aggression, violent.
What is Psychoanalysis
(individualistic)
Idea that Our early childhood experiences determine our personality and future behavior including criminality
3 conflicting elements of unconscious mind – id, ego and superego
The id- Instinctive ‘animal’ part of
mind
Super-ego Conscience or moral part of mind – acting against it leads to guilt and anxiety
ego-Referees the urges of id and
superego. Tries to satisfy the
id’s urges in a socially
acceptable way
Anti-social behavior caused by
abnormal relationship with parents Conflicts between id, ego, and superego are unresolved, which leads a to weak, over-harsh or deviant superego.
What is Bandura Social learning theory
Much of our behaviour is learned from imitating others (models)
We are more likely to imitate people of higher status than us, and if we see them being rewarded
Bobo doll study. Children most likely to imitate violent adult model when they saw them rewarded. there were 3 groups.
Group 1 saw a version where the model was rewarded with praise
Group 2 saw a version of the doll being punished
Group 3 saw a version of neither punishment or praise
What is Cohen: the mods and rockets theory
Cohen uses the Mods and Rockers study to explain the
amplification spiral
Media exaggeration caused growing public concern
Moral entrepreneurs called for a crackdown leading to more
arrests, and more concern
Negative labelling of mods and rockers as folk devils
Evaluate Lambrosos born criminals theory
S- First person to study crime scientifically. Previously it was seen as a moral or religious issue.
S-Shows importance of clinical and historical records of criminals.
S-Helps to focus on how prevention not punishment.
F-No further evidence to link facial features and criminality.
F-Did not compare with control group of non-criminals.
F- Lambros’s theory is Racist. Equates criminals with savages/ non-western society.
Evaluate Marxism
S- Shows how poverty can cause working class crime and how capitalism promotes greed and encourages ruling class crime too.
S-Shows how law making and enforcement are biased against the working class and in favour of the powerful
F-Focuses on class and ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities e.g. race or gender
F-Over predicts the amount of working class crime – not all poor people turn to crime.
F-
