Transcript Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials

General context of individual views of delinquency
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Discuss Choice Theory and Trait Theory. Be familiar
with and distinguish between the two branches of
individual-level theories of delinquency
Know the principles of choice theory
Discuss the routine activities theory of delinquency
Know the principles of general deterrence theory
Discuss the concept of general deterrence theory
Trace the history and development of trait theory
Be familiar with the branches and substance of
biological trait theory
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Scientific Method
 Hypothesis
- guess
 Experimentation – trials
 Data – collecting results
 Theory
 Educated guess
 Effort to explain or make sense of data
 Foundation of criminology and the basis of action –
everything done in criminology is based on this
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Doesn’t apply to Everyone!
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Philosophers formed the Core of Rational
Choice Theory
Choice Theory holds that the decision to
violate the law comes after a careful
weighing of the benefits
Delinquents choose to commit crime because
they find violating the law attractive…
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The view that delinquents choose to violate
the law remains a popular approach to the
study of delinquents
In reality, many youths from affluent families
choose to break the law
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Why, what drives them to the need?
Delinquent motives include:
 Economic need/opportunity
 Problem solving
 False expectations
 Opportunity
Developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus
Felson
The view that crime is a normal function of the
routine activities of modern living
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To have a crime, a motivated offender
must come to the same place as an
attractive target.
Opportunity driven.
General Deterrence
 Crime control policies that depend on the fear of
criminal penalties, i.e long prison sentences for
violent crime
Specific Deterrence
 Sending convicted offenders to secure incarceration
facilities so that punishment is severe enough to
convince them not to repeat their criminal activity
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Choice theory helps us understand criminal events
and victim patterns
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Poll – Juvi 2, Poll 1, 2, 3
Do you think that people who commit crime
are physically or mentally abnormal?
Is there a link between sugar and antisocial
behavior?
Is there a link between hormones and
antisocial behavior?
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Both biological and psychological traits have been
linked to criminal behavior, but not as causal
linkages.
It is the “multiple factor” approach or the
interaction of mental and physical traits with
environmental and social factors that either
suppress or trigger criminal behavior.
The focus is generally on persistent or chronic
offenders.
Focuses on the association between biological
makeup, environmental conditions, and antisocial
behaviors
 There’s evidence that a child’s diet may influence
his/her behavior (consider sugar)
 Hormonal levels are an explanation of why there are
gender differences in delinquency
 It’s possible that increased levels of testosterone
are responsible for excessive violence among
teenage boys
There can be multiple reasons for delinquent behavior.
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Teenage Brains
Teenage brains make them crime prone
ADHD
Condition in which a child shows a developmentally
inappropriate lack of attention and response to impulse
Learning Disabilities
Studies show that arrested children tend to have a higher
LD than children in the general population
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Many delinquent youths have unhealthy home lives
Psychodynamic Theory
 Branch of psychology that holds that the human
personality is controlled by the unconscious mental
processes – have you ever had a smell or a song that
reminds you of something?
Behavioral Theory
 Argument that personality is learned throughout life
during interaction with others
Cognitive Theory
 Studies the perception of reality and the mental
processes required to understand the world we live
in
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The research methodologies that are
employed are invalid and/or poorly designed
Personality and IQ are spread evenly across
the social structure
If individual traits were the true cause of
delinquency, then it too should be spread evenly
across society, but it isn’t.
 Prevention efforts should be directed at
strengthening a youth’s home life and
relationships. Strong family bonds.
 We should focus on testing and correcting
deficiencies with meds or counseling
 Individual approaches have been used to
prevent adjudicated youths from engaging in
further criminal activities
 Critics argue that the more we try to help
youths, the more likely they will be to see
themselves as different or as troublemakers
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Choice and Trait Theory, is there a connection?
Different Theories
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Biosocial
 Biochemical
 Neurological
 Genetic
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Psychological
 Media Violent behavior
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Do we know why juveniles do the things they
do?
General Context of Sociological Views of Delinquency
 Be familiar with the association between social
conditions and crime
 Discuss the effect of racial disparity on delinquency
 Describe the principles of social disorganization
theory
 Be familiar with recent developments in strain theory
 Discuss the concepts of social process and
socialization
 Discuss the elements of social control theories
 Explain how the labeling process is related to
delinquent careers
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Many troubled youths aren’t able to turn
around their lives – they don’t know where to
begin and lack the physical and mental
resources necessary
Most delinquents are indigent and desperate
Delinquents often live in tough urban
environments in families torn apart and in
stress
What impact might these facts have on youth?
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What are the social factors believed to cause or affect
delinquent behaviors?
 Interpersonal interactions (relationships)
 Community ecological conditions (environment)
 Social change
 Socioeconomic status (poverty)
Minority poverty
 The consequences of racial disparity and poverty
take a harsh toll on minority youths
 About 6% of white, 11% of black and 22% of
Hispanics drop out of high school each year
 There are more blacks in prison than in college in
the US
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Oscar Louis coined the phrase “culture of
poverty”
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The view that lower class people form a separate
culture with their own values and norms (smoking
dope, living on welfare, and stealing cable are OK)
The impoverished are deprived of a standard
of living enjoyed by the other citizens
The theories tie delinquency rates to both
socioeconomic conditions (e.g. poverty,
neighborhood deterioration) and cultural
values
Social Disorganization
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Relative Deprivation- condition that exists when people
of wealth and poverty live in close proximity to one
another (“They have everything and we have nothing –
it’s not fair”)
Community Change – poorer neighborhoods are
transient
Community Fear – don’t get involved
Poverty Concentration
Collective Efficacy- process in which mutual trust and a
willingness to intervene in the supervision of children
and help maintain public order create a sense of wellbeing – it takes a village to raise a child
Gangs - some of the most common reasons for joining a
gang -- status and belonging
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Sociologists argue that the root cause of delinquency
may be traced to learning delinquent attitudes from
peers, experiencing conflict in the home, etc.
Socialization is the process of guiding people into
acceptable behavior patterns
Early socialization experiences have a lifelong influence
on self-image, values, and behaviors
The 2nd main branch of the social process approach,
suggests that the cause of delinquency resides in the
strength of the relationships a child forms with
conventional individuals and groups
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Society is in a constant state of internal conflict
Those in power use the justice system to
maintain their status while keeping others
subservient (sentencing disparity between crack
and powder cocaine)
The poor may or may not commit more crimes
than the rich, but they are certainly arrested
more often (would OJ have been convicted the
first time if he wasn’t rich?)
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How does society view famous juveniles or
adults when in trouble?
Do the rich and famous get off with lighter
sentences?
Is it because “they” have the money and power
to hire top lawyers?
Why do teen actors turn to criminal behavior?
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Drugs and alcohol
 Did they Choose to, if so for what reason?
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Social programs have been designed to
reduce/eliminate delinquency
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Do they work?
Has the reduction in these programs had a negative
affect?
Delinquency can be prevented by
strengthening the socialization process (Head
Start type programs)
Restorative justice
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An approach that relies on non-punitive strategies
for delinquency control