Download Criminology Exam 4: Labeling Theory and Social Disorganization Theory Explained and more Exams Advanced Education in PDF only on Docsity!
CCJ 301 1 Exam 4 With
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What is the deterrence theory's main hypothesis? - ANSWER Experiencing a formal legal punishment will decrease criminal behavior
What is the labeling theory's main hypothesis? - ANSWER -Experiencing a formal legal punishment will increase criminal behavior
-Legal punishments are stigmatizing
Historical context of labeling theory: 1960s and 1970s - ANSWER -Period marked by civil unrest
-Critical criminology
Critical criminology - ANSWER -Class struggle in society
-The upper class has the power to influence the law
-Behaviors by the lower class more likely to be labeled as a crime
Historical context of labeling theory: Self-reported surveys - ANSWER While the majority of people in prison were Black or Hispanic/Latinx, these groups reported comparable criminal involvement to Whites
Cooley (1902): Human Nature and the Social Order - ANSWER -Looking-glass self
-Reflexivity
Looking-glass self - ANSWER the process of obtaining our self-image early in life through the eyes of others
Reflexivity - ANSWER -What we think of ourselves largely depends on what we perceive others think of us
-I.e., attractive, ugly, funny, smart, cool, etc.
George Herbert Mead (1934): Mind, Self, and Society - ANSWER 1.) Symbolic interactionism
2.) Conversation of gestures
Symbolic interactionism - ANSWER When we accurately interpret each other's gestures in our conversations and organize our behavior according to our mutual understanding of those gestures
Conversation of gestures - ANSWER When we do not accurately interpret each other's gestures in our conversations.
Frank Tannenbaum (1938): Crime and the Community - ANSWER -Disconnect between the way youths view their behavior and the way adults view it
-"Dramatization of evil"
-Goffman (1963) labels as stigmatizing
-Becker (1963): "criminal" label as a master status
"Dramatization of evil" - ANSWER When society condemns youths who break minor laws, labeling them as "evil" rather than seeing their actions as "evil"
getting branded as "delinquents" by society, which can lead to what? - ANSWER -Rejection by law abiding friends, neighbors, and teachers
-The development of a "deviant" identity
-The seeking of acceptance of "deviant" others
Secondary deviance - ANSWER More serious and frequent offending youth commit after being caught and labeled as offenders, criminals, or delinquents
Labeling theory research - ANSWER -Research by Bernburg and colleagues (2003;2006) examined the effects of labeling on criminal behavior later in life
-Youths who were arrested in adolescence were more likely to offend as adults
-Liberman et al. (2014) used propensity score matching and found that youths who experienced arrest were more likely to engage in criminal behavior
-Bernburg's research (2003:2006) found that experiencing arrest produced two consequences
What did Bernburg's research (2003:2006) find that experiencing arrest increased? - ANSWER 1.) The likelihood of dropping out of high school and of being unable to find a job
2.) The likelihood that youths will associate with delinquent peers
Critiques of labeling theory - ANSWER -Labeling theory views labeled people as passive reactors who willingly accept their labels
-Ethnographic research of arrested Chicago youths by Hirschfield (2008) finds that for youths from disadvantaged backgrounds poor NH's being arrested was so common that it did not affect their reputation
True or False: Labeling theory is not a direct challenge to classic deterrence theory. - ANSWER -False: It IS a direct challenge to classic deterrence theory
-Contact with JJ/CJ system may not make people learn their lesson, but rather may increase their involvement in crime by limiting conventional opportunities
Rather than focusing on why individuals commit crime, what does Social Disorganization (SD) theory focus on? - ANSWER why crime rates are higher in some neighborhoods (NH) compared to others
According to the Social Disorganization (SD) theory what is important in predicting variation in neighborhood (NH) crime? - ANSWER -NOT the types of people living in the neighborhoods (NHs)
-BUT rather the characteristics of the neighborhoods (NHs)
The Chicago School - ANSWER -Social disorganization theory (SDT) traces
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): Zone II - ANSWER -Zone in Transition (ZIT)
-Zone immediately surrounding the CBD
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): The central business district (CBD) - ANSWER -Where the action was
-Shopping centers, businesses, and entertainment were booming in this area
-To get away from the ruckus, residents sought to live as far away from the CBD as possible
What did the Zone in Transition (ZIT) have? - ANSWER 1.) High crime rates
2.) High levels of unemployment and poverty
3.) Deteriorated and abandoned buildings
4.) Factories which polluted the environment
5.) People frequently moving in and out
Once residents in the ZIT obtained the means to move out they strived to move to outer, more desirable zones. What occurs when this happens? - ANSWER -Immigrants or poor migrants would fill the places left behind
-Results in cycle where the ZIT was always the most disorganized zone in the
city
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): Zone III - ANSWER -Zone of Workingmen's Homes
-Outward from the ZIT
-Increasingly lower crime and better quality of life
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): Zone of Workingmen's Homes - ANSWER -Consisted of modest homes and apartments where skilled blue-collar workers resided
-Step up from the ZIT
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): Zone IV - ANSWER Residential Zone
Residential Zone (Zone IV) - ANSWER Consisted of higher-priced family homes
Concentric Zone model (Park & Burgess): Zone V - ANSWER Commuters Zone
people were constantly moving in and out
-Crime, poverty, and high infant mortality rates (death of an infant before their 1st b-day) persisted through decades of time in these NHs (patterns persist to this day)
-Ex: Frenchtown (32304) has the highest infant mortality rate in Tally and this rate has persisted historically
Social Disorganization Theory: What was Shaw and McKay's hypothesis? - ANSWER Neighborhoods that have residential population turnover, residential racial/ethnic heterogeneity, and residential economic disadvantage will have higher crime rates.
What are the 3 pillars of Social Disorganization (SD)? - ANSWER 1.) Residential population turnover
2.) Residential racial/ethnic heterogeneity
3.) Residential economic disadvantage
Residential population turnover - ANSWER -Instability in the population
-People moving in and out of the NH
What are the measures of residential population turnover? - ANSWER -1.% of residents who have lived in the same location for 5 years or more, percentage
of homes that are owner occupied
-2.% of homeowners in NH
-Lower percentages of these two indicate high residential instability
Residential racial/ethnic heterogeneity - ANSWER -Residential diversity, people of different races and ethnicities live in the NH
-Homogeneity = less diversity, more people of the same race/ethnicity live in the NH
What are the measures of residential racial/ethnic heterogeneity? - ANSWER -% White residents, % Black residents, % Hispanic/Latino residents, % immigrant residents, and % other race/ethnicity residents
-A more even distribution of these populations reflect higher residential heterogeneity
What are the measures of residential economic disadvantage? - ANSWER -% of unemployed residents, % of single headed families in NH, % HS graduates, % of families of welfare
-More disadvantaged NHs are hypothesized to have higher levels of crime
Why are the 3 pillars of Social Disorganization so problematic? - ANSWER Residents in NH's with three characteristics find informal social control and
Ecological fallacy - ANSWER -When predictions about residents' behavior are made based on information about the neighborhoods they reside in
-Not every resident that resides in a poor, ethnically diverse, and residentially unstable NH will commit crimes
Racial heterogeneity, population turnover, and economic disadvantage have been found to what...? (Pratt and Cullen, 2005) - ANSWER Consistent predictors of NH crime
Neighborhoods (NH) with racial heterogeneity, population turnover, and economic disadvantage have also been found to have what..?(Sampson & Groves, 1989) - ANSWER -Lower levels of civic engagement (participation in NH political meetings)
-Weaker friendship networks
-Higher levels of unsupervised teenage peer groups running around causing trouble in the NH
What do life-course theories focus on? - ANSWER -Our behavior overtime
-Trajectories of our behavior
How do life-course criminologist focus on our behavior overtime? - ANSWER
Uses longitudinal data to examine changes in behavior from childhood onto adolescence & beyond
Why do life-course criminologist seek the trajectories of our behavior? - ANSWER To explain the patterns—and the shifts in patterns—of our behavior across our lives
Onset - ANSWER Point when we first begin offending
Desistance - ANSWER When our criminal behavior ends
Persistence - ANSWER The length of our criminal career
Intensity - ANSWER The seriousness of our criminal behavior
Age-crime curve: What pattern do our criminal behavior reflect? - ANSWER 1.) It begins during infancy and toddlerhood
2.) It then declines as we learn to express ourselves verbally
3.) It then rises quickly during our teenage years...
4.) ...Reaching its peak in our late teens
5.) It then declines, at first quickly, but gradually more slowly afterward
-Often seeks the company of life-course persistent offenders (LPOs) in order to achieve feeling of autonomy
-Yet, they are likely to become bonded to conventional others later in life
Abstainers - ANSWER -A very small number of abstainers
-Fully abstain from any deviant activity
-Moffitt proposes two explanations for this phenomenon
What are the 2 explanations Moffitt proposes to explain Abstainers? - ANSWER 1.) These people are socially awkward or may possess unappealing characteristics.
2.) These youths may have been given adult roles and responsibilities in adolescence which narrow the maturity gap
Life-course persistent offenders (LPOs) - ANSWER -Exhibits criminal behavior that emerges in early childhood and persists onto adolescence and onto adulthood
-Commit crime their whole life
-Small in numbers
-Responsible for most of the serious crime
-Biological and neurological risk factors including prenatal and postnatal exposure
-Generational element
What factors distinguish Life-course persistent offenders (LPOs) from Adolescence-limited offenders (ALO) and Abstainers? - ANSWER -Biological and neurological risk factors including prenatal and postnatal exposure
-I.e., mothers' drug use and/or poor nutrition and post-natal factors including exposure to toxic agents lead or traumatic brain injury
Life-course persistent offenders (LPOs): Biological and neurological factors contribute to... - ANSWER -Diminished cognitive ability
-Low self-control
-Early onset offending (early in childhood)
-Labeling processes in childhood "problem children"
Life-course persistent offenders (LPOs): Biological and neurological factors contributions ultimately result in...? - ANSWER -Problems cultivating positive relationship w/ parents, teachers, and conventional friends
-Associations with deviant others
-Negative outcomes in adulthood including substance abuse, unstable employment, and unhealthy relationships
Age Graded Social Control Theory: Sampson and Laub (1993) - ANSWER
Marriage as a turning point - ANSWER -Warr (1998) found that marriage reduces our associations w/ crime-prone peers
-Forrest and Hay (2011) found that marriage increased self-control
-Lyngstad and Skardhamar (2013) changes in criminal behavior came before marriage
True or False: Marriage reduces criminal associations and opportunities. - ANSWER TRUE
Marriage and gender - ANSWER -King el al. 2008: men who were less likely to get married saw greater reductions in their deviant behavior
-Possible exp.: Men on average commit more crime than women
True or False: Marriage could be a greater turning point for women than men
--Marriage could be a greater turning point for MEN than women
