Characteristics of a good theory
This aims to explain a phenomenon in the simplest way possible
What is parsimony?
Gray area between free will and determinism
What is soft determinism?
Number of elements in Sutherland's differential association theory
What is nine?
When the criminal career of an individual ends or they opt out of offending
What is desistance?
Type of minor, infrequent offending people commit before they are caught and labeled as offenders
What is primary deviance?
How much of a given criminal behavior that the theory attempts to explain
Refers to the repair of justice through a one-sided approach of imposing punishment
What is retributive justice?
What is attachment, commitment, involvement, and beliefs?
Number for the zone in transition
Assumes that criminal behavior increases because certain individuals are caught and branded as offenders
What is labeling theory?
Explaining how the theory makes sense in terms of concepts and propositions
What is logical consistency?
What are transitions?
People justify and rationalize behavior, making excuses for behavior they know is wrong
What is neutralization theory?
Based on Becker's typology, an individual who disobeys the rules and is perceived by society as doing so
What is a pure deviant?
Assumes that individuals are born predisposed toward selfish, self-centered activities
What is low self-control theory?
What is empirical validity?
Occurs when individuals interpret each other's words or gestures and then act based on the meaning of those gestures
What is symbolic interactionism?
The two offender types proposed by Moffitt's developmental taxonomy
What are adolescent-limited and life-course persistent offenders?
When relatively minor laws are broken, the community tends to dramatize the situation
What is Tannenbaum's dramatization of evil?
Emphasizes various types of social learning, specifically classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and imitation
What is differential reinforcement?
What is testability?
Similarities in daily routine and constant interaction with like members of society lead to strong uniformity in values
What is collective conscience?
Critics of Shaw and McKay stated their original research did not measure their primary construct
What is social disorganization?
What are conformity, innovation, rebellion, retreatism, and ritualism?
Problems that neighborhoods have the highest rates of crime according to Shaw and McKay
What are poverty, physical dilapidation, and heterogeneity?