Theory? I Hardly Know Her!
This characteristic of a good theory is concerned with the ability to quantify a theory's key concepts
Testability
This criminologist was a proponent of biological theory and is known as the 'father of criminology'
Cesare Lombroso
Testing for criminogenic genes would be a policy that aligns with this theoretical tradition.
Biological Theory
According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, this is what leads to low levels of self-control within a child
Ineffective parenting
Broidy and Santoro's study of racial insurgency provides evidence in support of which theory?
General Strain Theory (GST)
The belief that crime is caused by forces beyond the individual’s control
Determinism
This criminologist incorporated psychological concepts, such as operant conditioning, into learning theories of crime
Ronald Akers
A policy that seeks to increase the length of residency within a neighborhood aligns with the crime-reduction strategy of this theory.
Social disorganization theory
According to Merton, strain is caused by the imbalance between these two concepts
Culturally valued goals and the institutionalized means of achieving them
Martinez found that increased law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border lead to this outcome
An increase in migrant deaths
This characteristic of a good theory suggests that a theory should be as simple as possible
Parsimony
This biological criminologist believed that criminogenic traits are passed from parent to child
Charles Goring
Providing free mental health counseling is a crime reduction policy that aligns with this theory.
General Strain Theory
According to Sutherland's Differential Association Theory, a person will engage in crime when this occurs
When they possess more definitions unfavorable to the law than definitions favorable to the law
In Botchkovar et al.'s test of self-control theory, the authors assess the relationship between these independent and dependent variables
Independent: parenting techniques
Dependent: self-control
The findings of the study by Botchkovar et al. cast doubt on this characteristic (of a good theory) of self-control theory
Validity
These criminologists developed Social Disorganization Theory
Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay
Big Brother/Big Sister programs aim to expose youth to conforming adult role models. Such programs align with the crime reduction policies of this theoretical tradition.
Learning Theories
Messner and Rosenfeld built on Merton's strain theory by incorporating this social phenomenon
Hegemonic dominance of the economy
Lanier and Huff-Corzine found these two community characteristics are related to higher American-Indian homicide rates
Family disruption and ethnic heterogeneity
Social disorganization theory can be used to explain street crime but not white collar crime, which poses a limitation to this characteristic of a good theory
Scope
The five theorists discussed in class associated with strain theories
Durkheim, Merton, Agnew, Rosenfeld, Messner
Three-strikes laws mandate that a person receive a life-sentence in prison after they have been convicted of three violent felonies. Such policies reflect this ideal of punishment, as described by Cesare Beccaria.
Certainty
This concept is the most important advancement in social disorganization theory, proposed by Sampson and Groves in the late 1980s
Collective efficacy
In Broidy and Santoro's study, they captured legitimate and illegitimate coping using these measures
Legitimate: Nonviolent protest
Illegitimate: Rioting