theories of crime (wjec level 3
criminology)
adoption studies (hutchings & mednick) - correct answer-- is crime biological (parents) or
nature (adopted parents)?
- hutchings and mednick - higher proportions of boys with criminal convictions had biological
parents with convictions too
- mednick - no relationship between criminal activity and adoptive parents and children
adoption studies evaluation - correct answer-S: It is easier to separate genetic and
environmental factors.
S: Studies have found that there is a correlation.
W: Age of adoption can affect if the biological parent had more of an influence or not.
W: Information about biological parents isn't always available.
W: Adoption processes aren't always random.
atavistic features (lombroso) - correct answer-- born criminal
- criminals had atavistic features (e.g. high cheekbones and large ears)
- found that 40% of criminal acts were accounted for by atavistic characteristics
atavistic features evaluation - correct answer-S: First person to give criminology a scientific
credibility.
S: Goring - found a lower intelligence among convicts.
S: Bath Spa University - less attractive people are more likely to be considered guilty.
S: Lombroso challenged the idea that criminals were evil.
S: Lombroso labelled prisons as 'criminal universities' which is supported by today's
recidivism rates.
S: His work began the original ideas of profiling.
W: Didn't use a control group.
W: Lack of accuracy.
W: Not everyone with atavistic features is a criminal.
W: Goring - found no differences between criminals and non-criminals in behaviour.
W: Scientific racism.
W: Deterministic.
brain abnormality (raine) - correct answer-- damage to the pre-frontal cortex can change an
individual's behaviour
- raine studied pet scans of impulsive killers
- damage to the pre-frontal cortex was found in the criminals
functionalism (durkheim & merton) - correct answer-- crime is inevitable as not every
member is socialised into the same values
- crime is functional and is only dysfunctional when rates are too high or low
- collectrive sentiments are too weak, anomie will happen
- crime strengths social cohesion
, - deviance is a safety valve for crime
- merton's strain theory
interactionism (becker & lemert) - correct answer-- becker (official stats are socially
constructed)
- lemert (primary and secondary deviance)
- acts that aren't labelled as deviant (primary)
- the deviant's crime becomes their master status (secondary)(e.g. terrorist or rapist)
- media demonises these people
interactionism evaluation - correct answer-S: Shows how law is often enforced in a
discriminatory way.
S: Highlights weaknesses in official statistics.
S: Highlights the role of the media (defining deviance, moral panics etc)
W: Fails to explain the origins of deviant behaviour.
W: Ignores the role of the victim.
W: Labelling doesn't always lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
left realism (lea & young) - correct answer-- crime lies in inequalities in society
- people are motivated by consumerism
- broken windows theory
- disagree with military policing
left realism evaluation - correct answer-S: Explores the role of the victim of crime.
S: Recognises multiple causes of crime.
S: Left realism avoids the worst excesses of both right and left wing approaches of the
police.
W: Doesn't explain why everyone in relative deprivation fails to turn to crime.
W: Arguably just all other theories compiled together.
W: Doesn't explain white collar crime.
marxism (althusser, chambliss, pearce & hall) - correct answer-- see crime inevitable in
capitalist society
- argue that white collar crimes are ignored
- believe that different social classes are policed differently
- governments fabricate stats to get public support
marxism evaluation - correct answer-S: Does provide an explanation of crime that covers all
social classes.
S: Highlights the impact of selective law enforcement.
S: Demonstrates how the law reflects differences in power between the social classes.
W: Largely ignores other non-class inequalities such as gender.
W: Overstates working class crime.
W: There are many prosecutions for white collar crime.
neurochemicals (scerbo & raine) - correct answer-- brain's chemistry can be influenced by
diet
- low levels of serotonin can cause higher aggression
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