Theories of Crime: Midterm Review Sheet

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Theories of Crime: Midterm Review Sheet
THE MIDTERM WILL CONSIST OF ONE 80 POINT ESSAY QUESTION, AND
ONE 20 POINT ESSAY QUESTION. Essays will be sent to my SUNY Old
Westbury e-mail on the scheduled day of the exam.
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EVERYONE MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING LARGE ESSAY QUESTION:
Essay Question: Worth 80 points
In Richard Rayner’s The Blue Suit, Rayner embarks on a serious of deceptions and thefts
while he is a student at Cambridge University in England, and then after his student days:
shoplifting, check forgery, and burglary included.
Thinking over the theories that we have discussed so far, how might you go about
explaining Rayner’s behavior? Also: why does Rayner eventually stop committing
crime?
Choose TWO theories to discuss Rayner’s criminal actions.
To answer this question thoroughly, you will need to do the following:
• The emphasis here is on using the theory to explain what he has done – if you
do not do this, you will fail the midterm, period.
• You must discuss some of the events in the book explicitly; that is, I should be
able to tell from your essay that you have, in fact, read the book. However, do
NOT submit an essay to me that is solely a summary of Rayner’s crimes. You
MUST analyze the criminal events utilizing the theories that we have discussed
thus far. I want to see that you can apply the material that we have been looking
at to analyze Rayner’s actions, and you must demonstrate this to me clearly.
• EXPLAIN the theory that you use; be sure to DEFINE TERMS. Write the
essay as if the reader would be unfamiliar with the theories utilized.
• DO NOT utilize theories that we have not discussed. DO NOT consult sources
outside of your course materials. (Any plagiarism will result in an automatic
failing grade for the exam.)
In addition to incorporating the theories that you believe serve to explain Rayner’s
crimes, you may also explain why some theories would not provide a good explanation
for Rayner’s criminal acts.
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AND, YOU MUST ANSWER ONE ESSAY WORTH TWENTY POINTS; YOU
WILL CHOOSE ONE QUESTION TO ANSWER OUT OF THE FOLLOWING
FIVE OPTIONS:
**CHOOSE AN ESSAY QUESTION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO DISCUSS
THEORY DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN FOR YOUR
MAJOR ESSAY** :
Your 20 point question should NOT be a re-write of material from the major essay
on The Blue Suit:
A. Discuss the classical criminologists’ (Beccaria and Bentham) approach to describing
criminal activity. Describe why the classical criminologists sought to reform the
criminal justice system of their day, and how their ideas came to influence modern
deterrence theory. Do you believe that deterrence today works as a criminal justice
policy? Why or why not?
B. Describe Cesare Lombroso’s biological positivism. How did Lombroso’s theory
influence the eugenics movement? (Obviously, you will need to define and explain
eugenics.) What were the problems with both Lombroso’s, and the eugenicists’,
perspectives?
C. Describe Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. How did Freud describe the
structure of the mind? Why might crime occur? Also, how can we think about
the significance of Freud’s theory, from a sociological perspective?
D. Posick is dismissive of pre-Enlightenment theories that dealt with criminal behavior.
But, are there some ideas which are worthwhile to modern-day thought about crime?
Please discuss some ideas that you think have contemporary relevance, OR which are
problematic – and why.
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REVIEW (for your reference):

What is the purpose of theory, and particularly, criminological theory?
What is the definition of ‘criminology’? [this is not a dictionary definition]
What are the different kinds of questions/perspectives that we can ask concerning
crime? Is the purpose of theory to provide value judgements?
What is the difference between ‘macro’ (structural) theories, and ‘micro’
(processual) theories?
What are the criteria for evaluating theory?:
• Logical consistency
• Scope
• Parsimony
• Testability
• Empirical Validity
• Policy implication
What is a ‘tautology’?
Are most theories entirely ‘true,’ or entirely ‘false’? Why?
What is ‘causality’ (between X and Y variables)? What is a ‘correlation’?
What were the arguments of Cesare Beccaria & Jeremy Bentham? How did their
ideas fit into the social context of their time (the 18th century)?
How does classical criminology relate to deterrence theory? How did Beccaria and
Bentham describe deterrence – and what worked/what would deterrence theory
predict concerning crime? [Know: certainty, celerity (swiftness), severity]
How do we utilize deterrence theory in contemporary society? How can we measure
deterrent effects?
What effect does experience – and others’ experience – with punishment have on
perceptions of deterrence?
What is the difference between ‘special’ (or ‘specific’) and ‘general’ deterrence?
It is said that the mere existence of the criminal justice system provides a kind of
‘absolute deterrence.’ What does this mean?
What are the differences between the ‘formal,’ and ‘informal,’ control systems?
Does the same kind of deterrence work for all individuals? Why, or why not?
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What does Rational Choice Theory argue?
Do we operate with ‘pure,’ or ‘partial,’ rationality?
Describe Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson’s Routine Activities Theory. What
are the main components of this theory (motivated offenders/suitable target(s)/(lack
of a) capable guardian)? Is this a theory of crime, or a theory of criminal
victimization?
What do Cohen and Felson argue about American life since World War II, and how
has this affected criminal activity?
How might Routine Activities Theory be utilized to explain ‘crime-prone’ areas?
Can you draw a parallel between Routine Activities Theory, and ‘broken windows
theory’?
What do Cohen and Felson recommend to reduce criminal activity/becoming
victimized?
What are some similarities and differences between biological and psychological
theories?
Know Cesare Lombroso’s theory, and his ‘biological positivism’ approach to
explaining crime. What causes crime, according to Lombroso?
What was the social context that surrounded Lombroso’s interest in crime? What
did ‘crime’ say about ‘Italian citizens’?
What are ‘stigmata’? What is a ‘born criminal’? What are the implications for
evolution, socialization, and civilization that result from Lombroso’s theory?
Where there any differences that Lombroso perceived between male and female
criminality?
Other theorists followed in Lombroso’s wake: Charles Goring, E.A. Hooton, Henry
Goddard…What was often ‘tautological’ about their work? What did they imply
about I.Q.?
What relationship does biological positivism have to ‘eugenics’? What is ‘eugenics’
(positive, and negative)? Did Lombroso’s work have an impact on Nazi
criminology?
Why was there a backlash against biological approaches to explaining crime in
America over the course of the 1950s and 1960s?
What does the XYY ‘super male’ theory stipulate?
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How do modern biological theories of crime differ from the theories of Lombroso’s
age?
Some theorists argue that there is a relationship between I.Q. and criminality: what
is the argument?
How did some theorists, such as Wilson and Herrnstein, present this argument in
terms of race? How would you critique their theory?
A concern over the development of morals emerges from the biological theories, and
hence crosses over into consciousness. Explain Wilson and Herrnstein’s idea of the
‘bite of conscience.’
What were Lawrence Kohlberg’s ‘stages of moral development’?
Where is the criminal or deviant put on a continuum of moral development?
What role might the nervous system play in the development of criminality (in
particular, the autonomic nervous system [ANS])? What are the features of
sociopathy?
How does the human organism interact with the environment in the ‘biosocial’
approach? (i.e., the work of Sarnoff Mednick, Lee Ellis)
Why are twin studies, such as those done by Mednick, important? What do they
show? What is ‘concordance’?
We have discussed material related to gene-based evolutionary theories. What are
some of the arguments made by these theories? What is the r/K selection
continuum? What is the controversial biological explanation for rape, and how
would you critique it?
What kinds of policies might flow from biological explanations about crime?
Know Freud’s psychoanalytic theory:
• The classic theory (id, ego, superego)
• The stages of development from childhood to adult
• The Oedipus and Elektra complexes
What causes criminality or deviance, according to Freud? What role does the
‘unconscious’ play? What is ‘repression,’ or a ‘reaction formation’?
What is the purpose of psychoanalysis? How can psychoanalytic theory be tested?
Can psychoanalytic theory be applied as a kind of policy or treatment to lessen
criminal activity?
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How do sociologists view psychological and psychoanalytic theories? What
questions might sociologists ask of such theories?
What does personality theory state? What are the ‘traits’ that it is concerned with?
Again, with psychological counseling, how are criminals viewed? How should we go
about changing their behavior?
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From Rafter’s The Criminal Brain: You should know the concept of ‘moral
insanity,’ and how it developed.
Good Luck to One and All!…