ASOC 203 Review Guide 1 Your exam may include but is NOT limited to the following Be familiar with Positivism The branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social biological psychological or economic forces Utilitarianism The view that people s behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain Developmental Criminology The view that criminality is a dynamic process influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics Classical Criminology Utalitarism value Theoretical perspective suggesting that 1 people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors 2 people choose to commit crime for reasons of greed or personal need and 3 crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions Critical Criminology The branch of criminology that holds that the cause of crime can be linked to economic social and political dispar ity Some groups in society particularly the working class and ethnic minorities are seen as the most likely to suffer oppressive social rela tions based on class conflict and racism and hence to be more prone to criminal behavior Chicago School first idea that crimes and environment are connected neighborhood conditions influence crime challenged biological view Crime Rates criminal acts measured in occurrence among specified group of population Sampling Selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group Ecological Units of Analysis Validity Reliability related to self delinquency valid the extent to which an indicator is a true reflection of reality it seeks to measure Reliability the dependability and consistency of indicators and data Felony Misdemeanor Felony a serious crime that is usually followed by imprisonment mis less serious crime handled with a fee Over Underreporting Overreporting due to victims misinterpretation of events A lost wallet may be re ported as stolen or an open door may be viewed as a burglary attempt Underreporting due to the embarrassment of reporting crime to interviewers fear of getting in trouble or simply forgetting an incident Target Vulnerability Antagonism Target vulnerability The victims physical weakness or psychological distress renders them incapable of resisting or deterring crime and makes them easy targets Target antagonism Some characteristics increase risk because they arouse anger jealousy or destructive impulses in potential offenders Being gay or effeminate for example may provoke attacks in the street being argumentative and alcoholic may provoke barroom assaults Victim Precipitation Theory some peo ple actually initiate the confrontation that eventually leads to their injury or death Victim precipitation can be either active or passive Proxy Shoplifter premeditated to steal things before going into a store Ping Ponging steering Phishing vs Etailing fraud Phishing cyber crime white collar pass word findings username ID theft Etailing retail selling following a victims transactions online and stealing Be able to answer the following 1 Over the past few decades what trends can we assess with regards to violent crime rates and how do these trends differ from property crime rates 2 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the data sets that were covered in the assignments vs those that were covered in lecture UCR covers large geo area comparable from year to year only data on homicides weak reports don t always go through hierarchy rule apllies no information given out NCVS detailed about victim situation get crimes reported without police with indication of why not weak only 6 crimes viewed no info on youth no minor crimes 3 Compare the primary sources of crime data what are the similarities and differences UCR Uniform Crime Report Large database of crimes reported through the FBI NCVS National Crime Victimization Survey anyone that has been victimized can provide for this data no murders because they are not victims 4 What is the age at which property crime peaks vs the age at which violent crime peaks As a general rule the peak age for property crime is believed to be 16 and for violent crime 18 5 Where does Wolfgang s 1958 study fit under the criminological enterprise What percentage did that study estimate to be chronic offenders vs other types of offenders Subculture of violence violent crime theft crime public order crime organized crime The cohort data indicated that 54 per cent 1 862 of the sample s delinquent youths were repeat offenders whereas the remaining 46 percent 1 613 were one time offenders 6 What are some of the major traits that rape victims experience rape victims commonly experience are hurt anger and nearly always fear 7 How did Cohen and Felson explain crime rate changes Cohen and Felson themselves found that crime rates increased between 1960 and 1980 be cause the number of adult caretakers at home during the day guardians decreased as a result of increased female participation in the workforce 8 Under what circumstances do people take the law into their own hands Self defense revenge felt cheated 9 How many high school girls are estimated to experience violence from a boyfriend 12 percent prob not 10 What motivates hate crimes What are the trends of the hate crimes according to the UCR Thrill seeking offenders defensive to protect