Human Behavior Introduction and criminals This course will focus on new research an provide new insights into the study of crime 1 2 Explanations to criminal behavior Neighborhoods Parents why are we the way we are A lot of times we trace ourselves back to parents Poverty We have crime because of poverty Peers Why did you do what you did Most of the time because your friends told you to or because they were doing it Culture The things we believe in and the focus on individuality 3 4 5 Dominant Criminological Theories The social factors matter Social Disorganization theory Shaw and Mckay Chicago Social Bonding theory 1969 Social Learning Theory Sutherland and Akers What do they all have in common They all focus on the social aspect on crime Criminal Thoeries WHY They all employ social factors such as explanations for human behaviors Sociology 1 reason Behavior is changeable 2 reason Not your fault Biology and genetics is dangerous How easy is it to change social factors Think about poverty Lets say poverty causes crime So lets change it How easy it is to change poverty Poverty is a social factor Thus the study of crime and criminals is guided largely by ideology and But crim is supposed to be interdisciplinary This is not necessarily true Criminology disciplinary allegiances Criminological Theories Social explanations to crime continue to domincate the discipline of crim Social Bonding Theory Hirchi s Theory dev 1969 criminologists fav theory Why Is it supported by research Is it easy to understand There is some support with the research but there are a lot of problems with it as well So not bc its supported by research Easy to understand For the most part yes But it cant compare the reason why one drinks underage is the same reason why someone mass murders Criminological theories Cont Sociological theories not necessarily wrong but they leave us with an impoverished and incomplete understanding to human behavior Example Heart Disease Is it due to social factors No its due to more genetics think about his friend in college or papa lee and grandma having a heart attack Mom is more likely to have a heart attack The Complexity of Human Behavior In order to understand the causes of behavior we need to move away from monolithic explanation of behavior and examine a range of different factors including Biology Genetics Environment Human Behaviors We will examine the diff biological and genetic components to behavior Word of caution there is no such thing as a crime gene WE will also examine how envro and genetic biological factors act in combination Referred to as BIOSOCIAL CRIMINOLOGY In addition we will track an offenders life course from conception through to create behaviors adulthood Most crim theories only examine anti social behavior in adolescence and young adult hood Why of cial offending peaks Adolescents are easy to study Besides looking at offending adolescents and adults we will also discuss risj factors during fetal development prenatal exposure to drugs alcohol and tobacco early childhood and late adulthood This class is grounded in empirical research it is based on published research publication process I II III minimum standard of evidence Course Material classes Some material may go against what you think or what u have learned in other Just remember if we always followed the status quo we would still think the earth is at and that it is the center of the universe Tuesday January 15 2013 The Nature of Behavior Human Behavior What is Aggression and Crime Direct Aggression Overt and typically physical pain Punching hitting in icting A tendency to exploit or bring to harm to others and to disobey common social rules pain Indirect Aggression Covert and typically verbal The Mature of Behavior over the Life Course Lets examine more directly First antisocial behavior is stable throughout life Is it stable or does it change What are they doing when they aren t committing crimes they live a life that is relatively antisocial Severe drug and alcohol use What is Stability A general pattern of offending that persists over time A strong linkage among childhood behavioral problems juvenile delinquency and Absolute THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE OVER TIME The way you acted when you were 5 an the way you act 10 years later are the same And in 10 years from then it will be the same adult criminal behavior Two Types of stability Example 3 felonies at age 18 3 felonies at age 35 3 felonies at age 50 Relative Refers to the rank ordering of individuals correlational analysis We can rank people on some trait or behavior Number of felonies committed at different ages Age 18 Age 25 Age 23 A 5 B 4 12 10 4 2 C 1 5 0 This is perfect relative stability If there is change it is relative In reality there is going to be change but there is generally never perfect stability Behavior is HIGHLY STABLE Large literature reviews meta analysis reveal that behavior is highly stable Our behavior becomes patterned and routine we are creatures of habit Change is very dif cult to do I e New years resolutions What We Know Individual differences in antisocial behavior emerge early in the life course Some traits are measurable by 6 months of age These differences can be very stable across the life course However most anti social children do not grow up to be anti social What predicts Stability Variety of antisocial acts hitting lying stealing Extremity of acts killing animals in icting serious pain Early age of onset the earlier the onset the worse the condition Misbehavior that occurs across contexts home church school What we know Adult criminal behavior almost requires childhood antisocial behavior Adult crim behavior is better predicted by childhood aggression than by any other variable including family background and social class Stability and Behavior The most antisocial children ted to become the most antisocial adolescence who in turn ten to become the most antisocial adults High degrees of stability in behavior and personality from a very young age through adulthood What account for stability change There are two general perspectives State dependence Sampson and Laub 1993 Population heterogenity Gottfredson and Hirchi 1990 State Dependence Sampson and Laub According to this positions is the result of the social consequences that emanate from engaging in crime For example what happens to a person who has been convicted of a felony Crime tends to have a snowball effect wherein engaging in crime immerses an