Florida State University FSU CCJ 4601 Human Behavior Spring 2014 Professor Joseph A Schwartz Book Biosocial Criminology 2nd Edition Kevin M Beaver Key Point Criminologists don t look into biological genetic aspects Exam 1 Read Pages 1 60 Classes 01 09 01 14 01 16 01 21 01 23 01 28 01 30 Exam 02 06 Class Review 02 04 Forewords You never need to know quotes Chapter 1 is really important The class is grounded in empirical research You don t need to know the methodology You DO need to know Why is XY study important What are the main findings of XY There were no homework assignments Gottfredson Hirschi are social criminologists whose studies are inadequate and incomplete This information is accurate as of January 31st 2014 21 50 Class 01 January 9th Notes Popularly considered causes of criminal behavior Neighborhoods Parents Poverty Peers Culture Dominant Criminological Theories Social Disorganization Theory focus on neighborhood influences on crime Social Bonding Theory focus on family and other socializing agents Social Learning Theory focus on peers Why such a focus on social causes Genetic Biological Determinism makes people uncomfortable Determinism implies certainty Criminology was born out of sociology This way of thinking Behavior is flexible It is the result of sociology only It s not your fault Biology genetics is dangerous However behavior is mostly stable There should be a focus on the individual Class 02 January 14th Criminological Theory Criminological theories focuses exclusively on social factors as explanations for human behavior Criminology is guided largely by ideology and disciplinary allegiances However that is not true in practice American Society of Criminology ASC Social Psychology Sociology Poly Sci Criminology Social Bonding Theory Hirschi s 1969 Theory Weakened bonds lead to Criminology A Very Social Theory It is Criminologists favorite theory Why Supported by Research Easy to Understand Support based on political ideology Only 1 4 of all articles published since 2000 in Criminology were biosocial studies 5 357 Kevin Beaver did 4 Started in 2008 Sociological theories are not necessarily wrong Incomplete Limited Explanatory Power Example Heart Disease Only due to social factors Also due to family history genetics The Complexity of Human Behavior Need to move away from a purely sociological explanation of behavior More advantageous to focus on a range of different factors including Biology Genetics You might think biogenic factors do not relate to criminality or human behavior in general Why not People even answer that medication can be the best solution to mental problems Course is devoted to looking at the whole picture Both Biology focus and Social Eviron How they work both independently and interactively Like heart disease Word of caution There is no crime gene Just different variants of each gene We ll never find a single gene that affects a large percentage of criminal behavior Focus on the Entire Life Course From conception through adulthood Provides a more comprehensive view of crime and criminals Most crim theories only examine antisocial behavior in adolescents young adults 80 of them express antisocial behavior Adolescents are easy to study Early Stages Are typically overlooked by criminologists Fetal Development Some say Fetal Development is the most important stage Parental exposure to drugs alcohol and tobacco Early Childhood Late Childhood Prior to the transition into adolescence Class 03 January 16th The Nature of Behavior Steven Pinkard The Better Angels of Our Nature We ve become far less violent over the past 100 years Antisocial Behavior Aggression A tendency to exploit of bring harm to others and to disobey common social rules Not really deviant because it s not inherently bad Direct Aggression Overt physical aggression Punching hitting inflicting pain More likely to be male Females more covert verbal Antisocial behavior has been found to be remarkably stable over long stretches of time This does NOT mean the people will always commit crime at the same rate You actually see substantial predictable changes over time What is stability A general pattern of offending that persists over time Antisocial behavior in childhood juvenile delinquency adult criminal behavior Antisocial infancy between 12 17 months are directly related to adult criminal behavior Tremblay indicates the infancy is the actually peak of human antisocial behavior Stability Applies more toward frequency than variety Absolute Stability No differences over time 2 variables at different time points are directly correlated Relative Stability Rank Order Stability We can rank people on some trait or behavior While there is absolute change in levels of behavior the rank ordering stays the same Fluctuation Over Time Stays the same compared to others Year 13 Kid A Kid B Kid C Year 50 Kid A Kid B Kid C The severity of behavior can change over time but the ranking stays the same compared to others The people most likely to commit crime will always be at the top while the leawt likely will almost be at the bottom This does not preclude absolute stability Behavior is highly stable over time Literature reviews reveal that behavior is highly stable from early childhood to adulthood Out behavior becomes patterned and routine We are creatures of habit Some antisocial behaviors are measurable by 6 months old Most antisocial children do not grow up to be antisocial adults Most age out of crime in early adulthood 4 Predictors of Stability Not all 4 typically combine 1 Variety of Antisocial Acts More Variety More Stability 2 Extremity of Acts More Severe More Stability 3 Early Age of Onset Earlier Age More Stability 4 Misbehavior Across Multiple Contexts Home Church School More Contexts More Stability Stability and Behavior Adult criminal behavior almost requires childhood antisocial behavior Crime peaks in adolescence Adult criminal behavior is better predicted by childhood aggression than any other behavior Except perhaps female male Class 04 January 21st Explanations of Stability Change 2 General Perspectives 1 State Dependence Sampson Laub 1993 A Stability is the result of the social consequences that accompany criminal behavior Purely social explanation Consequences of a person convicted of a felony Crime has a snowball effect Crime results in more crime Snares Engaging in crime immerses an offender into lifestyle that makes it very difficult to stop B Labeling biggest crock of shit or