Causal Order is it real or not real 8 Size X 8 sig Y Unemployment Crime Causality Causal v Spurious X Y 8 0 Race Crime Concentrated Disadvantage When taking concentrated disadvantage another variable into account 8 is no longer significant Taking concentrated disadvantage into account it becomes completely spurious 0 Completely Spurious Conditional 100M 100F 200 n 100 Male 80 Effect Size sig n 100 Female 00 nonsig Family Crime Attachment Male Power Point 1 Road Map Internal and External causes of behavior Criminology and the revolution Dominance of sociological thought Why Criminology needs biology True or False Misconceptions about Biological causes of crime Is Criminology a Science Science During the Past 2 Decades Revolution focusing on Brain Functioning Role of brain in disorders Human Genome Project HGD Linking genes to disease and other phenotypes Criminology The Revolution Behavioral geneticists psychiatrist psychologist and Nero scientist are main contributors Criminology largely ignores important factors Methodological limitations Focus on nurture Crime as Human Behavior Knowledge of how the body works is necessary Behavior requires the body Criminologists focus Social Variables PROBLEM Social variables have biological roots Ex Social Bond Dominance of Sociological Crim 90 of training in sociology Ignorant of other causes of crime Criminologist Sociologist Often proud of it ideological barrier Does this constitute science Sociological tradition is breeding mythical base Is Criminology a Science Is criminological knowledge based on the scientific method Scientific method Forming hypothesis Testing hypothesis with data Decide if hypothesis is supported Important since hunches are not always right Ex Deterrence hypothesis Problem with Criminology Rarely tests biological variables Do not measure biological variables As a result biosocial criminology research is somewhat scarce Consequently sociology still dominates way of thinking Dismissing biology based on conjecture Why Criminology Needs Biology Samples used only measure one child per household Flaws of Standard Social Science Methodologies SSSMs Consequence Problem of spuriousness Example The link between parental monitoring and child self control Parental Monitoring Shared Genetic Material Child Self Control Why Criminology Needs Biology The Nature of Nurture Ex Delinquent peers Social or Biological variable Soc Criminologists wrongly assume neat divide between the two Why Criminology Needs Biology Keeping Pace with the Hard Sciences Criminology is becoming irrelevant Still Americans more concerned about crime today Most relevant crime studies outside of discipline Why Criminology Needs Biology Informing Public Policy Studying biology will not lead to oppressive policy Why 1 Research has little influence on policy 2 Sociological findings can have similarly oppressive policy implications 3 Biological research has led to progressive policy before True or False Criminal Behavior defined by laws Crime is a social construct True But this does not mean biology is irrelevant to criminal behavior Why True or False The Fact that crime varies across time and space undermines biological explanations of crime False Bio factors have varying effects depending on a The environment b The stage of life course True or False influences do Biological causes of crime make a person less guilty than sociological True We do not assign blame just search for truth Responsibility not eliminated Understanding causes as probabilistic Nothing Biological is Deterministic when it comes to Behavior True Causes are not necessary or sufficient Causes are not deterministic but probabilistic True or False True or False Crime can be prevented and or treated if it has biological roots True Environmental interventions can be used to alter biological Early environmental interventions can prevent criminogenic predispositions ex SSRIs biological development Reconceptualizing Crim Theory Most popular well known theories of crime Social Control Self Control Differential Association Social Learning Labeling Deterrence Social Disorganization Anomie Strain General Strain Critical Criminology including Feminist crim Social Control Theory Premise People are constrained from committing crime by agents of social control family neighborhood church prosocial peers job etc Posits that our conscience is the sum of internalized social rules of conduct Assumption people are naturally inclined towards crime but refrain because of social ties to others Social Control Theory Critique Questions to think about Are some people more controlled than others Why Is everyone equally and naturally inclined to commit criminal Is there another way to explain why people who tend to have more social ties are the same people who are less criminal Can biological processes impact the presence and or effectiveness of offenses social control Self Control Theory Premise People with less self control commit more crime Parents inculcate self control in children through monitoring and discipline Self control stable after age 10 Bad Parenting Low self control crime Self Control Theory Critique Questions to think about Is there something besides parental socialization that might effect people s self control Do people with low self control and high self control encounter similarly criminogenic environments Why or why not How might causal order be a problem in this theory hint Child driven effects How might self control be related to the age crime curve Differential Association Social Learning Theory Premise More delinquent peers more delinquency Sounds simple enough How Through differential definition reinforcement modeling etc Delinquent attitudes are learned from peers An excess of peer definitions favorable to the violation of law over those unfavorable to the violation of law Differential Association Critique Questions to think about Chicken or the egg Causal order What made the first delinquent peer delinquent Are people differentially responsive to delinquent peers Are people equally likely to encounter and interact with be drawn to and learn from delinquent peers Where do definitions come from Can behavior influence definitions Labeling Theory Premise It is the selective tagging of minor normative deviance that leads to more serious delinquency through a Structuring opportunities for stakes in conformity b Altering self identity The criminalization of acts by the criminal justice system only