CRI 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Tabula Rasa, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Testability
Document Summary
What is a criminological theory: assumptions: people are self-interested, propositions/concepts (statements): weak bonds to society (causal statement) (independent) or strong bonds to society, outcome of interest (trying to explain): crime (dependent) Theory lls in the middle: harsh erratic parental discipline correlation theory (rationale) > delinquency. In 2014* (*reported to le: 1,165,383 violent crimes, 14,249 murders, 116,645 rapes. Theory classification: 325,802 robberies, 741,291 aggravated assaults. & micro (why speci c indiv. commit speci c crime?) theories. Frames of reference: economics, even architecture, crime as a free rational choice, causes beyond one"s control, ergo not rationally reasoned behavior. Criteria for evaluating theory: empirical validity, to establish causality: X & y must co-vary: must measure concepts correctly. A biological de ciency (low maoa/high testosterone) causes heightened aggression. Insider trading: general, parsimony, the conciseness & abstractness of a set of concepts & propositions. Can explain all crime, in all places, among all people, across time: complexity.