Sociology 2267A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Copycat Crime, Auguste Comte, Ideal Class Group
30 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Chapter 5- Explaining Crime and Delinquency: In the Beginning:
Introduction:
• Taken-for-granted understandings- beliefs accepted as true simply b/c either felt to be
true/ commonly shared as being true= based on immediate exp and rarely examined
• Differ from sci beliefs accepted as true b/c beliefs been subj empirical testing (research)
o Empirical- adj describing knowledge based on observation, experience/
experiment rather than on theory/ philosophy
o Research- systematic process info gathering, analysis and reporting of findings
• Postmodernists- those who reject/ challenge all been considered to be modern- western
theories, art, philosophy and knowledge dev 19th and 20th centuries- take position sci
knowledge, including academic theory, has no more claim to “truth” than taken-for-
granted understandings
The scientific method: Positivism and criminology:
• Auguste Comte, founding father soc= among 1st argue society best understood by
applying sci method to its study- sci allow discover laws soc and behav
• Assumed human behav det by nat laws and believed their task, as scientists, was to
discover these laws
• Positivist- 18th cent philosophical, theoretical and methodological persp positing that only
that which observable through scientific method is knowable- behav det some factor/
factors beyond control individ
Causal relationships:
• 3 conditions must be met before causality can be est:
1. Est is relationship b/w concepts both within and among propositions that
constitute a theory (use stat tools like chi-square test/ correlation est relationship)
▪ Concept- gen/ abstract term refers class/ group more specific terms (ex:
crime ref any number specific behavs, such as assault/ robbery)
2. Time priority been est b/w concepts- cause comes before effect = v hard est
3. Spuriousness- whether can be certain no other “causal” factor rel ex: watching tv
and committing crime, third variable could be boredom/ free time
• Seldom, if ever, able establish causal relationships!!
• News media reports crime events often rife w spurious statements about cause and effect,
many which have elements “copycat” crimes to them- never able est media and violence
“causes” youth violence ex: school shootings
• Postmodernists reverse cause-effect chain and maintain reflection lived exp youths, rather
than cause behav
Challenges to positivism:
• Fund assumption positivist trad universe knowable in objective sense, obj truth can be
discovered through sci method- objectivity maint rules and regs research process
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Some crims eventually began move away asking what causes certain kinds behav and
asked qs about nature and processes crime- made more sense ask about people’s exps=
subj (ex: how process through CJS affects person)- much truth obj research
• Uses more qual methods like ethnography, unstruct interviews and first-hand exp
• Positivist= bias from “subject” under observation be avoided, more subj approach argue
truth can come only from subject (all biased social position and exp)
Nineteenth-century theorizing about crime and delinquency:
• Prior enlightenment period and sub dev sci methodologies, religion dom force soc-
religious frameworks used understand and explain events and behavs (possession/ devil)
• Today psychiatry legit notion insanity and used explain bizarre/ crim behavs
Classical criminology:
• Classical school of criminology- school of thought assumes people rational, intelligent
beings who exercise free will in choosing crim behav (must be held resp misdeeds)
• Cesar Brecaria “On Crimes and Punishments” argued off must be presumed innocent, off
and punishment should be spec in written code crim laws, guilty people deserved
punished b/c violated someone else’s rights, punishment should fit crime and off must be
held resp for their behav
• Jeremey Bentham- repeat off should be punished more severely, punishment should fit
crime and people commit sim off should be punished same manner
Biological positivism:
• First positivistic crims focused bio and psych factors in search causes crim behav
The born criminal:
• Cesar Lombroso= father sci crim- infl evol ideas= crims and non-crims dif stages evol
dev- physical features constituted evidence theory some people simply born criminals
(atavistic)
Types of people:
• Pauperism, crime and prostitution all inherited traits
• Henry Goddard- 2 type people: feebleminded barmaid (full paupers, crims, alchs and
mentally deficient fam membs) and respectable girl from good fam
• End 19th cent, lack intelligence/ feeblemindedness viewed major causal factor in crim
behav- low intelligence made people incapable understanding pot immorality their behav
and less able control emotions
• Late 1800s tainted life blood believed rep passing on vices like drinking and prostitution
and cond feeblemindedness- gen class into 3 broad categories:
o Delinquent- could change ways if received some form guidance (adults too)
o Dependant- people well-being depended on assistance others
o Defective- lim abilities and some cases feebleminded, not held resp
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Eugenics- branch sci based on belief in genetic difs b/w groups result superior and
inferior strains people- considered defective, inferior/ feebleminded sterilized
• 1930s- laws permitted sterilization feebleminded, mentally ill/ epileptic- invol
sterilizations cont CN late as 1950s
The “dangerous class”:
• Consisted largely poor- often not kids but parents seen def, del/ dep
Twentieth-century theories of delinquency:
Biological positivism:
Twin and adopted children:
• Began 1930s, consistently shown identical twins tend have higher delinquency rates than
fraternal twins
• Studies adopted kids shown kids more like bio parents than adoptive parents
• Most early studies prob b/c involved v small samples- re-examined= magnitude genetic
effect as det adoption studies near zero
• V poor evidence support heredity as causal factor crime and delinquency b/c merely
compare rate off in dif groups- remain highly influential in taken-for-granted explans b/c
strong argument inheritability crim behav
Body type:
• Basic body type/ somatotype affect temp and personality, lead delinquent behav- basic
types are:
o Endomorphs- soft and round
o Mesomorphs- muscular and athletic (linked delinquent behav- both M and F)
o Ectomorphs- thin and fragile
Chromosomes:
• Some M have extra Y chromosome= super M- violent crim behav, prop more in prison
• Number M prisoners extra Y v small, incidence extra X chromosome equals/ exceeds and
M prisoners w extra Y least likely group within prison pop committed violent offence
IQ, LD and ADHD:
• Lower IQ, higher prob delinquency- dif interpret b/c class and race bias inherent IQ test
itself and don’t know how much genes/ env and most based youth already in justice
system= IQ rel delinquency/ getting caught??
• Existence LD poor perf school= push out/ toward ass sim peers and sub delinquency,
create physical and personal probs make susceptible delinquency, unable understand
relationship b/w behav and punishment- connection poorly understood
• Addressing requires approach accommodates disability/ teach how make nec accom
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Chapter 5- explaining crime and delinquency: in the beginning: Causes youth violence ex: school shootings: postmodernists reverse cause-effect chain and maintain reflection lived exp youths, rather than cause behav. Biological positivism: first positivistic crims focused bio and psych factors in search causes crim behav. The born criminal: cesar lombroso= father sci crim- infl evol ideas= crims and non-crims dif stages evol dev- physical features constituted evidence theory some people simply born criminals (atavistic) The dangerous class : consisted largely poor- often not kids but parents seen def, del/ dep. Body type: basic body type/ somatotype affect temp and personality, lead delinquent behav- basic types are, endomorphs- soft and round, mesomorphs- muscular and athletic (linked delinquent behav- both m and f, ectomorphs- thin and fragile. Chromosomes: some m have extra y chromosome= super m- violent crim behav, prop more in prison, number m prisoners extra y v small, incidence extra x chromosome equals/ exceeds and.
