SOC 2700 Lecture Notes - Cesare Beccaria, Differential Association, Classical Conditioning
9 Oct 2012
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Document Summary
Contemporary classicism: umbrella for several theories, motivation and choice in crime. Classical thought: early influences: cesare beccaria. Rationality of people"s behaviour people choose to commit crime (free will: jeremy bentham. Economical payoff of crime vs. jail time, etc. Human nature people can self-regulate themselves: utilitarianism philosophy. Core ideas: people are rational calculators, we all have free will. Association with people (good or bad people: people choose behaviours, people also fear punishments. Benefits vs. consequences: methods of crime prevention. Deterrence theory: draws on classical ideas, importance of rationality, punishment can deter crime, general vs. specific deterrence, three dimensions of punishment: severity, certainty and swiftness (or celerity) Other debates: problems of certainty: tests of absolute deterrence and marginal deterrence. Other debates: problems of severity: role of capital punishment, brutalization effect. Tests of deterrence: scared straight programs. Don"t necessarily work: boot camps, talk shows.
