Juvenile Delinquency Terms Ch. 3

Front 1

Rational Choice Theory

Back 1

A theory that suggests a juvenile will engage in criminal acts after carefully weighing the benefits of gain against the cost of possible punishment

Front 2

Trait Theory

Back 2

Another theory that explains especially violent, criminal acts as not being done rationally but without control, and may be caused by physical or psychological traits

Front 3

When does the decision to forego a delinquent act occur?

Back 3

When the belief is that the benefits are no longer worth it or that the chances of finishing the crime is less than the chance of being caught

Front 4

Utilitarians

Back 4

Hold onto the belief that before a person decides on a course of behavior for the future, but only after weighing the benefits and consequences

Front 5

Does an adolescent having a job increase or decrease delinquency? Why? Or why not?

Back 5

activity rather than slow it. Teens seeking the employment may be looking for cash to spend on drugs or alcohol. The non existent parental supervision enhances the problem when the jobsite makes an excellent place for like minded peers’ seeking trouble to fraternize with one another. On the other hand, a job can be a positive experience if it includes support toward academic achievement.

Front 6

Classical criminology is known as

Back 6

Choice theory

Front 7

Drug gang members make (more/less/the same) money as legitimate job holders?

Back 7

Only slightly more at around six to eleven an hour

Front 8

The focus of choice theory

Back 8

is reactive behavior not instinctive behavior

Front 9

Routine activities theory

Back 9

The combination of three variables working at the same time: Suitable targets (CD player in unlocked car), absence of capable guardians (owner of car or security guard), the presence of motivated offenders (street wandering teen)

Front 10

When does the decision to commit a delinquent act occur, according to choice theory?

Back 10

After weighing the benefits and consequences

Front 11

Who/what are capable guardians?

Back 11

Neighbors, police officers, parents, car owners, business owners

Front 12

“Awareness space”

Back 12

Areas that are considered familiar to kids and make for comfort in the knowledge of escape routes, which will ultimately give opportunity to commit crimes

Front 13

Recidivate

Back 13

When first time offenders commit another crime

Front 14

General deterrence

Back 14

Policies that are created with the idea in mind that delinquents will refrain or choose not to commit a criminal act based on the fear of punishment, such as harsh penalties. (Severe, certain, and swift = Greater deterrent)

Front 15

Why does punishment sometimes contribute to delinquency?

Back 15

Juveniles that have been taken out of positive support systems by being placed in a facility for punishment and their stay with the facility draw them closer to their deviant peers. Just as important, the stigma placed on a person who is incarcerated makes employment much harder to gain so legitimate opportunities are lessoned

Front 16

Why might deterrence threats not work for teens in bad neighborhoods?

Back 16

They are surrounded by people that are consistently arrested and may not understand that being arrested is wrong. There’s no gamble in loosing anything if the threat of being arrested presents itself, since their place in society is already jeopardized and they tend not to worry about what the future holds anyway. They also live among many criminals and have watched them get away with many crimes

Front 17

Situational crime prevention strategies

Back 17

In contrast of focusing on the punishing of the individual, these are policies created to convince any possible offender that the risks would more than likely out weigh any opportunities and are aimed at reducing opportunities for would be offenders like: Increasing the effort to commit a crime, Increasing the risks, reducing the rewards, and increasing the shame of committing the crime

Front 18

Co-offending

Back 18

The process of juveniles committing criminal acts in groups, making peer pressure impede the deterrent effect of the law

Front 19

Target hardening

Back 19

Taking action toward increasing the effort to commit a crime in a practical manner like using bullet proof glass, breath analyzer that will automatically lock a person’s car, enforcing security, and using a form of photo I.D. in order to use a credit card

Front 20

Specific deterrence

Back 20

Focuses on the individual by punishing them severely in order to convince them not to repeat the offense

Front 21

Are crackdowns effective?

Back 21

Crackdowns are initially effective due to the shock effect. The effectiveness is short lived when the shock wears or worse yet the criminal activity relocates into an area less monitored by police

Front 22

What crimes is choice theory weak on explaining?

Back 22

Activity that is regarded as irrational, for example a crime such as vandalism or arson

Front 23

Susceptibility rationale

Back 23

This is an attempt to explain a link between learning disabilities and delinquencies. This view claims the link was caused by side effects of learning disabilities like impulse control and acceptable social norms

Front 24

Atavism

Back 24

A theory developed by Cesare Lombroso that claims delinquents can be identified by a particular set of physical characteristics. The traits he describes seem to be primitive, as in a stage of human evolution similar to our ancestors. A few of these traits are large jaws, strong canines, flat looking noses, and occasionally double rows of teeth. Also noted were arms occasionally exceeding the height of the person, which is characteristic of apes

Front 25

School failure rationale

Back 25

This view claims that the link between learning disabilities and delinquency draws from the frustration of poor school performance, which causes a negative self image, ultimately brings on a behavior of acting-out

Front 26

Sociobiology

Back 26

A science that studies the idea that behavior changes by adapting to the environment from which it evolved

Front 27

Sensation seekers

Back 27

The type of kids that are looking for a higher degree of environmental stimulation, seeking out stimulating activities similar to aggressive behavior

Front 28

Can diet effect learning?

Back 28

There have been a number of experiments done with data collected claiming that groups of kids were split in two and one group was given a placebo while the other a diet enriched with vitamins and minerals. The group with the improved diet showed a significant academic improvement while the other group was not as much improved

Front 29

Heart rate and delinquency

Back 29

The concept that kids with lower heart rates would commit criminal acts because their seeking the “rush” in order to bring arousal to normal levels

Front 30

Can diet effect behavior?

Back 30

Studies have been done within the confines of correctional facilities based on diet modifications. Some inmates were given an enriched diet with vitamins and minerals while others were not. The data showed that violent anti-social behavior was reduced on average by 48% with the diet modification including the vitamins and minerals

Front 31

ADHD more common in boys or girls

Back 31

Effect five to seven times more males than females

Front 32

Is bullying inherited?

Back 32

This behavior is brought on by a cycle that never ends. Bullies have kids that bully and they also bring up kids who bully

Front 33

Role of reinforcement

Back 33

The reinforcement of a positive or negative reaction toward a particular act determines whether the behavior is continued and/or learned

Front 34

Findings in twin studies

Back 34

Twins often have similarities whether they are raised together or apart, leaving us to believe that their behavior is caused from genes and not environment

Front 35

Social learning theory

Back 35

The concept that behavior is determined by social experiences along with values and expectations. Kids model their own behavior by watching how others react toward a particular behavior. They usually observe adults (mostly their parents) on television and movies. They model observed behavior

Front 36

Findings in adoption studies

Back 36

Many adoptee children behave and hold onto traits of intelligence similar to that of their biological parents. Regardless of the environment that the people who raise them provide for them

Front 37

Children more likely influenced by what parents

Back 37

do not say

Front 38

Id – The pleasure seeking part of a person’s personality
Ego – This part of a person’s personality is a development through living and undergoing the realities of the world and helps the Id part of a personality to control it’s unrestrained desire for instant pleasure
Superego – The development of the conscience and moral degrees based on interactions with parents and other people

Back 38

Id – The pleasure seeking part of a person’s personality
Ego – This part of a person’s personality is a development through living and undergoing the realities of the world and helps the Id part of a personality to control it’s unrestrained desire for instant pleasure
Superego – The development of the conscience and moral degrees based on interactions with parents and other people

Front 39

How would Kohlberg explain delinquency?

Back 39

Because Kohlberg believes moral development changes during stages throughout one’s life, delinquents are classified within whatever stage they obviously stopped their growth of moral development

Front 40

Behaviorism and delinquency

Back 40

Behaviorism is a theory based on observations and responses that create learning situations. The interpretation is that people learn to behave by observing how others respond to their behavior. If the response is positive then they repeat the behavior and the behavior is eventually learned

Front 41

Information processing and delinquency

Back 41

Information processing explains behavior through perception and data analysis. Before someone makes a decision there is input of information and experience a sequence of thought processes. A delinquent juvenile may have cognitive issues causing the delinquent to process the information incorrectly, resulting in an output of bad decisions.

Front 42

Role of “scripts”

Back 42

They are learned during early childhood and is how a child learns how to interpret events, expectations of them, and what the reaction should be, and what the outcome of the interactions should be

Front 43

Nature and nurture arguments

Back 43

Nature theory is based on the idea that persons have a predisposition toward delinquency. The nurture theory is based on the idea that intelligence is partly biological but mostly sociological. It also argues that intelligence is not inherited and parents with low IQs don’t necessarily produce offspring with low IQs

Front 44

Personality traits of delinquents

Back 44

Assertive, defiant, impulsive, narcissistic, superstitious, destructive, sadistic, unconcerned with others feelings, ambivalent, unappreciative, untrusting, mentally slow, resentful, aggressive

Front 45

Hirschi and Hindelang’s findings

Back 45

The findings of their study ultimately concluded that IQ, for predicting delinquency, is above race and social class

Front 46

Antisocial personality disorder

Back 46

Suffer from a multitude of negative personality traits and as a youth suffer somewhat from guilt and anxiety. Practice violating the rights of others and are incapable of forming honest and true relationships with other people. They’re often thrill seekers and have destructive streaks in their personalities. They have severe disability emphasizing with other’s feelings

Front 47

IQ’s indirect influence

Back 47

School failure is supported by low IQ and being uneducated is linked with delinquency

Front 48

Role of IQ in delinquency

Back 48

There is a general belief that delinquents have a lower IQ and are more likely to act criminally than juveniles with higher IQs.

Front 49

IQ’s direct influence

Back 49

Low IQ inhibits ones ability to weigh the consequences of an offence and lack feeling for their victims. Lower IQ individuals tend to misinterpret events, take risks, and become involved in harmful behavior

Front 50

Nature and nurture arguments

Back 50

Nature theory is based on the idea that persons have a predisposition toward delinquency. The nurture theory is based on the idea that intelligence is partly biological but mostly sociological. It also argues that intelligence is not inherited and parents with low IQs don’t necessarily produce offspring with low IQs

Front 51

McCord’s findings on Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study

Back 51

Those adolescents that were treated clinically were more likely to become involved with criminal violations than those who were left untreated (the control group)

Front 52

Why didn’t it work (the youth study)

Back 52

The clinical treatment quite possibly left the juveniles feeling stigmatized, labeling themselves as “different” or instigators of trouble, which ultimately hindered the efforts of clinical treatment