Glossary

the innate intelligence everyone has at birth

A period of philosophical, intellectual, and cultural revolution in 17th and 18th-century Europe

the consistently found relationship between age and crime in which crime peaks between adolescence and the early 20s, then drops off

Sampson and Laub’s theory that looks at age and delinquent or criminal behavior, in addition to what was going on in the individual’s life at the time of that behavior, emphasizing transitions or turning points

A circumstance or factor that makes the behavior seem worse or makes the offender more culpable

a state of normlessness in society, especially during societal transition

the simple retention of input or the memorization of facts and skills

Lombroso’s outdated theory that individuals who committed crime were a less evolved and more primitive species

a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone that is often considered unfair

criminal acts based on a particular bias or prejudice

Lombroso’s term for people who chronically engaged in criminal offenses and had a collection of physical, psychological, and functional anomalies (see stigmata) and were unable to change their behavior because they were stuck in an earlier stage of evolution (see atavism)

The idea that offenders' rationality in their decision-making is constrained by both time and relevant information

a theory that claims the environment of a particular space signals its health to the public and that signs of dilapidation and decay attract more serious crime

A phenomenon, observed in some research, of increased violence or homicide after death penalty sentences are carried out

a learning process in which an automatic conditioned response is paired with a stimulus

one of the two major traditional paradigms in criminology that emerged during the Age of Enlightenment; theories within this paradigm assume that crime is the result of humans’ free will and rational decision-making.

Anderson’s theory that Black street culture places a high value on respect, which can lead to conflicts between community members

the ability of a community to mobilize their existing social networks toward common goals, especially against crime, in their communities

a theory that takes an ecological approach to understanding city structure and crime by sectioning a city like the circles on a dart board and finding that the zone in transition, which exists between the area where people work and the area where they live, is the most criminogenic

the ability to manipulate and transform information input or problem-solving

the category of personality traits and behavioral characteristics people learn

the theory that social inequality and conflict among social groups is inevitable and that conflict leads to criminal or deviant behavior

Reckless’s theory that crime results from a failure of inner and outer control mechanisms and the inability to resist pushes and pulls into crime

Tittle’s theory that focuses on the control someone is under and the control they hold over themselves (control ratio)

a term describing variables that have a relationship or connection

the outdated idea that brain and skull size could tell us about one’s intelligence, behavior, and personality

legal term describing the violation of a criminal law

crimes committed by white-collar individuals, corporations, government, or other elite in society that often go unpunished

the system that deals with crime and its consequences

Eysenck’s theory used to explain the links between personality and crime

Lombroso’s term for people who were not life-long criminals and whose criminality could be explained by a variety of factors, such as disease or environment

something that increases the likelihood of crime occurring when it is present

the study of crime and why it happens

a perspective or collection of theories that centers social inequality and focuses on the way society defines crime, power, and punishment

Miller’s theory that the lower class have their own subculture and that parents in this group socialize their children into six focal concerns that run counter to mainstream culture

where an offender can discount the suffering of the victim

an umbrella term that refers to essentially all crime that is committed via the internet or the use of computers

unreported or unknown crime

the product of digital manipulation in which an existing photo or video is replaced with someone’s likeness

in relation to crime, the prevention of criminal behavior due to the threat of consequences

a criminological theory that posits that people will be deterred from committing crime if punishment is swift, severe, and certain

a collection of theories that look at criminal behavior over the course of someone’s lifetime and pay special attention to the onset, persistence, and desistance of criminal behavior

a sociological term describing behavior that is outside of accepted social norms

Sutherland’s theory that criminality is learned through a process of interaction with others who communicate criminal values and advocate for the commission of crimes

Cloward and Ohlin’s theory that juvenile gang formation depends on the neighborhood type and both the legal and illegal opportunities within it

stigma and further exclusion from society

violence that is physical, sexual, emotional, or financial in nature and often patterned that takes place between people in a family setting; often used interchangeably with the term intimate partner violence, although domestic violence is not limited to intimate partners

Sykes and Matza’s theory that juveniles drift in and out of delinquency, especially when social controls like parental supervision are weak, and learn to justify their behavior in one of five ways (see techniques of neutralization)

Moffit’s life course theory of in which she described adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders

the degree to which research that is based on systematic observation, measurement, and verifiable experimentation shows what the theory says it should

the unintended or intended phenomenon in which policies or practices have disproportionate negative environmental impacts based on race or color

prejudiced beliefs and practices that aim to control the human gene pool by controlling reproduction and/or eliminating populations deemed inferior

the ability of a theory to explain the intended topic in a useful manner

an individual’s energy levels that are directed outside of themselves that can be manifested as impulsive sociability

the killing of women because of their gender

a perspective or collection of theories that centers gender, along with other aspects of identity, in studying crime, victimization, and the criminal justice system

Chesney-Lind’s theory of four propositions that explain girls’ unique pathway to delinquency

a broad category of violence that is directed at someone because of their gender; may also refer to violence that is disproportionately experienced by one gender

circumstances in which individuals are discouraged from committing crime due to their perceptions of the certainty, swiftness, and severity of legal consequences

a theory that posits different types of strain, felt at the individual level, can lead to frustration and negative emotions that may lead to crime if someone does not have adequate coping skills to deal with those strains

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory that lack of self-control is the primary cause of criminal behavior

a subfield of criminology that focuses on harm to the environment, humans, and nonhuman species

the federal act that requires data collection “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity”; prompted data collection in the UCR

crimes that are motivated at least in part by bias against a particular identity or group affiliation

the weighing of pain and pleasure that humans make in every decision they make; seek to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain

a reasonable possible explanation of why we think a phenomenon is occurring based on an educated guess that can be tested

media that blurs the line between news and entertainment and might be both educational and entertaining

the category of personality traits and behavioral characteristics that are genetic

intelligence as captured by tests; IQ tests are philosophically and contextually controversial, particularly due to their use in supporting the eugenics movement.

the approach or understanding that various identities and positions in society, including aspects such as race, class, income, sexuality, education, or disability, can lead to multiple forms of inequality and varied experiences of discrimination

violence that occurs between people who are or were in a romantic and/or sexual relationship; can include physical, sexual, or emotional violence perpetrated by a partner or ex-partner

intelligence quotient DEFINE MORE?

the theory that societal reaction and the application of stigmatizing labels can lead to someone becoming deviant/criminal.

a collection of data on incidents in which law enforcement officers were killed or injured in the line of duty; part of the UCR

a collection of data focusing on the loss of current and former law enforcement officers, corrections employees, 911 operators, judges, and prosecutors that hopes to prevent future deaths by suicide or suicide attempts; part of the UCR

areas or counties, typically in rural settings, where few or no lawyers are working

continued offending throughout adulthood

the belief that criminal behavior is a general criminal pattern of life that is characterized by an individual’s irresponsibility, self-indulgence, negative interpersonal relationships, impulsiveness, and the willingness to violate society’s rules

a theory must make sense and be reasonable from beginning to end

the idea that a person’s identity is shaped by how they believe they are seen by significant others and society at-large

in relation to theory, a focus on large scale issues or populations

the killing of multiple people, typically more than three, in one incident

an event in which one or more people use firearms to target, injure, and/or kill multiple people

in relation to theory, a focus on individuals or small groups

A circumstance or factor that makes the behavior seem less bad or makes the offender less culpable

behavior that results from people observing and imitating others.

the capability of both distinguishing and choosing good from evil. Individuals suffered from either anomia, or total moral depravity, in which both the moral faculty and the conscience stopped functioning, or micronomia, a partial weakness of the moral faculty in which the individual remains aware of their wrongdoing

habitual, uncontrollable criminality committed without motive or remorse, akin to what would today be described as psychopathy

the main source of information on criminal victimization in the United States

a database of crimes reported to the police, including incidents where multiple crimes were committed, that includes information on victims, people who have committed offenses, the relationships between victims and people who have committed offenses, people who have been arrested, and property involved in the crimes; part of the UCR

a collection of data that contains statistics on the use of force by law enforcement with the goal of providing transparency and improving trust with the public; part of the UCR

taking something away as s punishment that makes behaviors less likely to happen

taking away a reinforcement that increases the probability of a given behavior

a new perspective and more modern approach to classical school criminology that considers circumstances that affect choice

people who require high stimulation levels from their environments and their sympathetic nervous systems are quick to respond

a trait associated with depression, anxiety, and other negative psychological states

the theory that people learn by watching others and observing the results of their actions

beginning of delinquency

a learning process in which reinforcements and punishments guide behavior

the way we define a concept in order to use, measure, or test it in research

an architectural design for a prison with a central guard tower surrounded by a circle of cells that allowed for actual - or perceived - constant supervision and deterrence of bad behavior

a framework of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that shapes the types of questions we ask and how we answer them

keeping a theory clear, concise, elegant, and simple

what people think will happen to them if they are caught for committing a crime

continues or even escalates in severity or frequency

outdated theory claiming that different areas of the skull corresponded to different personality, behavioral, or mental functions and that bumps on the skull could tell you about the corresponding traits

the outdated study of individuals’ facial features as a way of assessing character or criminality

giving a punishment that makes behaviors less likely to happen

giving a reinforcement that increases the probability of a given behavior

one of the two major traditional paradigms in criminology that emphasized the scientific method and was grounded in the positivist philosophy; theories within this paradigm assume that crime is determined or predisposed, to some degree, by one’s biology, psychology, or environment

a philosophy stating that knowledge should be based on empirical evidence and what can be witnessed in research

where an offender views the world in terms of strengths and weaknesses

Hagan’s theory that sons are granted more freedom as adolescents, while daughters experience greater control of their behavior by their families, leading to more delinquency among boys

the time period before crime and justice were studied scientifically and systematically when medieval societies viewed crime as the result of sin, demonic possession, or other supernatural causes and punished them severely or via religious interventions

Freud’s therapeutic application of psychological theories of the importance of the unconscious mind on behavior

a collection of theories to explain the source of human behavior

emotional and moral aberrations derived from congenital factors

people who are cruel, insensitive to others, and unemotional

can make the individual appear aggressive, impersonal, impulsive, and lacking empathy for others

non-numerical descriptive information that helps us understand something

information that can be counted and expressed in numbers

a subfield of criminology that centers the LGBTQIA+ community in studying crime, victimization, and the criminal justice system

a criminological theory that posits that people weigh the pros and cons of their options and use a cost-benefit analysis to make their choices, including the choice to commit crime

the idea that inequality and the gaps between wealth and poverty in a single place can lead to negative perceptions of one's situation and result in crime

a perspective or theory of justice with the goal of repairing harm caused by crime and restoring the well-being of both perpetrators and victims rather than just punishing those who have committed crimes

a criminological theory that sees crime as a function of people’s everyday activities and posits that crime occurs when a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of capable guardians converge at one time and place

a subfield of criminology that focuses on rural settings and how the rural context impacts the study of crime, victimization, and the criminal justice system

an ideology that “appropriates the methods and legitimacy of science to argue for the superiority of white Europeans and the inferiority of non-white people whose social and economic status have been historically marginalized”

something that is covered or addressed by a theory

data that comes directly from individuals about their own experiences through methods like surveys or interviews

a series of murders in which multiple people are murdered across more than one incident and there are cooling off periods separating each murder

the voluntary relinquishment of some freedoms in exchange for order and safety provided by a sovereign government

Hirschi’s theory that, through successful socialization, a bond forms between individuals and the conventional society that limits criminal behavior; crime occurs when the bonds are weakened or broken and a person is free to engage in deviant/criminal behavior; also called social bond theory

the theory that neighborhoods with weak community controls caused by poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity will experience a higher level of criminal and delinquent behavior

Burgess and Akers’s theory that people learn attitudes and behaviors conducive to crime in both social and nonsocial situations through positive reinforcement (rewards) and negative reinforcement (punishments)

the framework and relationship between institutions, groups, and norms in a society; all the things that make up a society

Sheldon’s theory that body type was hereditary and corresponded to differences in personality

a subfield of criminology that focuses on outer space-related crimes, security, and justice

a specific individual being deterred from committing crime due to their experience being punished by the legal system previously

occurs when two things appear to be correlated but are not because of another variable(s)

Cohen’s theory that four factors—social class, school performance, status frustration, and reaction formation (coping methods)—contribute to the development of gangs and delinquency in juveniles

Lombroso’s term for any features that deviated from the norm, such as physical, psychological, or functional anomalies, and could indicate one’s atavism (see atavism)

a theory that assumes a society has conventional goals and means to achieve them and that people who are unable to achieve conventional goals due to blocked opportunities experience structural strain and may adapt in a way that involves criminal behavior

a group that shares a specific identity that differs from the mainstream majority, even though they exist within the larger society

Wolfgang and Ferracuti’s theory that certain norms and values, such as violence being an expected and normal response to conflict, are part of working-class communities and help explain violent crime

a theory that, in part, posits that people take on roles when interacting with others

one of five techniques used by adolescents to justify their criminal behavior according to Sykes and Matza’s drift theory

the openness of a theory to testing and possible falsification

a statement that proposes to describe and explain why facts or other social phenomenon are related to each other based on observed patterns

Tarde’s theory that crime is the result of imitating or modeling the behaviors of others

Braithwaite’s theory that effective shaming within a society that disapproves of a behavior but respects the person who engages in that behavior will reduce crime

a medieval method in which the criminally accused would endure an experiment that “proved” whether or not they were guilty and if they were deserving of mercy

the largest, most commonly used data collection currently available on crime; housed by the FBI

the degree to which a theory has real-world application

concepts, factors, or elements in the study

a subfield of criminology that focuses on victimization and centers the experiences of those who have survived criminal victimization