Criminological Theories exam with questions & answers latest 2024 update already graded A+

Criminological Theories exam with questions & answers latest 2024 update already graded A+ AC1.1.01 Deviant Behaviour and Sanctions - ANSWER>>Values are general principles or guidelines for how we should live our lives. They tell us what is right and wrong or good and bad such as respect. Norms are specific rules or socially accepted standards that govern people's behaviour in specific situations (what is normal) for example not interrupting, these are based on societies values. The term 'moral code' is often used to describe a set of basic rules, values and principles held by an individual, group, organisation or society as a whole that may be written down. Deviance is breaking norms and is either good, eccentric or bad. Formal sanctions are ones imposed by official bodies. They are punishments for breaking formal written rules. Informal sanctions are used when the rules are not formally written down and are perhaps 'unspoken' AC1.1.02 Criminal Behaviour - ANSWER>>Criminal behaviour is a form of deviance that involves serious, harmful acts that are a wrong against society. These acts are regarded as so disruptive that the state must intervene on behalf of society to forbid them and to punish them by law. The legal definition is for a court to consider a defendant's action to be a crime, the action must normally have two elements: actus reus, which is Latin for a guilty act and mens rea which means guilty mind. The social definition: Rather than relying solely on the legal definition, therefore, we can gain a better understanding of criminal behaviour by considering how it is defined socially. This includes differing views of the public about what constitutes crimes. Also crimes can be defined by seriousness or subject matter. AC1.1.02 Sanctioning Criminal Behaviour - ANSWER>>Custodial sentences are imprisonment or detention in a young offenders' institution which can vary from days to life. Community sentences are served in the community rather than in jail. They include probation orders, restrictions such as curfews, attendance on anger management courses, mandatory drug testing and treatment orders and community payback work in the community. Fines are financial penalties. For some minor offences the police can sanction offenders without going to court such as cautions (warnings), conditional cautions mean you have to stick to certain rules such as treatment and penalty notices for disorder can be issued for minor crimes such as shoplifting or possession of cannabis. AC1.2.01 Cultural Differences - ANSWER>>'Social construction' refers to something that has been made or defined ('constructed') by society, rather than simply occurring naturally. Therefore what counts as criminality is simply whichever acts a society defines as criminal. For example polygamy (having more than one wife or husband) or adultery (cheating on wife or husband), homosexuality or drug use such as cannabis. This can vary because of religion, tradition, public opinion, norms and values or the position of women in society. AC1.2.02 Historical Differences - ANSWER>>Laws often change over time within a given society for example homosexuality, drug laws, gun control, physical punishment and laws relating to children. These have changed because of government reports (Wolfenden for homosexuality), campaigns, public health and changes in the law AC1.2.03 Circumstantial Differences - ANSWER>>Laws may be applied differently according to the circumstances in which a criminal act occurs for example moral panics and typification (stereotypical criminal types) lead to differential (different) enforcement of the law, the age of criminal responsibility. AC2.1.1.01 Lombroso: Features - ANSWER>>Cesare Lombroso is described as the 'Father of Modern Criminality' and his use of scientific methods in criminology are still used today and he was seen to be the first criminal profiler; After reading Charles Darwin's 'Origin of the Species' Lombroso came to the assumption that criminals were a different/separate species - one that was between modern and primitive human.; He argued that someone who was 'born criminal' could be determined by the physical shape of their head and face.; Criminality was inherited and those who committed crime had primitive (atavistic) features. AC2.1.1.02 Sheldon: Features - ANSWER>>Sheldon argued that somatotype (body type) is related to criminality.; Mesomorphs are more likely than other types to commit crimes.; As a result of over 4,000 images being studied of men from the front, side and back Sheldon suggested there were three body types (somatotype). AC2.1.2.01 Twin and Adoption Studies: Features - ANSWER>>• These allow researchers to compare the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the likelihood of an individual engaging in crime. • Twin studies support the contention that a heritable trait may increase risk for criminal behaviour. Identical twins are monozygotic (MZ) as they are from one fertilised egg. • The underlying principle of such studies in explaining criminal behaviour is the comparison of criminals with both their biological and adoptive parents. If, in criminal behaviour, the child is more similar to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents, with whom they share the same environment, a genetic basis of criminality may be suggested. • Mednick et al (1987) looked at court convictions in a small European country and found 14 000 adoptees amongst them. The criminal records of their biological and adoptive parents were then investigated. Many of the adoptees had biological parents who were criminals (and there was a particularly strong relationship for sons and fathers) AC2.1.2.02 XXY: Features - ANSWER>>Jacobs et al (1965) suggested that men with the XYY syndrome were more aggressive than normal 'XY' men. XYY men are over represented in the prison population.; Not inherited but instead it is a random occurrence; Some may grow taller and faster - Some may have lower intelligence - Some may have behavioural problems - Some may be more physically active than others - Some may lack empathy AC2.1.3.01 Brain Injuries and Disorders: Features - ANSWER>>Phineas P. Gage was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behaviour over the remaining 12 years of his life—effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage"; Some brain diseases have been lined with criminal or anti-social behaviour, for example, in the 1920s, epidemics of encephalitis lethargica among children were linked to destructiveness, impulsiveness, arson and abnormal sexual behaviour; Other brain diseases, including senile dementia, Huntington's chorea and brain tumours have also been linked to various forms of deviant or anti-social behaviour; Brainwave activity is measured by an EEG. Some studies show abnormal EEG readings among 'clearly insane' murderers and psychopathic criminals. AC2.1.4.01 Biochemical Explanations: Features - ANSWER>>The male sex hormone testosterone has been linked with crimes such as murder and rape. Similarly, Ellis points out that testosterone levels peak from puberty to the early 20s and this age range correlates with the highest crime rates in males; People who take large amounts of steroids can become extremely violent ('roid rage'). Steroids, taken to increase muscle growth, also increase testosterone levels. Horace Williams, an American body builder, beat a man to death after taking 2,000 times the recommended