Learning Objectives

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Chapter 1: Introduction to Criminology

  1. Describe the various definitions of crime, including the difference between criminal behavior and deviant behavior.
     
  2. Distinguish between criminology and criminal justice.
     
  3. Determine whether a theory would be considered from a consensus or conflict perspective of crime.
     
  4. List and describe the three general components of the criminal justice system.
     
  5. Identify some of the key distinguishing features of the juvenile justice system compared with the adult criminal justice system.
     
  6. Identify the criteria that characterize a good theory.
     
  7. Identify key concepts associated with victimology.

Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

  1. Identify key features and the major limitations of the Uniform Crime Reports.
     
  2. Describe the Supplementary Homicide Reports.
     
  3. Identify key features of the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
     
  4. Describe the Hate Crime Statistics.
     
  5. Distinguish key features and some of the major limitations associated with the National Crime Victimization Survey.
     
  6. Distinguish the major differences between the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey.
     
  7. Identify different types of self-report surveys.
     
  8. Describe additional data collection methods used for more specific purposes or specific populations.

Chapter 3: Classical School of Criminology Thought

  1. Identify the primitive types of “theories” explaining why individuals committed violent and other deviant acts for most of human civilization.
     
  2. Describe how the Age of Enlightenment drastically altered the theories for how and why individuals commit crimes as well as how it changed criminal justice policies.
     
  3. Explain how Cesare Beccaria’s book in 1764 drastically influenced various criminal justice systems throughout the world, and be able to list the concepts and propositions recommended in his book.
     
  4. Summarize what Jeremy Bentham contributed to this movement toward the Classical School of criminological thought.
     
  5. Explain what the Neoclassical School of criminology contributed to the propositions of the Classical School that led most of the Western world (including the United States) to embrace this model as the major paradigm for the criminal justice system.

Chapter 4: Contemporary Classical and Deterrence Research

  1. Explain the various types of research performed from the 1960s to the present to determine whether perceptions of sanctions had a significant impact on individual decisions to commit crimes.
     
  2. Name the components of rational choice theory that were not included or emphasized by traditional Classical/deterrence theory in explaining criminal behavior.
     
  3. Compare and contrast formal and informal sanctions.
     
  4. List the three key elements of routine activities theory and be able to articulate which of the elements you think is most important.
     
  5. Describe which types of individuals are most likely to be deterred from committing most crimes, as well as which types of people are least likely to be deterred.
     
  6. Provide examples of modern-day applications and policies that most apply Beccaria’s principles and the Classical school.

Chapter 5: Early Positivism

  1. Describe what distinguishes positivistic perspectives from the Classical/rational choice perspectives in terms of assumptions, concepts, and propositions.
     
  2. Explain how the early, pre-Darwinian theories, such as craniometry and phrenology, are different from (and similar to) later post-Darwinian theories, such as Lombroso’s theory of offending.
     
  3. Identify the key assumptions, propositions, and weaknesses of Lombroso’s theory of atavism and the born criminal.
     
  4. Explain the shift to more psychological areas, namely IQ testing, and how it affected the field in terms of policy and thinking about individuals’ risk for criminality.
     
  5. Evaluate the key propositions, concepts, and weaknesses of Sheldon’s body type theory, and how he measured the various body types of this perspective.

Chapter 6: Modern Biosocial Perspectives of Criminal Behavior

  1. Evaluate the role of nature and nurture in exploring risk factors for offending.
     
  2. Describe the various types of cytogenetic disorders and which type(s) puts a person at highest risk for criminality.
     
  3. Identify the hormones that play a key role in individuals who tend to engage in chronic offending. Make sure to consider females and the gender gap in offending as you read this chapter.
     
  4. Explain how neurotransmitters differ from hormones, and note which of the former are the most often implicated in criminality at either high or low levels.
     
  5. Identify the regions of the brain that criminological studies implicate for both structural trauma and functioning disorders.
     
  6. Compare and contrast the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system and identify the ways both systems play an important part in individuals’ decisions to engage in criminal activity.

Chapter 7: Psychological/Trait Theories of Crime

  1. Identify the general principles of psychoanalysis and how psychoanalysis applies to criminal behavior.
     
  2. Describe the three dimensions associated with Hans Eysenck’s theory of crime and personality.
     
  3. Identify some of the key distinctions of the various stages of moral development.
     
  4. Describe some of the essential features of attachment theory.
     
  5. Referring to James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein, describe the three factors associated with street crime and human nature.
     
  6. List and describe the key features that distinguish a psychopath from other criminal offenders.
     
  7. Distinguish the M’Naghten rule, irresistible impulse test, Durham test, and American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code.

Chapter 8: Social Structure Theories of Crime I

  1. Distinguish social structure theories from other models or perspectives presented in this book.
     
  2. Explain what contributions and conceptual development Émile Durkheim added to the evolution of this perspective around the turn of the 19th century. Describe how his studies showed a significant breakthrough in social science.
     
  3. Explain why Robert K. Merton’s theory of strain become popular when it did, as well as how his conceptualization of “anomie” differed from Durkheim’s.
     
  4. Identify some of the revisions or variations of strain theory presented a couple of decades later and how they differ from Merton’s original theory. Specifically, explain types of elements that these derivative theories emphasized that Merton’s model did not include and what types of categories of individuals or gangs were labeled in these later models.
     
  5. Evaluate how Robert Agnew’s proposed model of general strain added more sources of strain to Merton’s original framework.
     
  6. Identify some ways the various models of strain theory have informed policy making in attempts to reduce criminality.

Chapter 9: Social Structure Theories of Crime II

  1. Describe how the ecological principles of invasion, domination, and succession among animals or plants apply to the growth of cities and cause different crime rates among varying regions of a city.
     
  2. Explain how the model presented by Chicago theorists explains the city (or cities) where you live or have lived, and identify such zones in cities you have lived in or visited and the increased risk factors in certain areas.
     
  3. Discuss Shaw and McKay’s theory of social disorganization.
     
  4. Identify some current, modern-day examples of specific cultures or subcultures in the United States, especially in the region where you live or work, and how they relate to crime.
     
  5. Evaluate the criticisms of cultural theories of crime.

Chapter 10: Social Process and Control Theories of Crime

  1. Articulate what distinguishes learning theories of crime from other perspectives.
     
  2. Distinguish differential association theory from differential reinforcement theory.
     
  3. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of differential association and differential reinforcement theory.
     
  4. Define the five original techniques of neutralization and explain them.
     
  5. Discuss early forms of social control theory, such as those of Hobbes and Freud.
     
  6. Explain Reckless’s containment theory.
     
  7. Explain Hirschi’s social bonding theory, particularly the four elements of the bond.
     
  8. Describe the key tenets of integrated social control theories.
     
  9. Discuss low self-control theory, such as what personality traits are involved.

Chapter 11: Labeling Theory and Conflict/Marxist/Radical Theories of Crime

  1. Summarize the foundational ideas of labeling theory.
     
  2. Describe the basic assumptions of labeling theory.
     
  3. Evaluate the research and criticisms of labeling theory.
     
  4. Explain the key features of the consensus view of the law.
     
  5. State the distinguishing features of conservative (pluralist) and critical-radical perspectives.
     
  6. List the key features of Marxist theory as they relate to criminological theories.
     
  7. Evaluate the research and criticisms of labeling theory.
     
  8. Describe the key contributors of alternative perspectives such as peacemaking criminology, the restorative justice perspective, and left realism.
     
  9. Discuss the policy implications of labeling and conflict theories of crime.

Chapter 12: Feminist Theories of Crime

  1. Compare and contrast the first, second, and third waves of feminism.
     
  2. Identify the key features of the various feminist perspectives.
     
  3. Describe how traditional theories of crime perceived female offenders.
     
  4. Identify some of the problems associated with traditional research methods.
     
  5. Identify the main tenets of the liberation thesis.
     
  6. Discuss how power-control theory attempts to explain gender differences in delinquency rates.
     
  7. Describe feminist pathways research.
     
  8. Evaluate the key critiques of feminist theories.
     
  9. Describe some of the key policies based on feminist theories of crime.

Chapter 13: Developmental/Life-Course Perspectives Criminality

  1. Discuss how developmental or life-course theories differ from other theoretical perspectives presented in this book.
     
  2. Explain how various concepts or factors that are important in life-course/developmental perspectives, such as onset, frequency of offenses, duration of offending, seriousness of the offenses, and desistance of offending play key roles in when individuals offend and why they do so at certain times in their lives.
     
  3. Identify some of the primary criticisms or weaknesses of the life-course/developmental perspective as well as which theories are clearly “antidevelopmental.”
     
  4. Identify which specific theories in the developmental/life-course genre seem best to account for specific transitions or trajectories either toward or away from crime.
     
  5. Describe the theories that account for different types of offenders, such as chronic or habitual offenders versus individuals who offend only during certain times in their lives.
     
  6. Summarize some of the key policy implications of developmental/life-course theories.

Chapter 14: White-Collar Crime, Organized Crime, and Cybercrime

  1. Articulate the criteria experts use to distinguish white-collar crime from traditional forms of offending as well as criticisms of these criteria.
     
  2. Evaluate the ways corporate crimes harm society in terms of physical and property damage as well as in weakening the moral fabric of society.
     
  3. Describe the impact of various types of white-collar crime.
     
  4. Discuss some of the theoretical explanations for white-collar crime.
     
  5. Describe the complexity in defining organized crime.
     
  6. Discuss the different types of criminal organizations identified by the criminal justice system.
     
  7. Identify the various criminal justice responses to organized crime.
     
  8. Discuss how different theoretical explanations can be applied to enhance our understanding of organized crime.
     
  9. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between traditional forms of crime and cybercrime.
     
  10. Identify various types of cybercrimes, such as hacking, identity theft, child pornography, Internet fraud, and cyberstalking.
     
  11. Discuss some of the legislation that has been enacted to address cybercrime.
     
  12. Apply some “traditional” theoretical perspectives to explaining cybercrime.

Chapter 15: Hate Crimes, Terrorism, and Home Land Security

  1. Explain some of the bias motivations associated with hate crimes.
     
  2. Summarize some key anti-hate-crime legislation.
     
  3. Discuss theoretical explanations of hate crimes.
     
  4. Describe the various forms and rates of multicide in the United States.
     
  5. Distinguish terrorist activities from more conventional forms of criminal activities.
     
  6. Explain some of the factors that have contributed to the historical and current context of terrorism.
     
  7. Discuss theoretical explanations of terrorism.
     
  8. Describe homeland security, such as its origins and organizational structure.
     
  9. List some of the agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security.
     
  10. Explain some of the controversial issues related to civil liberties and the efforts to counter terrorism.

Chapter 16: Drugs and Crime

  1. Distinguish between the different types of drugs.
     
  2. Identify trends pertaining to alcohol use in the United States.
     
  3. Describe key factors associated with the various trends of substance use in the United States.
     
  4. Summarize the key links between drugs and crime.
     
  5. Compare and contrast eradication and interdiction strategies.
     
  6. Discuss key aspects of drug courts, such as how they differ from traditional criminal courts.
     
  7. State the main features of harm reduction programs.
     
  8. Evaluate some of the pros and cons of maintenance and decriminalization policy.
     
  9. Determine what should be incorporated in future policies on substance use.