Order Social Structure and Crime Assignment 1. Use Merton’s anomie theory to explain the rise of a gangster such as Al Capone. In your own words, describe the societal pressures that might have been operating at that time and what means of adaptation that gangsters might have used. 2. Some theorists claim that juvenile gangs are subcultures. What evidence would you cite to support such […]

Differential Association and Social Learning Theory Assignment Understand the nature of process theories of crime, including the important institutions within these theories and the role of socialization. Pgs. 144–145 Explain the history and major concepts within the differential association/social learning perspective. Pgs. 145–148 Identify what makes control theories different from other explanations of crime. Pg. 158 List the types of informal control and explain how […]

Order Social Process and Crime Assignment 1. Compare any two social control theories of crime. What type of control (direct, indirect, internal) do they emphasize? Are the policy implications similar or different? 2. Why do social learning theorists believe that delinquent peer associations predict crime? How has this been criticized? Texture: © Malchev/Shutterstock; Police Tape: © SkillUp/Shutterstock Police Tape: © SkillUp/Shutterstock Chapter 7 Social Process […]

Order Conflict Theory and the Law Understand the difference between a consensus and conflict view of society, and the core themes of critical theories. Pg. 170 Recognize how conflict among different interest groups shapes the content of the law and the operation of the criminal justice system. Pgs. 171–173 Understand the evidence regarding the relationship between race, class, and criminal justice outcomes. Pgs. 173–177 Know […]

Discus Critical Approaches to Law and Crime 1. Is the criminal justice system racist? What factors would you have to take into consideration to research this question? 2. Does American society operate under a consensus or a conflict model? 3. Describe the gender-ratio and generalizability problems. 4. What does Currie mean by a market society? How does a market society breed violence? 5. Think of […]

The Criminal Career Perspective Assignment Summarize the findings of criminal cohort research. Pgs. 197—198 Explain the logic behind studying crime over the life course, including the stability of antisocial behavior and the age–crime curve. Pgs. 199—200 Describe how different types of lifecourse theories explain stability and change in antisocial behavior. Pgs. 200—205 Describe the policy implications based on the career criminal paradigm and life-course criminology. […]

Discus Crime Over the Life Course 1. Describe the career criminal perspective. Why did critics believe that “career” was a poor metaphor? 2. Describe the most important findings from the Philadelphia birth cohort research. How do males and females differ in their offending patterns? 3. Describe the central areas of life-course criminology, including stability and desistence. 4. Illustrate the three different types of life-course theories […]

Order Social Process Theories Assignment 1. Do negative labels cause crime? Or do people who commit crime become negatively labeled? That is, are labels a cause of crime or a result? 2. Once weakened, can a person’s bonds to society become reattached? What social processes might help reattachment? 3. Can you devise a test of Sutherland’s differential association theory? How would you go about measuring […]

Order Social Conflict Critical Criminology and Restorative Justice 1. How would a conservative reply to a call for more restorative justice? How would a restorative justice advocate respond to a conservative call for more prisons? 2. Considering recent changes in American culture, how would a power– control theorist explain recent drops in the U.S. crime rate? Can it be linked to changes in the structure […]

Order Life Course and Latent Trait Assignment 1. Do you consider yourself to have social capital? If so, what form does it take? 2. Someone you know gets a perfect score on the SAT. What personal, family, and social characteristics do you think this individual has? Another person becomes a serial killer. Without knowing this person, what personal, family, and social characteristics do you think […]