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| application of the science and profession of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system |
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| branch of psychiatry pertaining to the study of crime and criminality |
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| derived from the behavioral sciences thatt focuses on the individual |
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| the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment or association with other stimuli |
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| personality disorder characterized by antisocial behavior and lack of affect |
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| individual who has a personality disorder, especially one manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior and who is lacking in empathy |
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| Antisocial (asocial) personality |
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Definition
| individuals who are basically unsociolized and whose behavior pattern brings them repeatedly into conflict with society |
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| electrical measurement of brain wave activity |
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| theories that are derived from the medical sciences and that focus on the individual as the unit of analysis |
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| theory of human psychology founded by Freud on the concepts of the unconscious, resistance, repression, sexuality and the Oedipus Complex |
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| Form of Psychiatric treatment based on psychoanalytical principles and techniques |
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| Psychological process whereby one aspect of consciousness comes to be symbolically substituted for another |
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| functional disorder of the mind or the emotions involving anxiety, phobia... |
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| form of mental illness in which sufferers are said to be out of touch with reality |
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| mentally ill individual who is out of touch with reality and suffers from disjointed thinking |
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| schizophrenic individual who suffers from delusions and hallucinations |
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| form of adjustment that results from changes in the environment surrounding the individual |
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| a form of adjustment that results from changes within an individual |
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| form of special learning theory that asserts that people learn how to act by observing others |
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| psychological perspective that posits that individual behavior that is rewarded will increase and that which is punished will decrease |
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| behavior that affects the environment in such a way as to produce responses |
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| successful development of secure attachment between child and parent provides the basic foundation for all psychological development |
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| person's ability to alter their responses |
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| inability to understand right from wrong or to conform one's behavior to the requirements of the law |
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| persistent mental disorder |
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| standard for judging legal insanity that requires that offenders not know what they were doing, or if they did, that they not know it was wrong |
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| irresistible-impulse test |
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Definition
| holds that a defendant is not guilty of a criminal offense if the person, by virtue of his or her mental state or psychological condition, was not able to resist committing the action in question |
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Definition
| standard for judging legal insanity that holds that an accused is not criminally responsible if his or her unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect |
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| Substantial-capacity test |
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Definition
| standard for judging legal insanity that requires that a person lack the mental capacity needed to understand the wrongfulness of his or her act or to conform his or her behavior to the requirements of the law |
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Definition
| delegates the responsibility to the jury to determine what constitutes insanity |
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| guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) |
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Definition
| a finding that offenders are guilty of the criminal offense with which they are charged, but because of their prevailing mental condition, they are generally sent to psychiatric hospitals for treatment rather than prison. once cured, such offenders can be transferred to correctional facilities to serve out their sentences |
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| social policy that seeks to protect society by incarcerating the individuals deemed to be the most dangerous |
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| branch of forensic psychology concerned with the diagnosis and classification of offenders, the treatment of correctional populations, and the rehabilitation of inmates and other law violators |
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| attempt to categorize, understand and predict the behavior of certain types of offenders based on behavioral clues they provide |
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| a perspective that focuses on the nature of the power relationships that exist between social groups and on the influences that various socail phenomena bring to bear on the types of behaviros that ted to characterize groups of people |
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| the pattern of socail organization and the interrelationships among institutions characteristic of a society |
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| the interaction between and among social institutions, individuals and groups |
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Definition
| the ongoing and typically structured interaction that occurs between persons in a society, including socialization and social behavior in general |
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Definition
| a theory that explains crime by reference to some aspect of the socail fabric. These theories emphasize relationships among social institutions and describe the types of behavior that tend to characterize groups of people rather than individuals |
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| social disorganization theory |
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Definition
| a perspective on crime and deviance that sees society as a kind of organism and crime and deviance as a kind of disease or social pathology. Theories of social disorganization are often associated with the perspective of social ecology and with the Chicago School of criminology |
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| a condition said to exist when a group is faced with social change, uneven development of culture, maladaptiveness, disharmony, conflict, and lack of consensus |
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| an approach to criminological theorizing that attempts to link the structure and organization of a human cummunity to interactions with its localized environment |
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| a concept that compares society to a physical organism and that sees criminality as an illness |
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Definition
| the transmission of delinquency through successive generations of people living in the same area through a process of social communication |
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Definition
| a type of sociological approach that emphasizes demographics and geographics and that sees the social disorganization that characterizews delinquency areas as a major cause of criminality and victimization |
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| Chicago School of Criminology |
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Definition
| An ecological approach to explaining crime that examined how social disorganization contributes to social pathology |
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Definition
| A perspective that emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of criminal victimization |
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| environmental criminology |
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Definition
| an emerging perspective that emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of criminal victimization |
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Definition
| a perspective on crime causation that holds that physical deterioration in an area leads to increased concerns for persoanl safety among area residents and to higher crime rates in that area |
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Definition
| the range of mechanisms that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents |
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| a socail condition in which norms are uncertain or lacking |
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Definition
| a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and subculturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior |
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Definition
| a sense of social or economic inequality experienced by those who are unable, for whatever reason, to achieve legitimate success within the surrounding society |
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Definition
| the rightful, equitable, and just distribution of rewards within a society |
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Term
| general strain theory (GTS) |
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Definition
| a perspective that suggests that lawbreaking behavior is a coping mechanism that enables those who engage in it to deal with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations |
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| negative affective states |
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Definition
| adverse emotions that derive from the experience of strain, such as ange, fear, depression, and disappointment |
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Definition
| a sociological perspective on crime that suggests that the root cause of criminality can be found in a clash of values between variously socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior |
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| shared expectations of a social group relative to personal conduct |
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| a collection of values and preferences that is communicated to subcultural participants through a process of socialization |
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Definition
| a sociological perspective that emphasizes the contribution made by variously socialized cultural groups to the phenomenon of crime |
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Term
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Definition
| the key values of any culture, especially the key values of a delinquent subculture |
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Term
| techniques of neutralization |
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Definition
| culturally available justifications that can provide criminal offenders with the means to disavow responsiblity for their behavior |
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| illegitimate opportunity structure |
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Definition
| subcultural pathways to success that the wider society disapproves of |
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Definition
| the process by which a person openly rejects taht which he or she wants or aspires to but cannot obtain or achieve |
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Definition
| A program focusing on urban ecology and originating at the University of Chicago during the 1930s, which attempted to reduce delinquency, crime, and social disorganization in transitional neighborhoods |
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Definition
| a theory that asserts that criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others and that socialization processes that occur as the result of group membership are the primary route through which learning occurs |
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Definition
| a perspective that places primary emphasis upon the role of communication and socialization in the acquisition of learned patterns of criminal behavior and the values that support that behavior |
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Definition
the sociological thesis that criminality, like nay other form of behavior, is learned through a process of association with others who communicate criminal values |
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Term
| differential identification theory |
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Definition
| an explanation for crime and deviance that holds that people pursue criminal or deviant behavior to the extent that they identify themselves with real or imaginary people from whose perspective their criminal or deviant behavior seems acceptable |
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Definition
| a perspective that predicts that when social constraints on antisocial behavior are weakened or absent, delinquent behavior emerges. Rather than stressing causative factors in criminal behavior, control theory asks why people actually obey rules instead of breaking them |
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Definition
| a form of control theory that suggests that a series of both internal and external factors contributes to law-abiding behavior |
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Definition
| aspects of the social bond that act to prevent individuals from committing crimes that keep them from engaging in deviance |
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Definition
| the link, created through socialization, between individuals and the society of which they are a part |
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| asserts that the operation of a single mechanism, low self-control, accounts for all crime at all times |
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| the amount of control to which a person is subject versus the amount of control that person exerts over others |
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| the process whereby an individual is negatively defined by agencies of justice |
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| deviant behavior that results from official labeling and from association with others who have been so labeled |
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| an interactionist perspective that sees continued crime as a consequence of limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from the negative responses of society to those defined as offenders |
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Definition
| the efforts made by an interest group to have its sense of moral or ethical propriety enacted into law |
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| a form of shaming, imposed as a sanction by the criminal justice system, that is thought to destroy the moral bond between the offender and the community |
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Definition
| a form of shaming, imposed as a sanction by the criminal justice system, that is thought to strengthen the moral bond between the offender and the community |
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Term
| dramaturgical perspective |
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Definition
| a theoretical point of view that depicts human behavior as centered around the purposeful management of interpersonal impressions |
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Definition
| the intentional enactment of practiced behavior that is intended to convey to others one's desirable personal characteristics and social qualities |
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| information that is inconsistent with the managed impressions being communicated in a given situation |
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| a facility from which individuals can rarely come and go and in which communal life is intense and circumscribed. |
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Definition
| bonds between the individual and the social group that strengthen the likelihood of conformity. characterized by attachment to conventional social institutions, values and beliefs |
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Definition
| the relationship between the maturing individual and his or her changing environment, as well as the social processes that the relationship entails |
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| social development perspective |
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Definition
| and integrated view of human development that examines multiple levels of maturation simultaneously, including the psychological, biological, familial, interpersonal, cultural, societal, and ecological levels |
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Definition
| draws attention to the fact that criminal behavior tends to follow a distinct pattern across the life cycle |
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Definition
| the longitudinal sequence of crimes committed by an individual offender |
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Definition
| pathways through the age-differentiated life span; the course of a person's life over time |
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Definition
| the active role that people take in their lives; the fact that people are not merely subject to social and structural constraints but actively make choices and decisions based on the alternatives that they see before them |
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Definition
| the degree of positive relationships with others and with social institutions that individuals build up over the course of their lives |
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| continuity in crime, or continual involvement in offending |
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| the cessation of criminal activity or the termination of a period of involvement in offending behavior |
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| Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development |
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Definition
| a longitudinal (life course) study of crime and delinquency tracking a cohort of 411 boys born in London in 1953 |
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Definition
| a social scientific technique that studies over time a population with common characteristics. Cohort analysis usually begins at birth and traces the development of cohort members until they reach a certain age |
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Definition
| an approach to understanding crime that draws attention tot he ways people develop over the course of their lives |
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Definition
| a theoretical approach to exploring crime and delinquency that blends social control and social learning perspectives |
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| Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) |
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Definition
| an intensive study of Chicago neighborhoods employing longitudinal evaluations to examine the changing circumstances of people's lives in an effort to identify personal characteristics that may lead toward or away from antisocial behavior |
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Definition
| an analytical perspective on social organization that holds that most members of society agree about what is right and what is wrong and that the various elements of society work together in unison toward a common vision of the greater good |
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Definition
| an analytical approach to social organization that holds that a multiplicity of values and beliefs exists in any complex society but that most social actors agree on the usefulness of law as a formal means of dispute resolution |
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Definition
| an analytical perspective on social organization that holds that conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life itself and can never be fully resolved |
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Definition
| In Marxist theory, the working class |
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| In Marxist theory, the class of people who own the means of production |
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| distinctions made between individuals on the basis of important defining social characteristics |
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| a perspective that holds that the causes of crime are rooted in social conditions that empower the wealthy and the politically well organized but disenfranchise the less fortunate |
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Definition
| A perspective on crime and crime causation based on the writings of Karl Marx |
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| A perspective that holds that the structural institutions of society influence the behavior of individuals and groups by virtue of the type of relationships created |
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Definition
| A perspective that holds that those in power intentionally create laws and social institutions that serve their own interests and that keep others from becoming powerful |
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| A perspective that holds that crime is the natural product of a capitalist system |
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| An approach to the subject matter of criminology based on ideas inherent in the perspective of left realism |
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| A conflict perspective that insists on a pragmatic assessment of crime and its associated problems |
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| A self-conscious corrective model intended to redirect the thinking of mainstream criminologists to include gender awareness |
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| The traditions of male dominance |
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Definition
| A single-sex perspective, as in the case of criminologists who study only the criminality of males |
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Definition
| A perspective that holds that any significant change in the social status of women can be accomplished only through substantial changes in social institutions such as the family, law, and medicine |
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Definition
| A perspective that holds that the concerns of women can be incorporated within existing social institutions through conventional means and without the need to drastically restructure society |
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Definition
| A perspective that examines social roles and the gender-based division of labor within the family, seeing both as a significant source of women's subordination within society |
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Definition
| A perspective that holds that the distribution of crime and delinquency within society is to some degree founded upon the consequences that power relationships within the wider society hold for domestic settings and for the everyday relationships among men, women, and children within the context of family life |
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Definition
| The observed differences between male and female rates of criminal offending in a given society, such as the United States |
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Definition
| a brand of criminology that developed following WWII and that builds on the tenets inherent in postmodern social though |
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Definition
| A postmodern perspective that challenges existing criminological theories in order to debunk them and that works toward replacing traditional ideas with concepts seen as more appropriate to the postmodern era |
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Definition
| a perspective that holds that crime control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to alleviate social problems and human suffering and thus reduce crime |
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Definition
| An approach to crime control that focuses on effective ways for developing a shared consensus on critical issues that could seriously affect the quality of life |
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Definition
| a relatively informal type of criminal justice case processing that makes use of local community resources rather than requiring traditional forms of official intervention |
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Definition
| A postmodern perspective that stresses 'remedies and restoration rather than prision, punishment and victim neglect' |
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Definition
| A new radical paradigm consisting of writings on the subject matter of criminology by convicted felons and ex-inmates who have acquired academic credentials, or who are associated with credentialled others |
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Definition
| a classification of crimes along a particular dimension, such as legal categories, offender motivation, victim behavior, or the characteristics of individual offenders |
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Definition
| murder involving family members, friends, and acquaintances |
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Definition
| a criminal offense that results from acts of interpersonal hostility, such as jealousy, revenge, romantic triangles, and quarrels |
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Definition
| murder that involves victims and offenders who have no prior relationship and that usually occurs during the course of another crime, such as robbery |
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Definition
| A goal-directed offense that involves some degree of planning by the offender |
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Term
| exposure-reduction theory |
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Definition
| A theory of intimate homicide that claims that a decline in domesticity, accompanied by an improvement in the economic status of women and a growth in domestic violence resources, explains observed decreases in intimate-partner homicide |
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Definition
| An offense or incident that culminates in homicide. The offense or incident may be a crime, such as robbery, or an incident that meets a less stringent criminal definition, such as a lover's quarrel involving assault or battery |
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Term
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Definition
| contributions made by the victim to the criminal event, especially those that led to its initiation |
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Definition
| A loss of self-control due to the characteristics of the social setting, drugs or alcohol, or a combination of both |
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Definition
| Criminal homicide that involves the killing of several victims in three or more separate events |
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Definition
| The illegal killing of four or more victims at one location within one event |
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| Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) |
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Definition
| The program of the FBI focusing on serial murder investigation and the apprehension of serial killers |
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Term
| Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) |
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Definition
| A federal law enacted as a component of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement ACt and intended to address concerns about violence against women. The law focused on improving the interstate enforcement of protection orders, providing effective training for court personnel involved with women's issues, improving the training and collaboration of police and prosecurtors with victim service providers, strengthening law enforcement efferts to reduce violence against women, and increasing services to victims of violence |
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Term
| National Violence against Women (NVAW) survey |
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Definition
| A national survey of the extent and nature of violence against women conducted between November 1995 and May 1996 and funded through grants from the National Institute of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control |
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Definition
| A false assumption about rape such as "When a woman says no, she really means yes." Rape myths characterize much of the discourse surrounding sexual violence |
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Definition
| A statute providing for the protection of rape victims by ensuring that defendants do not introduce irrelevant facts about the victim's sexual history into evidence |
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Definition
| Rape characterized by a prior social, though not necessarily intimate or familial, relationship between the victim and the perpetrator |
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Definition
| The rape of one spouse by the other. The term usually refers to the rape of a woman by her husband |
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Definition
| A term encompassing a variety of criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor, exploits a minor for purposes of sexual gratification, or exploits a minor sexually for purposes of profit |
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Definition
| Robbery that occurs on the highway or street or in a public place and robbery that occurs in residences |
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Definition
| robbery that occurs in commercial settings, such as convenience stores, gas stations, and banks |
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Definition
| A gender-neutral term used to characterize assaultive behavior that takes place between individuals involved in an intimate relationship |
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Definition
| Violence inflicted by partners on significant others who attempt to leave an intimate relationship |
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Definition
| The crimes of murder, rape, robbery and assault committed against persons who are at work or on duty |
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Definition
| A course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated visual or physical proximity; nonconsensual communication; verbal, written, or implied threates; or a combination thereof that would cause a reasonable person fear |
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Definition
| An array of high-tech related activities in which an offender may engage to harass or 'follow' individuals, including e-mail and the Internet |
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Definition
| A criminal offender who makes a living from criminal pursuits, is recognized by other offenders as professional, and engages in offending that is planned and calculated |
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Term
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Definition
| one who continues in common-law property crimes despite no better than an ordinary level of success |
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Definition
| A preference for engaging in a certain type of offense to the exclusion of others |
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Definition
| A criminal offender whose offending patterns are guided primarily by opportunity |
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Definition
| An opportunistic car theft, often committed by a teenager seeking fun or thrills |
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Term
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Definition
| a professional car thief involved regularly in calculated, steal-to-order car thefts |
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Definition
| An offense, usually fairly minor in nature, that leads to more serious offenses. Shoplifting, for example, may be a gateway offense to more serious property crimes |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| An individual or a group involved in the buying, selling, and distribution of stolen goods |
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