what causal stories are used in the assigned course material to describe each crime?

by Prof. Tiana Klein Jr. 6 min read

What are the theories of crime causation?

Mar 20, 2017 · Criminology is one of the largest and fastest-growing subfields of sociology, and criminologists focus on sociological explanations for causes of crime. They also take a sociological view of how the criminal justice system, including police, prosecutors, and judges, responds to victims and offenders. Of course, criminologists do not ignore ...

What is the relationship between material gain and crime?

(material and nonmaterial) of crime, the weaker the tendency to commit crim es. The bite of conscience, the approval of peers, and any sense of inequity will increase or decrease the total value of crime; the opinions of family, friends, and employers are important benefits of non-crime, as is the desire to avoid

What are the factors that cause crime?

Sep 20, 2018 · Describe the type of crime, the associated behavior and the probable Crime Causation theory that most closely provides an explanation for the behavior in each given scenario. Also, identify what type of defense could be used to justify or excuse the behavior. Provide your response for each scenario.

What are the characteristics of modern criminology?

Mar 24, 2020 · Prominent theories of crime causation are strain theory, in which people commit crimes to get relief from strain or stress, and control theory, which claims that others force people to do crimes. The social learning theory is the idea that people learn to do crimes through their association with others. There are also theories of biological causation of crimes.

What are causal stories?

Stone's (1989, 2012) causal stories framework argues that causal ideas are at the core of understanding how difficult conditions or circumstances are transformed into political problems within the policy discourse.

What is a causal theory example?

Examples of causal connections that do count as appropriate: perception: I see a chair in front of me. As a result, I come to believe that there is a chair in front of me. In this case, the fact that there is a chair in front of me causes my belief in the appropriate way.Oct 4, 2018

What are causal stories in sociology?

Causal stories have both an empirical and a moral dimension. On the empirical level, they purport to demonstrate the mechanism by which one set of people brings about harms to another set. On the normative level, they blame one set of people for causing the suffering of others.Aug 28, 2007

What is a causal theory Political Science?

Much of political science research is aimed at determining causality, which is defined by Johnson, Reynolds, and Mycoff as “a connection between two entities that occurs because one produces, or brings about, the other with complete or great regularity.” Essentially, causality is rooted in ascertaining whether changes ...

What is an example of causality?

The phenomenon is exemplified in ordinary causal transitive reasoning. When told, for example, that A causes B and that B causes C, people can infer that A causes C, or when told, for instance, that Sanding causes dust and Dust causes sneezing, they conclude that Sanding causes sneezing.Jan 21, 2015

How does Hume explain causal theory?

Hume argues that we cannot conceive of any other connection between cause and effect, because there simply is no other impression to which our idea may be traced. This certitude is all that remains. For Hume, the necessary connection invoked by causation is nothing more than this certainty.

What do you mean by causal?

Definition of causal 1 : expressing or indicating cause : causative a causal clause introduced by since. 2 : of, relating to, or constituting a cause the causal agent of a disease.Mar 9, 2022

When did policy Implementation become a point of study among political and social scientists?

Explain why it wasn‟t until the 1960s before people began to explicitly study policy implementation.

What is it for one event to cause another?

Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (a cause) contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an effect) where the cause is partly responsible for the effect, and the effect is partly dependent on the cause.

What are causal mechanisms in research?

Causal mechanisms: The processes or pathways through which an outcome is brought into being. We explain an outcome by offering a hypothesis about the cause(s) that typically bring it about. So a central ambition of virtually all social research is to discover causes.

What are the 4 causal hurdles?

To speak more generally, if we wish to know whether some X → Y, we need to cross four causal hurdles: (1) Is there a credible causal mechanism that connects X to Y? (2) Can we eliminate the possibility that Y causes X? (3) Is there covariation between X and Y? (4) Is there some Z related to both X and Y that makes the ...

What does causal mechanism mean?

the most immediate and physical means by which something is accomplished. For example, the causal mechanism for opening a door is the turning of the knob and the exertion of pressure on the door.

What are the theories of crime causation?

Prominent theories of crime causation are strain theory, in which people commit crimes to get relief from strain or stress, and control theory, which claims that others force people to do crimes. The social learning theory is the idea that people learn to do crimes through their association with others. There are also theories of biological ...

What is social disorganization theory?

Another social theory is social disorganization theory, which studies how family, friends, associates and society in general contribute to a person's propensity to commit crimes. This theory studies why some societies have more crime than others. A major area of study is economic theories of crime causation. Social scientists look at ...

Why is labeling theory important?

Labeling theory holds that the acts of arresting and prosecuting people contribute to crime because people become labeled as criminals. Non-criminals may not want to associate with them, so they associate with other criminals, which may lead to more criminal behavior.

What is the study of crime called?

Criminology is the study of crime and criminals by specialists called criminologists. Criminologists study what causes crime and how it might be prevented. Throughout history people have tried to explain what causes abnormal social behavior, including crime.

What did the researchers claim about criminals?

The researchers claimed criminals were ordinary people of all racial backgrounds who were profoundly influenced by the poverty and the social instability of their neighborhoods. They claimed such a poor social and economic environment could produce all types of crime.

Why is punishment important?

The purpose of punishment is to discourage a person from committing a crime. Punishment is supposed to make criminal behavior less attractive and more risky. Imprisonment and loss of income is a major hardship to many people. Another way of influencing choice is to make crime more difficult or to reduce the opportunities. This can be as simple as better lighting, locking bars on auto steering wheels, the presence of guard dogs, or high technology improvements such as security systems and photographs on credit cards.

How does peer group influence crime?

A person's peer group strongly influences a decision to commit crime. For example, young boys and girls who do not fit into expected standards of academic achievement or participate in sports or social programs can sometimes become lost in the competition. Children of families who cannot afford adequate clothing or school supplies can also fall into the same trap. Researchers believe these youth may abandon schoolmates in favor of criminal gangs, since membership in a gang earns respect and status in a different manner. In gangs, antisocial behavior and criminal activity earns respect and street credibility.

What are the reasons for committing a crime?

Usually a combination of these factors is behind a person who commits a crime. Reasons for committing a crime include greed, anger, jealously, revenge, or pride. Some people decide to commit a crime and carefully plan everything in advance to increase gain and decrease risk.

How does social factors affect decision making?

Some social factors pose an especially strong influence over a person's ability to make choices. Drug and alcohol abuse is one such factor. The urge to commit crime to support a drug habit definitely influences the decision process. Both drugs and alcohol impair judgment and reduce inhibitions (socially defined rules of behavior), giving a person greater courage to commit a crime. Deterrents such as long prison sentences have little meaning when a person is high or drunk.

What did criminologists believe about the sanity of an individual?

They believed it was "predetermined" or that people had no control over whether they would lead a life of crime. For example, criminologists believed people with smaller heads, sloping foreheads, large jaws and ears, and certain heights and weights had a greater chance to be criminals. Race was also a determining factor. Some criminologists believed criminals were more like savages or primitive humans, and somehow less human than law-abiding citizens.

Explaining Crime

  • Modern criminology began in Europe and America in the late eighteenth century. During this time people began to accept scientific explanations for occurrences in the world around them and rule out supernatural influences. People increasingly believed individuals had control over their own actions. The idea that people were driven by reason and influenced by their social environment b…
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Physical Abnormalities

  • In the nineteenth century criminologists focused on the physical characteristics and sanity of an individual. They believed it was "predetermined" or that people had no control over whether they would lead a life of crime. For example, criminologists believed people with smaller heads, sloping foreheads, large jaws and ears, and certain heights and weights had a greater chance to be crimi…
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Psychological Disorders

  • As late as the 1950s researchers continued to investigate the relationship of body types to delinquency and crime. Aside from biological traits indicating a natural tendency toward criminal activity by some individuals, Lombroso and other early twentieth century researchers also reasoned that criminal behavior could be a direct result of psychological disorders. They believe…
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Social and Economic Factors

  • In addition to studying the biological and psychological causes of criminal behavior, others looked toward society in general for possible causes. In the early 1900s researchers believed social changes occurring in the United States, such as an industrial economy replacing the earlier agricultural economy (industrialization) and the growth of cities (urbanization), as well as the ste…
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Broken Windows

  • In the 1990s a new idea spread through the criminal justice field concerning the influence of a person's social environment on crime rates. The idea was that general disorder in the neighborhood leads to increased antisocial behavior and eventually to serious crime. For most of the twentieth century, police primarily reacted to serious crimes such as rape, murder, and robbe…
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Income and Education

  • Another theory from 1930s criminologists was that unemployment could be a major cause of crime. In the United States, employment opportunities have been directly related to education. In 1938 sociologist Robert K. Merton (1910–) offered a social theory that crime occurs when society sets goals for its members, such as making money to buy a variety of material goods, but create…
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A Matter of Choice

  • In the 1960s some criminologists decided their studies and the U.S. judicial system were biased against minorities, the poor, and women. As a result they broadened their focus from the poor and working classes to other crime settings, such as white-collar crime in corporations and governments. Street crime, they asserted, cost society $15 billion annually while white-collar cri…
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The Complexities of Crime

  • Explaining the cause of crime is difficult; two people living in the same circumstances—such as poverty, family problems, or unemployment—may take entirely different paths in life. A related question to what leads people to commit crimes, is what causes some criminals to quit? Some juvenile delinquents stop committing crimes when they become adults; others stop later in adult…
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For More Information

  • Books
    Arrigo, Bruce A., ed. Social Justice, Criminal Justice.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1999. Bowlby, John. A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy HumanDevelopment.New York: Basic Books, 1988. Cleckely, Hervey. The Mask of Sanity.New York: New American Library, 1982. Cohen, Alber…
  • Web Site
    Criminal Justice.http://www.wadsworth.com/criminaljustice_d/(accessed on August 19, 2004).
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