Life course theory suggests that the development of a criminal career is a dynamic process. Behavior is influenced by individual characteristics as well as social experiences, and the factors that cause antisocial behaviors change dramatically over a person's life span.
The view that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics. life course theory Theory that focuses on changes in criminality over the life course brought about by shifts in experience and life events.
developmental theories The view that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics. life course theory Theory that focuses on changes in criminality over the life course brought about by shifts in experience and life events.
Articulate the basic principles of trajectory theory. Trajectory theorists recognize that career criminals may travel more than a single road. Some may specialize in violence and extortion; some may be involved in theft and fraud; others may engage in a variety of criminal acts.
A state dependence theory formulated by Sampson and Laub that assumes that the causal association between early delinquent offending and later adult deviant behavior involves the quality of relationships encountered at different times in human development. social capital.
trajectory theory. The view that there are multiple independent paths to a criminal career and that there are different types and classes of offenders. population heterogeneity. The propensity to commit crime is stable; those who have it continue to commit crime over their life course.
life course theory. Theory that focuses on changes in criminality over the life course brought about by shifts in experience and life events. propensity theory.
The view that a stable unchanging feature, characteristic, property, or condition, such as defective intelligence or impulsive personality, makes some people crime prone. latent trait.
Antisocial behaviors that cluster together, including family dysfunction, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment, as well as criminality. age-graded theory.
general theory of crime (GTC) Gottfredson and Hirschi's developmental theory that links crime to impulsivity and a lack of self-control. self-control. Refers to a person's ability to exercise restraint and control over his or her feelings, emotions, reactions, and behaviors.
Discuss the history of and influences on developmental theory. The developmental theory of criminality looks at the onset, continuity, and termination of a criminal career.