Questions and Answers
What is a violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties?
What does it mean to criminalize?
To make illegal or treat as a criminal.
What is deviant behavior?
Human activity that violates social norms.
What is delinquency?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the consensus perspective hold?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the pluralist perspective in criminology?
Signup and view all the answers
What is social policy?
Signup and view all the answers
What is criminology?
Signup and view all the answers
What is criminality?
Signup and view all the answers
What is criminal behavior?
Signup and view all the answers
What constitutes the criminal justice?
Signup and view all the answers
Who is a criminologist?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a criminalist?
Signup and view all the answers
What is theoretical criminology?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a general theory in criminology?
Signup and view all the answers
What does unicausal mean?
Signup and view all the answers
What is an integrated theory?
Signup and view all the answers
What is criminalistics?
Signup and view all the answers
What is translational criminology?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the social problems perspective?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the social responsibility perspective assert?
Signup and view all the answers
What does social relativity refer to?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the criminal justice system?
Signup and view all the answers
What is socialization?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Crime and Behavior Definitions
- Crime refers to violations of criminal law that incur formal penalties from governmental authorities.
- Criminalize means to make an act illegal or treat it as a criminal offense.
- Deviant behavior encompasses human activities that violate established social norms.
- Delinquency relates to juvenile offenses, including misdemeanors committed by children or teenagers, and failure to fulfill legal or duty obligations.
Theoretical Perspectives in Criminology
- Consensus perspective identifies a general agreement among society’s members on what constitutes right and wrong, aiming for the greater good.
- Pluralist perspective emphasizes the importance of diversity, indicating that behaviors become criminalized through political processes.
Key Terms in Criminology
- Social policy signifies government actions planned to enhance citizen welfare.
- Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior.
- Criminality denotes a predisposition towards criminal activities.
- Criminal behavior includes intentional and negligent actions that violate criminal law, even omissions when one has a duty to act.
Criminal Justice Framework
- Criminal justice involves law enforcement, court systems, and correctional agencies focused on apprehending, prosecuting, and controlling offenders while maintaining societal order.
- Criminologist is a professional trained in sciences of crime and criminal behavior.
- Criminalist specializes in the collection and forensic examination of physical crime evidence.
Theoretical Approaches to Criminology
- Theoretical criminology studies various types of crime, providing explanations of criminal behavior.
- General theory seeks to explain a wide range of criminal conduct through a comprehensive approach.
- Unicausal theories attribute all forms of crime to a single cause.
- Integrated theory merges concepts from different areas to provide a multifaceted understanding of criminality.
Specialized Areas in Criminology
- Criminalistics focuses on the scientific analysis of physical evidence from crime scenes, including fingerprints and firearms.
- Translational criminology aims to convert research findings into effective social policies.
- Social problems perspective views crime as a reflection of deeper societal issues, like poverty and discrimination.
- Social responsibility perspective asserts that individuals are accountable for their choices, including the decision to engage in criminal behavior.
Additional Concepts
- Social relativity suggests that interpretations of social events vary based on personal experiences and cultural contexts.
- Socialization is the process through which individuals acquire basic skills and cultural norms through interaction with others.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
Test your understanding of key definitions and theoretical perspectives in criminology, including crime, deviant behavior, and delinquency. This quiz covers important terms and the different viewpoints in the study of criminal behavior, enhancing your knowledge of social policy and criminology.