Psychology of Crime

a sense of alienation or meaninglessness

a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of disregard for the rights of others

an explanation for the causes of criminal behavior that invokes heredity and constitutional characteristics of the lawbreaker

a procedure in which one learns to associate a new response with a stimulus

the point of view that evolved in the 1700s and 1800s, emphasizing the role of free will and cost/benefit analysis in determining crimial behavior

the extent to similiarity in a behavior or characteristic between two twins

an act that, through association, comes to elicit a learned response

the proposition that societal pressure controls the rate of change

the proposition that people will act in an antisocial way unless they are prevented from doing so

the study of crime and the criminal behavior

a learning theory approach that asserts that criminal behavior is the result of socialization into a system of values that is conducive to violations of the law

fraternal twins

a group of criminologists who believed that crime was caused by a combination of social, environmental, and cultural factors

the cognitive ability to plan and regulate behavior carefully

the personality cluster characterized by outgoing orientation, enthusiasm, and optimism

a theory that relates the criminal activies of lower-class gangs to their need to achieve, through the simplest possible means, those ends that are most culturally valued

a form of criminological thgeory that emphasizes how specific criminal behaviors are learned directly from reinforcement and modeling influences

identical twins

a major dimension of personality involving the tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression, often accompanied by distressed thinking and behavior

a form of learning in which the consequences of a behavior influence the likelihood of its being performed in th future

a school of thought characterized by the view that criminal behavior by a person was determined, rather than the product of free will

behavior that violates a law or norm for socially acceptable conduct

the approach to explaining criminal behavior that relies on factors within the person, such as motivation, ability level, and aspirations

a long-term pattern of unsocialized or criminal behavior by a person who feels no guily about such conduct

a major element in Eysenck's theory of personality, characterized by insensitivity, trouble-making, and lack of empathy

the police practice of using race as a factor in determining actions such as traffic stops, arrests, and questioning of suspects

the theory that. if the reasons for commiting a crime outweigh the reasons for not committing it, the likelihood of the crime being committed increases

the theory that some illegal behavior "make sense" because of the reward expected and the unlikelihood of detection

the ego's task of reaching rational compromises between the instincts of the id and the moral demands of the superego

a deviant identity created or intensified in a person through the use of official labels or legal form sanctions

the theory that the stignma of being branded deviant by society can influence an individual's belief about himself or herself

a theory that acknowledges the importance of direct reinforcement for developing new behaviors but gives more importance to cognitive factors and to observational or vicarious learning

the theory that proposes that criminal behavior is learned through social interaction

the theory that psychopathic behavior is due to individuals' attempt to raise their sensory and arrousal experiences to an optimal level through repeated thrill-seeking and risk-taking

a sociological theory of crime that emphasizes that individuals may have similar interests and motivations but different opportunities

a sociological theory of crime that emphasizes class differences in values, and their subsequent impact on the likelihood of criminal behavior

an original stimulus, not associated with a new new response

learning by observing the actions of another person and their outcomes