criminal

Describe some of the characteristics of a good theory. Objective 1.1: Describe some of the characteristics of a good theory. Objective 1.2: Summarize the various ways to classify criminological theories. Objective 1.3: Explain the difference between a macro- and a microtheory. Objective 1.4: Discuss the relationship between theory, research, and policy. Objective 1.5: Explain what […]

What Is Good Theory? S e v e n t h E d i t i o n Frank P. Williams III Professor Emeritus, California State University—San Bernardino Marilyn D. McShane 330 Hudson Street, NY, NY 10013     Vice President, Portfolio Management: Andrew Gilfillan Portfolio Manager: Gary Bauer Editorial Assistant: Lynda Cramer Senior Vice

What should we continue to appreciate about the work of Cesare Lombroso? Chapter 3 • The Positive School 33 The issue of a connection between the brain and violence appears to be on much firmer ground than the connection with delinquency in general. The most recent work on the brain and violence/psychopathology uses brain imaging

The purpose of sanctions against criminals, then, is not to punish but to provide for treatment. epilogue: current Directions and Policy implications current DirectionS The more conservative attitudes of the mid-1970s through the present gave rise to an assumption of consensus in values, favoring the reemergence of nonsocial theories. A major impe- tus was that

Abnormal features can be found through comparison with those that are normal. 30 Chapter 3 • The Positive School psychopathy as a cause of delinquency. There is, of course, a certain irony in this research because the scale was created from questions on which the delinquents originally scored higher. On the sociological side, some early

Chapter 3 • The Positive School 27 with its emphasis on the importance of reason and experience. The second is a twentieth-century version known as “Logical Positivism,” with a close association with mathematical reasoning and formal models of thought. This is the version that is referred to as “modernism.” Many today also associate positivism with

Objective 3.5: Summarize some of the topics in criminology studied by psychologists. IntroductIon While the champions of the classical period were writers and philosophers, the Positivists were more likely to be scientists, mathematicians, doctors, and astronomers. While the classical reform- ers sought to modernize and civilize the system within which they lived, the Positivists reached

1. What were punishments like before the influence of the classical philosophers? 2. Discuss some of the classical concepts and ideas that we still see in our criminal justice system today. 3. Who were some of the major contributors to classical thought and what were their specific contributions? 4. How were ideas about the basic

 Do we have a viable and meaningful sense of “social contract” in our society today? more in increased crime, suffering, and deterioration of neigh- borhoods. In the past few years, administrators of most state correctional systems have recognized the problem. Ironically, many of the politicians who still support the concepts of deter- rence and rational

1. People exist in a world with free will and make their own rational choices, although they have a natural tendency toward self-interest and pleasure. 2. People have certain natural rights, among them life, lib- erty, and ownership of property. 3. Governments are created by the citizens of a state to pro- tect these rights,