Assignment:
Answer two questions:
1. List and discuss five techniques of neutralization of Sykes and Matza as presented by Becker (pp.307-308).
2. Distinguish between master and auxiliary status traits (Becker, p. 309). Which of the two most likely applies to the status of career criminal.
3. Sampson and Laub (pp. 315-316). introduce two concepts useful to understanding crime in the life-course: trajectory and transitions. Compare and contrast the two with examples. As a description of the life-course, discuss the connections among trajectories, childhood events, and adult experiences.
4. The concept of deviant career developed before that of life-course criminology. There are similarities and differences in the two approaches. How does each explain the changes in criminal behavior over the person's life. How does each approach account for the successful exit from a deviant/criminal career?
Readings:
Understanding Deviance
By Tammy L. Anderson