criminology - answerthe scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior interdisciplinary science - answerinvolving two or more academic fields criminal justice - answerreferring to the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions that handle criminal offenders utilitarianism - answerthe view that people's behavior is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain classical criminology - answerthe theoretical perspective suggesting that (1) people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors; (2) people choose to commit crime for reasons of greed or personal need; and (3) crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions positivism - answerthe branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social, biological, psychological, or economic forces scientific method - answerusing verifiable principles and procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge; typically involves formulating a problem, creating a hypothesis, and collecting data through observation and experiment, to verify the hypothesis biosocial theory - answerapproach to criminology that focuses on the interaction between biological and social factors as they relate to crime sociological criminology - answerapproach to criminology, based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim, that focuses on the relationship between social factors and crime anomie - answera lack of norms or clear social standards. because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to what is socially acceptable Chicago School - answergroup of urban sociologist who studied the relationship between environmental conditions and crime socialization - answerprocess of human development and enculturation. socialization is influenced by key social processes and institutions conflict theory - answerthe view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends critical criminology - answerthe view that crime is a product of the capitalist system developmental theory - answerthe view that criminality is a dynamic process, influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristis rational choice theory - answerthe view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act trait theory - answerthe view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits social structure theory - answerthe view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime social process theory - answerthe view that criminality is a function of people's interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society valid - answeractually measuring what one intends to measure reliable - answerproducing consistent results from one measurement to another ex post facto law - answera law applied retroactively to punish acts that were not crimes before its passage, or one that raises the grade of an offense, or that renders an act punishable in a more severe manner than it was when commited white collar crime - answerillegal acts that capitalize on a person's status in the marketplace. White-collar crimes may include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of trade, and false advertising