Key Terms (Criminological)

Crime - perverse behaviours which are against the written criminal laws of the land, which results in an appropriate treatment being issued to try to avoid re-offending occurring.

Recidivism - the rate of criminal offending, where an offender repeats a criminal or antisocial behaviour, which they have already been punished or treated for. The rates of recidivism only include criminals who are caught again, so reported rates are probably lower than the reality.

Token Economy - a system of behaviour modification based on operant conditioning techniques; which involves giving a secondary reinforcement for desirable behaviour, that can be saved and exchanged for primary reinforcement.

Antisocial Behaviour - behaviours which aren't necessarily against the written laws, but are considered socially unacceptable. It's any behaviour that affects other people negatively and, is often used to mean aggressive behaviour.

Stereotyping - classifying a whole group of people as sharing as if they were all the same, and treating the individuals belonging to the group as though no other characteristics were important. The certain common characteristic may be based on direct evidence or due to others with no evidence. The stereotype may be true or untrue for a particular person. These assumptions are often based on prejudices.

Modelling - a way of learning by imitating the behaviour of others after observing that behaviour being rewarded.

Eyewitness Testimony - the statement (recall of events) given by someone who witnessed an event/crime.