Friday, March 23, 2012

Are CJS Majors Less Smart


In my research methods class we recently looked at a study I found very interesting and worth noting.  I thought I would discuss it in our blog and leave it open for you guys to discuss what you think.  In the last few decades the study of criminology and the criminal justice major has faced much scrutiny for being an “easy” major and the fact that so many people take it is because it’s a fall back safety netting because the coursework tends to be simple.  In one of my classes last year I learned about how the criminal justice sciences has become a leading academia in the world of colleges and universities today.  The academic movement started by August Vollmer (below) went to great lengths to try and prove the importance of the studying of criminal justice rather than just the implementation of it.  Those of you who have taken Frank Morn’s cjs 240 class know what I am talking about.  A lot of people assume that the major’s popularity is due to its overall easiness, however I tend to disagree.  College is college and classes aren’t meant to be easy.  People study what they want to pursue and I don’t like the assumption that people are using the major I want to pursue as a plan b, because they couldn’t succeed at math for example.  Personally I think it’s a slap in the face, but hey, what can I do.  I’m not taking criminal justice because it’s easy, I’m taking it because it’s the field I want to pursue.  I imagine that most of you are to whether it’s a major or a minor.


                Anyways ill sum up the study for you guys so you don’t have to read the 20 some pages of it.  It’s not like we don’t already have enough to read in this class anyway. (that was meant to be comedic professor Gizzi).  Basically the study to two groups, one was a group that consisted of all criminal justice majors and the other group was a selection of students in majors ranging from biology to mathematics and some others.  Then everyone was given a test in a standardized form, sort of like an ACT or SAT test with questions focusing on various disciplines that would have been learned at some point in life. To be short, the findings were that overall criminal justice majors scored lower than the non criminal justice majors.  However there were some flaws in this study one most notably being that what they were being tested on was scrutinized for not being an accurate representation of knowledge.  In my opinion I don’t agree with the study for one main reason.  Common sense, because it doesn’t matter what you score on an act type test when it comes to employment.  A police officer doesn’t necessarily have to know what a hypotenuse is in order to run down a fleeing suspect.  Employment in certain fields requires you to know certain things.  Of course a math major will score higher on a math portion that a biology or criminal justice major.  Although this study was done correctly and the answers tend to show what was expected they are highly subjective and arguable to the basis of what it means to be “smarter.”

                At least we criminal justice majors have something in common.  When asked at the end of the study if they thought they were the smarter of the two groups the majority of them said yes.  Nothing wrong with a little confidence!

here's the entire study... 

http://online.sfsu.edu/~jjohnson/GenericTeachingMaterials/StatisticalKnowledgeOfCrimJusticeStudents.pdf

13 comments:

  1. I think CJ is a great field, it draws people who want to make a career out of it. Now, will those people be as "smart" as someone who wants to be a physicist? Perhaps not. I really enjoy my major and the people in it. I think they are morally strong and innovative. I love going to class because its interesting not because its easy.

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  2. I agree with the comment above. People choose criminal justice as a major because they are interested in it, not because its an easy major. And if that is the reason people are choosing it then why are they even going to college anyway? Also, it can be said that criminal justice students wouldn't have skills in math or science like biology students would so a standardize test really shows nothing. I think if I chose math as my major then I probably would do better on those kinds of tests. I think its pretty unfair to say students in a certain major are less smart. They decided to choose that major because it was career they wish to pursue.

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  3. I thought it was interesting to learn that "the criminal justice sciences has become a leading academia in the world of colleges and universities today." As far as people perceiving criminal justice science majors to be less smart, I couldn't care less. I am not only enthusiastic and passionate about being a CJS major, I am proud to be one as well. I completely agree with the two previous statements. Like any other major, we chose ours because it interests us. Just as Hillary said, if I chose a different major that I was just as passionate about, I am confident that I would be doing well.

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  4. I think its kind of ridiculous to say that criminal justice is the "easy"major. Of course there are going to be those times where you get those easy classes that are a breeze but you can say that for any major out there. Personally I don't really know anyone that chose CJS because it was easy, everyone i have talked to has had a passion or curiosity about the field. I also agree with Hilarys post, I have always thought that standardized testing is a poor way to evaluate how smart someone is.

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  5. I feel like there are a lot of people out there that believe that being a criminal justice major is easy, and I completely disagree. While some classes are not very challenging, any major will have that scenario. There is a lot more to criminal justice then shooting a gun and pulling people over for traffic stops. While those things are important, there is so much more to learn that many people do not realize or appreciate until they are taking classes on it. Criminal justice can be applied in so many different ways and in so many different jobs, and I think it is one of the most versatile majors out there.

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  6. I also think its ridiculous to say Criminal Justice is an easy major. Ive taken some difficult classes in this major and am proud to say this is my major. I may agree its not as tough as other majors but its completely different from other majors so its hard to compare it. Im very surprised a study was actually done to try to prove this. I have heard some people confirm this sterotype that criminal justice students have too easy of a major and we dont learn enough. For most people in this major we know we are going into law enforcment and this major helps prepare us.

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  7. I find enjoyment in reading studies about this because ultimately it is not a contest. It comes down to the type of person each individual is. We use our logic in this field, we rely on a lot of instinct and personal choice decisions. Yes we have guidelines and whatnot, but we have more of an influence on our society and communities, whether we are in law enforcement or working within the courtrooms. I agree with the statements that we find our major based on our interests. I feel if someone was not interested in this major, they would not easily succeed at the work involved.

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  8. Like any other major that someone chooses to pursue, they choose it because of their interests and the field that they plan to get a job in once they graduate from college. All majors are going to have their "easy" classes, and criminal justice is no different. However, the majority of classes are no walk in the park and require just as much work as a biology or language class. I think that it's safe to say that many people make fun of criminal justice majors because they assume that we are not as smart as they are - but everyone specializes in their own field. There's no need for us to know all of the intricate details of math or English - depending on what you are planning to do with criminal justice. Of course, some things will relate (such as crime scene reconstruction and physics, for example). Overall, I think that criminal justice is extremely beneficial to everyone who is involved in it. Most majors only teach book smarts - but criminal justice also teaches street smarts.

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  9. People choose CJS major because they are interested in the topic. Maybe they are wanting to get into criminal justice to help stop people from committing crimes. Not everyone who picks CJS major is dumb, in fact most of the people are critical thinkers. I have actually taken some hard CJS classes, one was a criminal law class, it could of just been the teacher but that is normally how it is, some teachers are harder than other ones even when it is the same class.

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  10. It is ridiculous to say that criminal justice is an "easy" major to obtain. I think the criminal justice major is just as hard or difficult as any of the other liberal arts courses. The studies main argument is that people who are criminal justice majors did not do as well as the mathematics and biology majors on a standardized test. If you think about that arguement in its simplest form you can realize the fault almost immediately. Standardized test are largely devised to measure success of mathematics. Obviously a mathematics major will be more successful with it. The interesting thing for me would be watching a mathematics major approach a subject with a weapon or approach a lower social class individual in distress and try to understand his reasoning. Criminal justice is just as easy or hard as any other major, there is some hard teachers and there are some easier teachers. The more you proceed with your education the harder it becomes; however, I would not agree that criminal justice is a easy major to obtain by any means.

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  11. I agree also with all the other responses. I also find it funny that the comments proved the last point to be true. We all do stick up for the major we chose and take offense to the insults directed at our intelligence. Criminal Justice as a profession needs to be utilized to make the world function. Even though the perception is that it is corrupt, it is just blown up by the media. Yes, it does exist, but criminal justice professionals need to be well versed in many more areas I believe. For example, we must know how to write, and write well at that. In addition, we have to have superior communication skills, as virtually every job requires a ton of relationships. Also, i agree with maleigha, that it is so much more than knowing how to shoot a gun! You guys are all awesome and Criminal Justice is where it's at! =]

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  12. I agree 100% with what this blog says. I'm majoring in criminal justice because it's interesting to me and I want a career in the field. I'm not good at math and science, but that is not my excuse for pursuing a criminal justice career. People who claim that criminal justice is an easy major, take some communications classes and tell me how you feel about those. I want to be able to put criminals behind bars not subtract one algebraic equation from another.

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  13. I would like to add that the science of criminal justice is just that A SCIENCE. It makes one think in very different way in order to maybe solve a problem. But to say the criminal justice is easy is a far stretch. Just for myself I have retaken some classes in order to pass the class. Other classes such as theory of criminal justice is so in depth that it may take several time reading all of the information about the theory to understand it. I ould like to think that most people chose their major based on what they want to do in life. I guess I could make a good life as a truck driver too (not saying that truck driving is any easier).

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