Third-year Ella Vance spent the summer working with Penn Carey Law’s Paul Robinson exploring the potential roots of crime, including addiction and poverty. Her 10-week opportunity was supported by the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program.
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Ella Vance says her psychology and criminology double-major meshes well with Paul Robinson’s research on the root causes of crime. Her summer work was supported by the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program.
The roots of crime are varied and complex. The study of its causes span psychology, sociology, criminology, and more.
This summer, Ella Vance, a third-year majoring in psychology and criminology, explored the topic alongside Paul H. Robinson, Colin S. Diver Professor of Law at Penn Carey Law, and other researchers from the law school.
It’s a direct application of her double major, she says. “I think the human mind and human behavior can’t be separated,” says Vance, who is aiming for law school. “It’s really the detail of it all, getting to know the nuances of human behavior and how that intersects with the law.”
Their research delves into specific root causes of crime, addressing issues such as addiction, mental health, and poverty. Vance’s effort included searching for literature reviews, scouring meta-analyses, and reading scholarly articles for insights, and then drafting them into memo form with details on the possible solutions or treatments.
Vance says studying the existing research has turned up countless nuances and debates with no “one clear-cut answer” to the core questions. “There are almost always limitations to the finding, or scholars will disagree and go back and forth. If there were easy answers, there would be a lot less crime in the world,” she says. “We are attempting to summarize everything that helps evaluate the best solutions.”
Robinson engaged Vance in the research in preparation for his seminar Criminal Law Theory at Penn Carey Law, which is also open to select undergraduates. Each summer, he works with several students to conduct research which is often eventually turned into a law review article or book. The undergraduate researchers “get in on the ground floor,” and some have taken the course after helping with the project, Robinson says.
Vance says the most valuable part of the project has been being able to tap into Robinson’s expertise. “Having someone to bounce ideas off of and be able to talk openly and freely about anything that was on my mind regarding the project was really a treasure,” she says.
Robinson, who has been teaching for 50 years, says Vance was “an absolute star” who stood out at every point along the way. Vance was smart, embraced the experience, and has “wonderful work habits. She’ll just bear down until she’s figured it out.”
Vance says she would recommend to other students not to take the researcher-student relationship for granted. “You should be curious and inquisitive, asking questions—even if you don’t think they’re as profound as what your professor would come up with,” she says. “That’s the whole point. You’re supposed to be learning from them.”
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