CH 3

WHY?????THEORIES OF CRIMINAL

EXISTENCE

Adapted from:Frank Schmalleger’s CRIMINAL JUSTICE TODAY, 9E.PRENTICE HALL,

Education Inc. ©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

EVER WONDER???

“Are people born wicked or is wickedness thrust upon

them?”~Galinda

from Broadway musical Wicked

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Criminologists search for answers toCriminally inspired questions.

Why does a person commit a crime? What causes crime and deviance?

Are people basically good? Why are some people violent and

aggressive? Are people motivated only by self-

interest?

CRIMINOLOGISTS

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A science that studies criminals and seeks to find the cause

of crime and deviant behavior. Crime—violation of the criminal law for which

there is no legal justification.

Deviance—violation of social norms that specify appropriate or proper behavior under a

particular set of circumstances (often includes crime).

CRIMINOLOGY

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Explanations of criminal behavior fall into8 general categories.

1. Classical2. Biological3. Psychobiological4. Psychological5. Sociological6. Social Process7. Conflict8. Emergent

Interdisciplinary, or integrated, theories couldpossibly be a ninth category.

CATEGORIES OF THEORY

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CLASSICAL & NEOCLASSICAL THEORIES

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Basic Assumptions1) Crime is caused by the individual exercise of

“free will.”2) Pain and pleasure are the two central

determinants of human behavior.3) Punishment is sometimes required to deter law

violators.4) Crime prevention = swift and certain

punishment

CHARACTERISTICS

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In 1784, Beccaria published Essays onCrimes and Punishment. Beccaria:

Was considered controversial at the time. Felt punishments should be more humanitarian. Called for the end of physical punishment and the

death penalty. Posited that punishment needs to be:

• Certain• Swift• Severe

Believed that punishment should fit the crime and not be excessive.

CESARE BECCARIA: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

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Concept developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)

People make “free will” decisions to commit crime by weighing of advantages versus disadvantages of action. If advantages outweigh disadvantages, then a person will likely commit crime.

To deter people from committing crime, the punishment/disadvantages need(s) to outweigh the rewards/advantages.

Bentham called this philosophy utilitarianism.

JEREMY BENTHAM’S HEDONISTIC CALCULUS

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Neoclassical criminology is rooted in the classical school. Emphasizes deterrence and retribution Individuals use free will to decide to conform or

commit crime Places greater emphasis on rationality and cognition

than classical criminologists

Examples: Rational choice theory Routine activities theory

THE NEOCLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE

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Rational choice theory = criminality is the result of conscious choice. Individuals commit crime when the benefits

outweigh the costs Lifestyles contribute to the volume and

type of crime found in society Motivated offender + a suitable target - a

capable guardian = Criminal Act

THE NEOCLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

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Basic Assumptions1) Human behavior is genetically determined.2) Basic determinants of human behavior may be

passed from generation to generation.3) Some behavior is the result of mutation in

genetic evolutionary process.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

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FRANZ JOSEPH GALL (1758-1828): PHRENOLOGY

Phrenology, study of the shape of the head and its relationship to human behavior, focused on the head and brain in what Gall called “crainioscopy.” The brain is the organ of the mind. The brain consists of localized faculties or functions.

The shape of the skull reveals underlying development (or lack of development) of areas within the brain.

A personality can be revealed by a study of the skull.

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CESARE LOMBROSO (1835-1909): ATAVISM

Lombroso—the founder of the Positivist School of criminology. In his work, he: borrowed the term “atavism” from the work of Charles Darwin.

“Atavism” implies that people are born criminals

• characterized by features thought to be common in earlier stages of human evolution.

Examples of stigmata: long arms, large lips, crooked nose, large amount of body hair, eyes of different colors, ears lack defined lobes, etc…

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In 1913, Charles Goring and Karl Pearson: compared 3,000 English convicts to army officers found NO significant differences between the two groups using Lombroso’s criteria

In 1939, Ernest Hooten: compared 13,000 male prisoners in 10 states to 3,000 National Guard members, firemen, etc. found some support for Lombroso’s ideas, though his methods may have been flawed

ATAVISM REALLY???

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Is it all in our heads???

In 1877, Richard Dugdale studied the Juke family. Over 75 years, the heirs of Ada Juke included 1,200 persons, mostly social degenerates.

Goddard (1912) studied two lines of the Kallikakfamily.

One line descended from a feebleminded bar maid.

Over half of these descendants were feebleminded. The second line descended from a “virtuous Quaker girl.”

1/3 of these descendants were feebleminded.

CRIMINAL FAMILIES

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Somatotyping— classifying people according to body build.

Mesomorph—predominance of muscle, bone, and connective tissue Ectomorph—thinness, fragility, and delicacy of body Endomorph—soft roundness throughout short tapering limbs, small bones, soft velvety skin

Each body type has a characteristic personality, and mesomorphs were most prone to aggression, violence, and delinquency.

WILLIAM SHELDON (1893 – 1977): SOMATYPES

PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL THEORIES

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Basic AssumptionsFocus is on the relationship of the following tocriminal behavior:1. DNA2. environmental contaminants3. nutrition4. hormones5. physical trauma6. body chemistry in human cognition and

behavior

CHARACTERISTICS OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL THEORIES

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First explored in the 1960s. 1965—Patricia Jacobs discovered “supermales,”

men with an extra “Y” chromosome (XYY). She found that “supermales” were more common in prisons than in the general public.

Other studies found that XYY males were more aggressive than other males and had a number of specific physical and psychological traits.

Later studies disputed many of these findings.

CHROMOSOME THEORY

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Biocriminology attempts to link violent or disruptive behavior to eating habits, vitamin deficiencies, genetics, inheritance, and other conditions which impact body tissues.

For example, some studies have linked crime to: Hypoglycemia Allergic reactions to foods High levels of caffeine and sugar Testosterone levels Low levels of certain neurotransmitters A malfunctioning endocrine system

BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS AND IMBALANCES

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Adoption and twin studies have shown: Children adopted at birth have shown a tendency

toward criminality of biological parents. Identical twins separated at birth indicate that they

exhibit a greater similarity in terms of criminality than do fraternal twins, who exhibit greater similarities than ordinary siblings.

Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) argue thatinherited traits combine with environmentalfactors to produce crime.

HEREDITY AND OTHER PHYSICAL FACTORS

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Psychological Theories

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Basic Assumptions1) The individual is the main unit of analysis.2) Personality is the major motivational

element.3) Crimes result from inappropriately

conditioned behavior.4) Abnormal mental processes may

have a number of causes. Diseased mind Inappropriate learning Improper conditioning

CHARACTERISTICS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

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Behavioral conditioning is a psychologicalprinciple which holds that the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through

reward, punishment, and/or association withother stimuli.

This was popularized through the work of IvanPavlov (1849–1936) whose work with dogs won

him a Nobel Prize.

BEHAVIORAL CONDITIONING

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Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) identified threeelements of the personality:

1. Id2. Ego3. Superego

Psychoanalysis sees personality as a complexcomposite of interacting mental elements.

Crime can result from: A weak superego Sublimation/dislike of one’s mother The death wish

FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS

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Psychopathology studies pathological mentalconditions (mental illness). Psychopath—a person with a personalitydisorder, especially manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior, which is often said to bethe result of a poorly developed superego.

It is possible for the psychopath to inflict pain without appreciation for the victim’s suffering. Psychopathic people are likely to become criminal at some point.

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND CRIME

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Psychosis is another form of mental disorder.

Psychotics are people who are said to be out oftouch with reality. Some psychotics are classified asschizophrenic—people with disordered ordisjointed thinking in which they makeabnormal logical connections between things.

Psychosis can lead to crime.

THE PSYCHOTIC OFFENDER

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Sociological Theories

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Basic Assumptions1) Social groups, social institutions, the

arrangement of society, and social roles are all appropriate for study.

2) Group dynamics, group organization, and subgroup relationships form the causal basis of criminality.

3) The structure of society and the relative degree of social organization or social disorganization are important factors contributing to criminal behavior.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

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In the 1920s, Park and Burgess mapped Chicagobased on the city’s social characteristics. Theydeveloped the Concentric Zone Theory.

Concentric zones are likened to a bull’s eye with the center of the city being the target.

Shaw and McKay related this theory to crime. Crime increased as one moved towards center of the

city, with the highest crime rates in the “zone of transition,” where there was a lot of poverty, illiteracy, lack of schooling, unemployment, and illegitimacy (social disorganization).

Social disorganization leads to crime.

SOCIAL ECOLOGY THEORY

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ANOMIE THEORYEmile Durkheim (1858–1917) introduced the term

anomie (normlessness) in the late 1800s. Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) defined anomie as a

disjuncture between societal goals and legitimatemeans. He developed a typology of adaptations:

Conformist—accepts goals and means (law abiding)Innovator—accepts goals, rejects means (property/white-collar offenses)Retreatest—rejects both goals and means (addiction/victimless crimes)Ritualist—rejects goals, accepts means (repetitive/mundane lifestyle)Rebel—rejects goals and means and substitutes his own goals and means (political crime)

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Cohen (b. 1918)—reaction formation, lower class youth’s rejection of middle class values, leads to the development of gangs and reinforces the subculture.

Miller—Lower class priority concerns of trouble, toughness, excitement, smartness, fate, and autonomy lead to crime.

SUBCULTURAL THEORY

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Cloward and Ohlin proposed that an illegitimate opportunity structure allows delinquent youths to achieve success outside of legitimate ways.

Wolfgang and Ferracuti coined the term “subculture of violence” after examining homicide rates in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Here, violence is a traditional, and often

accepted, method of dispute resolution.

SUBCULTURAL THEORY

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Social Process Theories

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Basic Assumptions They highlight the role played by

weakened self-esteem and the lack of meaningful social roles in crime causation.

Relationship of individual to social group is stressed as underlying cause of behavior.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL PROCESS THEORIES

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Edwin Sutherland (1883-1950), in his thirdedition of Principles of Criminology (1939),viewed crime as a product of socialization.

Crime is learned. It is learned by the same principles that guide learning of law abiding behavior of conformists.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION

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1. Criminal behavior is learned.2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of

communication.3. The principle part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal

groups. 4. When criminal behavior is learned, it includes a) techniques of committing the crime,

and b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.5. The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal

codes as favorable or unfavorable.6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to

violations of the law over definitions unfavorable to violations of the law.7. Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity.8. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and

anticriminal patterns involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning.

9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values since noncriminal behavior is an expression of those same needs and values.

PRINCIPLES OF DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION

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Social Learning Theory:

… a perspective that says people learn how to behave from others whom

they have the opportunity to observe.

SOCIAL PROCESS THEORIES

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Ronald L. Akers and Robert L. Burgess appliedlearning theory constructs to the theory ofdifferential association. Their theory ofdifferential reinforcement is called sociallearning theory.

Primary learning takes place through operant conditioning.

People learn how to behave by modeling themselves after other whom they have the opportunity to observe.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

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Restraint theories focus onConstraints—those forces that keeppeople from committing crimes.

Contrasts other theories that look to why people commit crimes.

RESTRAINT THEORIES

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One restraint theory, offered by Walter Reckless(1899-1988) is containment theory.

Containment—aspects of social bond and personality that prevent individuals fromcommitting crime. There are two types:

1. Outer—elements outside of individual (friends, law, family, social position) control behavior.

2. Inner—those elements psychological in nature (conscience, positive self-image, tolerance) control behavior.

CONTAINMENT THEORY

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Travis Hirschi in Causes of Delinquency (1969)wrote that the stronger one’s social bond theless likely the individual would engage indelinquency.

Elements of the social bond include:1. Attachment (to others)2. Commitment (to appropriate lifestyles)3. Involvement (in conventional values)4. Belief (in correctness of rules of society)

SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY

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In Techniques of Neutralization (1957),Gresham Sykes and David Matza put forth alist of escalating techniques of neutralizationthat allow a person to commit a delinquent act.

The techniques are:1. Denial of responsibility2. Denial of injury3. Denial of victim4. Condemnation of condemners5. Appeal to higher loyalties

TECHNIQUES OF NEUTRALIZATION

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Labeling theory sees continued crime as aconsequence of the limited opportunities foracceptable behavior that follow from the negativeresponses of society for those defined as offenders.

In 1963, Howard Becker suggested that:a. Criminality is not a quality inherent in the act

or the person.b. Crime results from social definition through

law of unacceptable behavior.c. Deviance is “created” by society.

LABELING THEORY

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Social development theories represent anintegrated view of human development that pointsto the process of interaction among and betweenindividuals and society as the root cause ofcriminal behavior.

An example, put forth in 1993 by Sampson andLaub, is the life course perspective. Crime is linkedto turning points in one’s life.

Turning points are transitional periods during which one can either walk toward or away from crime.

THE LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVE

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Conflict Theories

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Conflict perspective: maintains that crime is the natural consequence of economic and other social inequities. Key elements of this perspective are:

1. Society is composed of diverse social groups, and diversity is based upon distinctions which people hold to be significant.

2. Conflict among groups is unavoidable because of differing interests and differing values.

3. The nature of group conflict centers on exercise of political power.

4. Laws are tools of power that further the interests of the lawmakers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFLICT THEORY

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Radical criminology sees crime as produced by theunequal distribution of wealth, power, and otherresources.

Poverty and discrimination leads to frustration and pent-up hostilities expressed through crime.

Karl Marx (1818–1883) assumed lower classesare always exploited by the “owners” of the meansof production.

Working class suffers under the consequences of a “false class consciousness”–the poor are trained to believe that capitalism is in their best interest.

RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY

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Peacemaking criminology holds that crime control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to alleviate social problems and human suffering, and thereby reduce the amount of crime. Rooted in Christian and eastern philosophies. Referred to as “compassionate criminology.” Suggests that social control must also focus on

victims and victimization. Popularized by the work of Richard Quinney

and Hal Pepinsky.

PEACEMAKING CRIMINOLOGY

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Emergent Theories

New and Developing Perspectives

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Feminist criminology emphasizes genderissues in criminology and seeks to developgreater appreciation of the role of women incrime causation, victimization, and crime control.

Rita Simon—Women and Crime (1975) and Freda Adler—Sisters in Crime (1975)

Attempts to explain differences in rates of crime for women and men as due primarily to socialization rather than biology

Kathleen Daly and Meda Chesney-Lind Emphasizes need for a “gender-aware” criminology

Gender—the central organizing principle

FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY

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Constitutive criminology studies the process bywhich people create an ideology of crime thatsustains the notion of crime as a concrete reality.

George Herbert Mead’s symbolic interaction theory William Thomas

An act’s significance depends on the intentions behind it and the situation in which it is interpreted.

Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic People shape their world while also being shaped by it.

CONSTITUTIVE CRIMINOLOGY

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POSTMODERN CRIMINOLOGY

Postmodern criminology includes a wide variety of recent, novel perspectives of crime that build upon the belief that past approaches fail to realistically assess the true causes of crime and provide workable solutions to crime. Examples:

Chaos analysis Discourse analysis Topology theory Critical theory Realist criminology Constitutive theory Anarchic criminology