key theories – Flashcards

This perspective holds that humans are essentially free-willed, and make decisions in a self-interested, hedonistic way (i.e. the maximisation of pleasure and the avoidance of pain). Several basic principles follow from this idea: if we are all free-willed, we are also equal in our capacity for decision making (whether legitimate or illegitimate); everybody is therefore a potential offender and so punishment must be about the offence rather than the offender. Classicism is a broad perspective on crime, and is not a theory itself. The work of early Classicists such as Cesare Beccaria is now considered outdated. However during the 1980s the growth of a 'New Right/Right Realism' criminology saw the emergence of theories that had strong Classical roots (such as Rational Choice Theory and Routine Activity Theory), through an emphasis on the idea of the 'rational offender'. Key Traditional Theorists: Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham. Key Contemporary Theorists: Clark; Felson & L. Cohen.

The underlying principle of positivism is that social behaviours can be examined, measured and tested scientifically, enabling the most accurate solution to social problems. Positivism holds that there is some 'individual' factor which predisposes a person to criminality, and which makes them fundamentally different from the rest of the population. This factor can be biological (e.g. cranial deformity), psychological (e.g. personality characteristics such as extroversion) or social (e.g. the environment in which an individual lives). Like Classicism, Positivism is best understood as a broad perspective on crime, and is not a theory itself. Most Biological Positivism is now considered outdated and no longer used in modern criminology. Psychological explanations of crime remain popular, and Social Positivism, through the work of the Chicago School, has evolved to include 'structural' and 'social' aspects in their explanations of crime (for example, see social ecology and social control, below). Key Traditional Theorists: Lombroso, Garofalo, Ferri, Sheldon, Freud, Glueck & Glueck. Key Contemporary Theorists: Eysenck, Skinner, Gottfredson & Hirschi.

Social Ecology Theory emerged out of the Chicago School of Criminology, and argued that it is not certain kinds of people who commit crime, but certain kinds of areas (which they saw as kind of eco-systems) that give rise to crime, or at least the opportunity for it. They saw the inner urban areas of the modern city as environments of disorganisation and transition, featuring a breakdown in the usual mechanisms of social control (such as community involvement). Key Theorists: Park, Burgess, Shaw & McKay, Stark.

Here, crime is seen as the result of cultural shifts or upheavals. Durkheim argued that while crime is present to a certain degree in all societies (even the most saintly!), when things change rapidly - as with the Industrial Revolution - crime becomes excessive. This is because people lose their sense of place and the norms and regulations controlling society break down (Durkheim called this state anomie). Robert Merton built upon the idea of anomie to describe the general condition of living under the "American Dream", where there exists a mismatch between the goals that were culturally idealised (wealth, ambition, education) and the means for people to achieve those goals. This mismatch produced strain (frustration) and led people to engage in illegitimate ways of achieving those goals. Key Theorists: Durkheim, Merton, Agnew, Messner & Rosenfeld, Akers.

Social learning theorists argue that people learn to engage in criminal behaviour through interaction with intimate social groups (especially family, but also peers and the media). This learning includes being rewarded/punished for certain behaviours, observing what happened to others for engaging in certain behaviours and in having personal pride in certain behaviours, all of which go to giving some behaviours more meaning and worth than others. Social Learning was a general concept/perspective within criminology that was developed into a specific theory by Akers & Burgess. Social Learning Theory modified Sutherland's Differential Association Theory, espousing 7 key principles (as opposed to 9), and drew upon the psychological concept of reinforcement rather than conditioning. As such, Social Learning Theory is less deterministic than Differential Association, as it gives greater allowance to free will. Social Learning Theory also allows for learning to occur in ways that don't involve direct association and interaction (media, etc). Key Theorists: Akers & Burgess, Akers, Bandura.

This refers to the social processes through which certain individuals and groups name and classify the behaviour of others. Labelling theory argues that innate criminality as such doesn't exist - behaviours only become deviant because they are so labelled. The idea here is that this naming (for example graffiti as 'vandalism' rather than 'art') sets in train a range of social reactions (being charged by police) where future activity is interpreted through the label of vandal, rather than artist (and so requiring ongoing surveillance by police, or being known to police). Key Theorists: Becker, Lemert, Wilkins, Stan Cohen.

Males are given more attention

White collar, corporate crime, hate crime and state crime. Stanley Cohen; Hazel Croall; Frank Pearce; Edwin Sutherland; Steve Tombs; Dave Whyte