In the 1700's, criminals were believed to be possessed according to the demonological theory. They were seen as sinful individuals who lacked faith in God. However, Cesare Beccaria introduced a different perspective in the late 18th century with his free will theory, also known as the classical school of thought. Beccaria argued that criminals acted out of their own free will and found some form of benefit or pleasure from their crimes. He proposed that by enforcing severe and proportional punishment, it would be possible to decrease the crime rate.
Late 1800's - Cesare Lombroso (activist theory) - He believed that criminal behavior was inherent in certain individuals, attributing it to genetic factors like physical features including hair or head shape, etc.
Late 1800's - Richard Dugdale and Henry Goddard (family-type theory) - They proposed that criminal behavior was hereditary and could be traced through bloodlines, conduct
...ing studies on specific families.
Early 1900's - Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytic theory) - Contrary to biological explanations, Freud believed that criminal behavior had psychological roots rather than being genetically determined.
During the early 1900s to 1940s, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay introduced the social disorganization theory. According to this theory, criminal behavior was believed to be a result of inadequate parental upbringing during individuals' formative years. They posited that the specific geographical location where people lived played a significant role in their likelihood of engaging in criminal activities, with certain areas having higher concentrations of criminals.
Later on, in the late 1930s, Robert Merton and Albert Cohen presented the strain theory as an alternative perspective. They argued that criminal behavior was a response to societal structures prevalent in American society. Instead of attributing i
solely to social disorganization, they proposed that pressures from society to conform and meet certain expectations were more likely factors leading individuals towards criminal acts.
In contrast, William Sheldon offered a different viewpoint in 1949 with his body-type theory. Sheldon suggested that individuals who possessed strong and large bone structures had a greater predisposition towards becoming criminals compared to those who were soft, round or tall and thin.
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