Theory Essay Examples

Travis Hirschi’s Social Control Theory belongs to both the positivist and Neo-classical schools of criminology. The theory aims to objectively measure and qualify criminal behavior. Originally aligned with the classical school, it later shifted to right realism. The theory proposes that building self-control through socialization and social learning can reduce the likelihood of engaging in […]

The theory of social disorganization in criminology, as described in the book ‘Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy’ by Gennaro and others, seeks to elucidate the causes of crime within society. Those who advocate for this theory suggest that ecological factors are associated with crime rates and that regions containing more temporary residents and commercial establishments […]

Social Exchange theory is based on the give (cost) and take (reward-profit) in a relationship. It was originated from theorists Thibault and Kelly around the early 1950’s. Its premise is it gauges a person’s perception of the balance that exists in a relationship. We consider what we put into the relationship, such as effort, energy, […]

Humans are always in a quest to improve and develop their lives. This is clearly evident as man constantly reforms the areas of education, health care, labor, criminal justice, and social care among many others. The effort to advance such fields is part of the discipline referred to as social policy. The book Social Policy […]

In criminology, social theories aim to explain why individuals engage in criminal behavior. It is essential to comprehend the causes of crime and disorder to reduce criminal activity and delinquency within our communities. Despite having similar goals and characteristics, social theories in criminology may exhibit inconsistencies and contradictions. By examining and comparing these theories, their […]

Societies typically set up clear boundaries for acceptable behavior, in order to maintain some degree of unity within the group. Although some behaviors that fall outside the norm might pass without comment, some groups deviate significantly from the norm, forming sub-cultures. In many cases, sub-cultures that deviate significantly are looked upon with suspicion. Polygamy is […]

Over the last three decades, the social sciences have witnessed a number of exciting theoretical developments. Regrettably, the sociology of education has not always reflected these new developments, preferring instead to restrict its reading of social life to a truncated theoretical framework and epistemological parochialism. Social theory and education strands as an important exception to […]

The film American History X is a film about crime fueled by racism. The crime was committed by a man named Derek Vinyard, a white supremacist. He murdered two black gang members after they attempted to steal his truck. If we look closely at the case of Derek Vinyard, we can see that the crime […]

From the manner of the societal asymmetry and various societal dimensions characterizing the contemporary U. S, it’s logical to argue that the same has been contributed by various sociological factors. Structural functionalism theory tries to elaborate how various social functions within different paradigms of social systems function in response to these systems. Like a social […]

In the field of attention research, the spotlight theory is a prominent theory that attempts to explain the shift of visual attention. The basic thesis is that attention is similar to a movable spotlight that is intended towards its target, focusing on each target in a serial manner. When information is shining in the spotlight, […]

Human beings lived in bands or villages for the first 2 million years of their existence. It was not until about 5,000 BC that these settlements started to merge into larger political units. The process of amalgamation continued at a progressively faster pace, resulting in the formation of the first state in history at around […]

The issue of student retention is a long-standing one. In fact, theories abound when it comes to determining the factors that account for retention in college students. Two related articles are reviewed in this paper: Hutto’s “A Critical Review of the Literature on Student Services and Retention”, and Astin’s “Student Development: A Developmental Theory for […]

Aristotle’s mentor, Plato (385 BC), reacted to the unjust rule of Athenian culture, first defining rhetoric in negative terms as a dangerous orm of flattery and the persuasion of uneducated mobs of people in courts and assemblies.Aristotle re-defined rhetoric in positive terms as the ability to identify the appropriate means of persuasion in any given […]

(a) For the Hierarchy-of-needs Theory, Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of needs. Physiological Needs These are biological needs which are the strongest. Since this is the basic level for human being to survive and search for satisfaction before we move up to second level. In this level, money plays a significant […]

The theorist that I resonated the most with was Viktor Frankl. Reading Frankl’s biographical influences on his theory really inspired me. Through all the horrific struggles, Frankl never lost hope. He always had a good head on his shoulders and the right mindset. Frankl’s theories developed after surviving the Holocaust, believing that “those who had a […]

The topic of achieving development has become widely discussed in the field, but the idea of ‘development’ itself has also undergone significant changes and faced important issues. There is ongoing debate and struggle among different perspectives and theories in defining and applying the concept of development, particularly in developing nations. Remenyi (in Kingsbury, 2004) notes […]

Bottom-up theories hypothesize that learning to read progresses from children learning the parts of language (letters) to understanding whole text (meaning). Much like solving a jigsaw puzzle, bottom-up models of the reading process say that the reading puzzle is solved by beginning with an examination of each piece of the puzzle and then putting pieces […]

Due to the prevalence of global climate change, there have been many scientific studies and expert presentations on its severe impact in modern society. However, there are those who have responded positively by advocating for the issue and making lifestyle changes or sharing newfound information. This highlights how providing accessible data and research can bring […]

According to Forster’s theory, there are 5 main aspects of a good setting; and the intellectual aspects are one of them. Wayson Choy clearly demonstrates this in the Jade Peony by showing the character’s constant indulgence of learning, schooling, and writing.In the first part of the novel, Wayson Choy tells us, through the eyes of […]

Peet Conflict theory originated with the work of Karl Marx In the mid 1800. Marx understood human society in terms of conflict between social classes, most notably the conflict in capitalist societies between the Bourgeois; those who owned the means. such as factories or farms, and the proletariat; those who did the work on the […]

Dependency Theory developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the Director of the united Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Raul Prebisch. Prebisch and his colleagues were troubled by the fact that economic growth in the advanced industrialized countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. Indeed, their studies suggested […]

Freud, regarded as the father of psychology, posited that human behavior stems from unconscious conflict residing deep within individuals’ minds (Nystul, M.). Jung’s theory, which developed from Freud’s psychoanalytic approach in 2005, differed from Freud’s key points and placed even more emphasis on the unconscious. Freud and Jung were the main figures in the psychoanalytic […]