You are on page 1of 7

CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES

CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION


2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
THEORIES ON CRIME CAUSATION
Prepared by: Prof. Karolina Erika A. Buted, RCrim

CRIME
1. Legal definition Crime:
 it is defined as the act or omission in violation of public law forbidding or commanding its performance

2. General definition Crime:


 It refers to any violation or infraction of the existing policies, laws, rules and regulations of the society or the standard norms of the society.
Why should members of society be interested in crimes?
1. Crime is pervasive
2. Crime is expensive
3. Crime is Destructive 4. Crime is Reflective
5. Crime is Progressive

CRIMINAL
On the basis of the definition of crime, a criminal may be defined in three ways:
1. Legal definition
A criminal is a person who has committed a crime and has been convicted of final judgment by a competent court.

2. Sociological Definition
A criminal is a person who violated a social norm or one who acted an anti-social act.

3. Psychological definition
A criminal is one who violated rules of conduct due to behavioral maladjustment.

FUNDAMENTAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS IN CRIMINOLOGY


Classical Theory. This theory posits that human behavior as rational and assumes that people have the ability to choose right from wrong. It
explains that crime is a product of believes that benefits of committing crimes are far greater therefore crime is a behavioral human characteristic
and a choice. Proponents: Cesare Beccaria, Italian Criminologist, Jeremy Bentham, from England Principles Underlying this theory.
• Viewed human behavior as essentially rational in nature;
• Felt that people had the ability to choose right from wrong;
• Believed that the major element governing a person’s choice of action was the basic human desire to obtain pleasure and avoid pain.

Utilitarianism. The doctrine that the purpose of all actions should bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. It means
that human beings are hedonistic (pleasure seeking) and act only in their own self-interest.
Felicitous calculus, or moral calculus. Used for estimating the probability that a person will engage in a particular kind of behavior. People weigh
the possibility that a particular behavior pattern or action will cause current or future pleasure against the possibility that it will cause current or
future pain.
Deterrence theory. Highlights that an individual’s choice to commit or not to commit a crime is influenced by the fear of punishment. it also includes
the idea that forced retribution for a crime should reduce crime rates. This theory is considered an extension of the classical approach focusing on
the link between punishment and behavior at both individual and group levels.
• Deterrence. The act of preventing a criminal act before it occurs, through the threat of punishment and sanctions.
• Retribution. The notion that a wrongdoer should be forced to pay back or compensate for his or her criminal actions.

Neo Classical Theory.


• It suggests the understanding of individual differences of the perpetrators who should have an impact on the level of guilt and severity of
punishment.
• Consequently, not all perpetrators should be treated in the same manner, because the evident differences exist among them.
• Crime is a result of many conditions that have ultimately influenced on the perpetrators to commit it. (Proponent: Gabriel Tarde, a French
Sociologist, founder of neo classical and published the book “penal philosophy, 1890).

Positivist Theory.
• Positivism emphasizes the techniques of observation, the comparative method, and experimentation in the development of knowledge
concerning human behavior and the nature of society.
• It is also stressed the idea that much of our behavior is a function of external forces such as our mental capabilities and biological makeup.
• This theory further argued that human behavior is pre-disposed and fully determined by individual differences and biological traits meaning
it is not freewill that drives people to commit crimes.

Atavism. Is from the latin word atavus means ancestor, claimed a return to a primitive or subhuman type of man, characterized physically by a
variety of inferior morphological features reminiscent of apes and lower primates, occurring in the more simian fossil men and to some extent,
preserved in modern “savages”.

Five-Fold Scientific Classification of Criminals (Proponent Enrico Ferri)


• Born or instinctive criminal. One who carries from birth, through unfortunate heredity from his ancestors, a reduced resistance to
criminal stimuli and also an evident and developed tendency to crime.
• Insane criminal. Affected by clinically identified mental disease or by a neuropsychopathic condition which groups him with the mentally
disease.
• Passionate criminal. One who, in two varieties, the criminal through passion or through emotion, represents a type at the opposite pole
from the criminal due to congenital tendencies.
• Occasional criminal. one who constitutes the majority of lawbreakers and is the product of family and social milieu more than of abnormal
personal physiomental conditions.

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
• Habitual criminal. the criminal by acquired habit, who is mostly a product of the social environment in which, due to abandonment by
his family, lack of education, poverty, bad companions, already in his childhood begins as an occasional offender.

Four types of Criminals on the Basis of Moral Deficits (Proponent Raffaele Garofalo).
• Murderer. The man in whom altruism is wholly lacking and whose sentiments of both pity and probity are absent, and such a criminal
will steal or kill as the occasion arises.
• Lascivious criminal. a group of sexual offenders whose conduct is characterized less by the absence of the sentiment of pity than by a
low level of moral energy and deficient moral perception.
• Violent Criminal. Those characterized by the lack of pity (may also commit crimes of passion, sometimes under the influence of alcohol;
such crimes are indicative of inferior innate moral capacities; certain environments contribute to crimes against property).
• Thief. Those thieves who lacks probity (such offenses are committed by a small minority of the population).

THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION THEORY


• A theory is a statement that explains the relationship between abstract concepts in a meaningful way. (Freda Adler (1983)
• Theory serves as a model or framework for understanding human behavior and the forces that form it.

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES
Biological theories of crime asserted a linkage between certain biological conditions and an increased tendency to engage in criminal
behavior.

SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY seeks to explain community differences in crime rates.

Crime is said to be more likely in communities that are economically deprived, large in size, high in multiunit housing like apartments, high in
residential mobility (people frequently move into and out of the community), and high in family disruption (high rates of divorce, single-parent
families).

Characteristics of Communities where crime is more likely to happen: a. economically deprived


b. large in size
c. high in multiunit housing like apartments
d. high in residential mobility (people frequently move into and out of the community)
e. high in family disruption (high rates of divorce, single-parent families)

BIOSOCIAL THEORY
• Viewed that both thought and behavior have biological and social bases.
• Biosocial theorist believe that it is the interaction between predisposition and environment that produces criminality.
• Personal Characteristics (Biochemical makeup, Genetic Code, Neurological Condition).
• Social Environment Influences Behavior (Parents, peers, schools and neighborhood).
Traits + Environment = Human behavior: Conformity or Crime.

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
• Behavior patterns are inherited, impulsive behavior becomes intergenerational, passed down from parents to children.
• Some of these traits make people aggressive and predisposed to commit crime.

Eg. Jukes Family and Kalikkak Family

AROUSAL THEORY

CORE CONCEPT: This theory states that an individual's level of arousal works in conjunction with the social environment. Those with low levels of
arousal are less likely to learn appropriate ways to deal with aggression and violence and thus are more prone to commit crime.

LIFE COURSE THEORY


“As people go through the life course, social and personal traits undergo change and influence behavior.”
• Life course theories emphasize the influence of changing interpersonal and structural factors (that is, people change along with the world
they live in).
• Explains why some at-risk children desist from crime

LATENT TRAIT THEORY


Master trait controls human development.
• Latent trait theorists believe that human development is controlled by a “master trait” that guides human development and gives some
people an increased propensity to commit crime.
• Explains the continuity of crime and chronic offending.

SOMATOTYPING THEORY
A theory which associates body physique to behavior and criminality.

ERNST KRETSCHMER
• Asthenic- These people have a thin-shouldered body, are tall, with a narrow chest, elongated face and nose and domed skull.
They have an introverted personality, with adaptation difficulties. They are sentimental, speculative individuals with an interest in
art.
• Athletic- Have a strong body both in the musculature and in the bones. They are more energetic and aggressive. Due to their
robustness, they are strong, determined, adventurous and stand out for being quite passionate and sentimental, but also brute. They
are impulsive and prone to epilepsy.

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
• Pyknic- These are people, who are short in size but very robust, have a rounded body, with voluminous and greasy viscera. They
can be bald, with little muscular development. They are intelligent people, with a cheerful and jovial character. They present
oscillations in their mood, as they can go from being very excited and happy to sad and down. They are inconsistent in their activities,
and can be both optimistic and pessimistic. These people are more prone to bipolar disorder.
• Dysplastic- These individuals have a disproportionate body and do not fall into any of the previous categories. At a
psychological level, these subjects do not have a defined character, but within this group it is possible to find people with a weak or
schizoid character.

WILLIAM SHELDON
• Ectomorph, characterized by a thin, wiry frame.
• Endomorph, heavy and rounded.
• Mesomorph, with a solid, muscular frame.

PHYSIOGNOMY
PROPONENT: Giambattista della Porta – Founded the school of physiognomy.
Core Concept: Physiognomy deals with the study of facial features and their relation to human behavior. “a thief had large lips and
sharp vision”
PHRENOLOGY
• also referred to as crainology, is a theory of human behavior based upon the belief that an individual's character and mental faculties
correlate with the shape of their head.

NATURE THEORY CORE CONCEPT:


• Holds that low intelligence is genetically determined and inherited.
• This was supported by Henry H. Goddard in his studies in 1920 that many institutionalized people were what he considered "feebleminded"
and concluded that at least half of all juvenile delinquents were mentally defectives

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY CORE CONCEPT


• Has its roots in the classical school of criminology.
• Holds that person will engage in criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of his/her actions. Criminal behavior is
a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives that the chances of gain outweigh any possible punishment or loss.

ROUTINE ACTIVITY THEORY


PROPONENT: Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson
CORE CONCEPT
• Crime rates can be explained by the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated
offenders.
• It shows how victim behavior can influence criminal opportunity, and it suggests that victimization risk can be reduced by increasing
guardianship and/or reducing target vulnerability.
▪ The availability of suitable targets, such as homes containing easily available goods;
▪ The absence of capable guardians, such as police, home owners, neighbors, friends, and relatives;
▪ The presence of motivated offenders, such as a large number of unemployed teenagers.

LIFESTYLE THEORY CORE CONCEPT:


Victimization risk is increased when people have a high-risk lifestyle. Placing oneself at risk by going out to dangerous places results in increased
victimization. GENERAL DETERRENCE THEORY CORE CONCEPT:
▪ Aimed at making potential criminals fear the consequences of crime. The threat of punishment is meant to convince
rational criminals that crime does not pay.
▪ It focuses on potential offenders and that these offenders must receive punishment in severe, swift and certain ways.
It is also manifesting societal deterrence which aimed to target would-be offenders.

▪ SPECIFIC DETERRENCE THEORY

Punishing known criminals so severely that they will never be tempted to repeat their offenses. If crime is rational, then painful punishment
should reduce its future allure.

VICTIM PRECIPITATION THEORY


▪ Victims trigger criminal acts by their provocative behavior and actually initiate the confrontation that may eventually leads to their
injury or death.
▪ Victim precipitation can be either active or passive:
▪ Active precipitation involves fighting words or gestures.
▪ Passive precipitation occurs when victims unknowingly threaten their attacker

INCAPACITATION THEORY
▪ Stands to reason that if more criminals are sent to prison or keeping known offender out of circulation the crime rate should go down.
▪ This theory supported the idea of imprisoning the criminals.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES
Expressed the criminal behavior, was the product of "unconscious" forces operating within a person's mind.

PSYCHODYNAMIC OR PSYCHONALYTIC THEORY PROPONENT: SIGMUND


FREUD CORE CONCEPT:
▪ This theory holds that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes developed in early childhood. It
argues that human personality contains three major components, namely: id, ego and superego.

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
▪ Id- dictates the needs and desires (it operates under pleasure principle)
▪ Superego - counteracts the id by fostering feelings of morality (morality principle).
It is divided into two (2) parts: conscience (wrong) and ego idea (right).
▪ Ego - evaluates the reality of a position of these two extremes (reality principl

PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT


▪ The most basic human drive present at birth is eros, the instinct to preserve and create life.
▪ Eros is expressed sexually.
STAGE AGES FOCUS LIBIDO MAJOR ADULT FIXATION
DEVELOPMENT EXAMPLE

Oral 0 to 1 Mouth, Tongue, Weaning off of breast Smoking/Overeating


Lips feeding or formula

Anal 1 to 3 Anus Toilet Training Orderliness, Messiness

Phallic 3 to 6 Genitals Resolving Deviancy, Sexual


Oedipus/Electra Dysfunction
Complex

Latency 6 to 12 None Developing None


Defense
Mechanisms

Genital 12+ Genitals Reaching full If all stages were successfully


Sexual Maturity completed then the person
should be sexually
matured and
mentally healthy.

BEHAVIORAL THEORY
PROPONENT: John B. Watson; Burrhus Frederic Skinner
CORE CONCEPT
▪ People alter their behavior according to the reactions it receives from others. Behavior is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative
reactions or punishments.
▪ Behavioral theory is quite complex with many different subareas. With respect to criminal activity, the behaviorist views crimes, especially
violent acts, as learned responses to life situations that do not necessarily represent psychologically abnormal responses.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY PROPONENT: ALBERT BANDURA


CORE CONCEPT:
▪ People are not actually born with the ability to act violently, but that they learn to be aggressive through their life experiences.
▪ These experiences include personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being rewarded for
violent acts on television or in movies.
▪ People learn to act aggressively when, as children, they model their behavior after the violent acts of adults. Later in life, these violent
behavior patterns persist in social relationships.

COGNITIVE THEORY
▪ Studies the perception of reality and the mental process required to understand the world we live.
▪ It focuses on mental processes- the way people perceive and mentally represents the world around them.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY


PROPONENT : LAWRENCE A. KOHLBERG
▪ Expanded Piaget's theory of cognitive development and applied the concept of development stages to issues in criminology. He suggested
that people travel through stages of moral development and that it is possible that serious offenders have a moral orientation that differs
from those law-abiding citizens.
▪ This theory suggests that people who obey the law simply to avoid punishment or who have outlooks mainly characterized by self-interest
are more likely to commit crimes than those who view the law as something that benefits all of society and who honor the rights of others.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION THEORY CORE CONCEPT


▪ states that criminal and antisocial parents tend to have delinquent and antisocial children
▪ refers to the socialization and social learning that helps to explain the ways in which children growing up in a violent family learn violent
roles and, subsequently, may play out the roles of victim or victimizer in their own adult families as adults.

ALTERNATIVE THEORY CORE CONCEPT


▪ "Opposite charges attract."
▪ Focuses on assortative mating where female offenders tend to cohabit with or get married to male offenders

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
▪ SOCIAL HOMOGAMY- where convicted people tend to choose each other as mates because of physical and social proximity.
▪ PHENOTYPIC ASSORTMENT- where people examine each other's personality and behavior and choose partners who are similar to
themselves.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION-REINFORCEMENT THEORY


PROPONENT: Ernest W. Burgess and Ronald L. Akers
CORE CONCEPT
• Combined Bandura's Social Learning Theory and Sutherland's Theory of Differential Association.
• This theory suggests that (1) the presence of criminal behavior depends on whether or not it is rewarded or punished and (2) the most
meaningful rewards and punishment are those given by groups that are important in an individuals' life i.e. the peer group, the family,
teachers in school, etc.

EYSENCK’S CONDITIONING THEORY


PROPONENT: Hans J. Eysenck CORE CONCEPT
• Claims that all human personalities may be seen in three dimensions such as psychoticism, extroversion and neuroticism.
• Those who score high on measures of psychoticism are aggressive, egocentric, and impulsive.
• Those who score high on measures of extroversion are sensation-seeking, dominant, and assertive.
• Those who score high on measures of neuroticism may be described as having low self-esteem, excessive anxiety and wide mood swings.

INTEGRATED THEORY
PROPONENT: James Q. Wilson and Richard Julius Herrnstein
CORE CONCEPT
• Genes and environment are factors for some individuals to form the kind of personality that is likely to commit crimes.
• They stated that the factors that could push the individuals to commit crimes are intelligent quotient (IQ), body build, gene tic makeup,
impulsiveness, ability to delay gratification, aggressiveness, and even those with mothers who drink and smoke while pregnant.
• Lastly, they also argued that if reward (such as money) is greater than the expected punishment (small fine), there is an increased likelihood
that a crime will be committed.

MATERNAL DEPRIVATION THEORY AND ATTACHMENT THEORY PROPONENT: JOHN BOWLBY CORE CONCEPT
• Bowlby emphasized that the most important phenomenon to social development takes place after the birth of any mammal and that is the
construction of an emotional bond between the infant and his mother.
• When a child is separated from the mother or is rejected by her, anxious attachment results. Anxious attachment affects the capacity to
be affectionate and to develop intimate relationships with others. Habitual criminals, it is claimed, typically have an inability to form bonds
of affection

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORY-suggest that social and economic forces operating in deteriorated lower-class areas push many of their residents
into criminal behavior pattens.
Three branches:
▪ Social Disorganization Theory
▪ Strain Theory
▪ Cultural Deviance Theory

SOCIAL PROCESS THEORY - which hold that criminality is a function of individual socialization.
Three branches:
▪ Social Learning Theory
▪ Social Control Theory
▪ Social Reaction Theory

SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY


PROPONENT: Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. Mckay
CORE CONCEPT
• Views crime ridden neighborhoods as those in which residents are trying to leave at the earliest opportunity.
• Primary causes of criminal behavior were neighborhood disintegration and slum conditions, places which they called transitional
neighborhoods or places ridden by poverty. Such places also suffer high rates of population turnover and are incapable of inducing
residents to remain failing to defend the neighborhoods against criminal groups.

CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY


PROPONENT: Ernest W. Burgess and Robert E. Park
CORE CONCEPT
Even though crime rates changed, they found that the highest rates were always in the central city and transitional areas The Five Concentric
Zones
▪ Zone I (Central Business District): It is where hotels, offices, businesses, other commercial activities) are in;
▪ Zone II (Zone of Transition): It is also known as Gray zone. It has the tendency to have conversion of land uses. Immediately adjacent to
the CBD, it is an area that may be slated for expansion if the business is good. In this zone land and properties are held for speculation
purposes;
▪ Zone III (Lower Income working People): It is where homes or the slums are;
▪ Zone IV High Income Residences: It is where white collar or middle class families reside. Zone V
(Commuter Zone): It is referring to the suburbs where people who work in the center choose to live.

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
ANOMIE THEORY
PROPONENT: David Emile Durkheim
CORE CONCEPT
• "anomie", which derived from the Greek a nomos which means without norms.
• Durkheim maintains that crimes are not only normal for society but are necessary. Without crime there could be no evolution in law.
• An anomic society is one in which rules of behavior (norms) have broken down or become inoperative during periods of rapid social change
or social crisis such as war or famine.
• Anomie most likely occurs in societies that are moving forward from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity.
▪ Mechanical solidarity is defined as a characteristic from pre-industrial society, which is held together by traditions, shared
values, and unquestioned beliefs.
▪ Organic solidarity refers to the post-industrial system of society in which the place is highly developed and dependent upon the
division of labor and people are connected by their interdependent needs for each other's services and production.

STRAIN THEORY
PROPONENT: Robert K. Merton
CORE CONCEPT
“Goal-meanblockage”
• Crime is a function of the conflict between the goals people have and the means they can use to legally obtain that goals. Consequently, those
who failed to attain their goals because of inadequate means would feel anger, frustration, and resentment, which are referred to as strain
and that those people who are in strain or pressure may develop criminal or delinquent solutions to the problem of attaining goals.

RELATIVE DEPRIVATION THEORY


PROPONENT: Judith R. Blau and Peter M. Blau
CORE CONCEPT
• A sharp division between the rich and the poor creates an atmosphere of envy and mistrust. Criminal motivation is fueled both by perceived
humiliation and the perceived right to humiliate a victim in return.
• Accordingly, lower-class people might feel both deprived and embittered when they compare their life circumstances to those of the more
affluent.
• The constant frustration suffered by the deprived individuals because of their economic status may lead to aggression and hostility and,
may result to violence and crime.

GENERAL STRAIN THEORY PROPONENT: Robert Agnew CORE CONCEPT


• Criminality is the direct result of negative affective states - the anger, frustration, depression, disappointment, and other adverse emotions
that derive from strain.

CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY


• This theory combines the effects of social disorganization and strain to explain how people living in deteriorated neighborhoods react to
social isolation and economic deprivation.
• According to this view, because of strain and social isolation, a unique lower-class culture develops in disorganized neighborhoods. These
independent subcultures maintain a unique set of values and beliefs that are in conflict with conventional social norms.
• Criminal behavior is an expression of conformity to lower-class subcultural values and traditions and not a rebellion from
conventional society.
• Cultural Transmission-handed down from one generation to the next in a process.

DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THEORY CORE CONCEPT


▪ This theory is a combination of strain and disorganization principles into a portrayal of a gang- sustaining criminal subculture. The main
concept of this theory states that people in all strata of society share the same success goals but those in the lower-class have limited
means of achieving them.

THREE TYPES OF GANGS


▪ Criminal Gangs - Exist in stable lower-class areas in which close connections among adolescent, young adult, and adult offenders create
an environment for successful criminal enterprise such as joining gang.
▪ Conflict Gang: Thrive in highly disorganized areas marked by temporary residents and physical deterioration. Members of the conflict
gang are tough adolescents who fight with weapons to win respect from rivals and engage in destructive assaults on people and property.
They are willing to fight to protect their own and their gang's integrity and honor
▪ Retreatist Gang- double failures because they are unable to gain success through legitimate means and unwilling to do so through illegal
ones. They have tried crime or violence but are either too weak or scared to be accepted in criminal or violent gangs.

NEUTRALIZATION THEORY
PROPONENT: David C. Matza and Gresham Sykes
CORE CONCEPT
▪ They viewed the process of becoming a criminal as a learning experience in which potential delinquents and criminals master techniques
that enable them to counterbalance or neutralize conventional values and drift back and forth between illegitimate and conventional
behavior.
▪ Drift-refers to the movement from one extreme of behavior to another, resulting in behavior that is sometimes unconventional, free, or
deviant, and at other times constraint and sober

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY


PROPONENT: Edwin Stutherland
CORE CONCEPT
▪ Criminal behavior is learned, it is not inherited.
▪ Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication ▪ Behavior of an individual is influenced
and shaped by other individuals they associate with.

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.
CHAPS ONLINE TUTORIAL SERVICES
CRIMINOLOGY ● PENOLOGY OFFICER EXAMINATION ● FIRE OFFICER EXAMINATION
2780 Adriano St., Brgy. 182, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, Philippines 1012
Globe Contact no. (0926) – 056 – 8167; Email Address: noliboyingcad@gmail.com
CONTAINMENT THEORY PROPONENT: Walter C. Reckless CORE CONCEPT
▪ Assumes that for every individual, there exists a containing external structure and a protective internal structure, both of which provide
defense, protection, or insulation against delinquency.
▪ Outer containment or the structural buffer that holds the person in bounds, can be found in the following components (Adler et al.,
2010): a role that provides a guide for a person's activities a set of reasonable limits and responsibilities an opportunity for the individual
to achieve status a sense of belonging identification with one or more persons within the group
▪ Inner containment," or personal control, is ensured by: a good self-concept self-control a strong ego a well-developed conscience a high
sense of responsibility.

SOCIAL BOND THEORY PROPONENT: Travis W. Hirschi CORE CONCEPT


▪ He assumes that all individuals are potential law violators, but they are kept under control because they fear that illegal behavior will
damage their relationships with friends, parents, neifhbore, teachers, and employers. Without these social ties or bonds, and in the
absence of sensitivity to and interest in others, a person is free to commit criminal acts.
▪ FOUR ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL BOND (B-I-A-C) ▪ Belief ▪ Involvement ▪ Attachment ▪ Commitment LABELING
THEORY

PROPONENT: Howard S. Becker CORE CONCEPT


▪ Society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate (label) certain individuals as delinquent, thereby
stigmatizing a person and encouraging them to accept this negative personal identity.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DEVIANCE


PROPONENT: Edwin M. Lemert
CORE CONCEPT
▪ Primary deviance involves norm violations or crimes that have very little influence on the actor and can be quickly forgotten
▪ Secondary deviance occurs when a deviant event comes to the attention of significant others or social control agents who apply a negative
label. The newly labeled offender then reorganizes his or her behavior and personality around the consequences of the deviant act.

CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY


This theory signifies that conformity to the prevailing cultural norms of lower class society causes crime. Lower class subculture has a
unique set of values and beliefs, which are invariably in conflict with conventional social norms. Criminality is an expression of conformity
to lower class subcultural values. Members of the working class commit crimes as they respond to the cultural norms of their own class
in an effort to deal with problems of social-middle class adjustment.

DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THEORY


That is the gist of differential opportunity theory, which is the idea that people (usually teens) from low socioeconomic backgrounds who
have few opportunities for success, will use any means at their disposal to achieve success. The means are generally referred to as
subcultures.

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY


This theory states that individuals use their self-interests to make choices that will provide them with the greatest benefit. People weigh
their options and make the choice they think will serve them best.

THEORY OF IMITATION
Tarde devised a theory of "imitation and suggestion," through which he tried to explain criminal behavior. He believed that the origins of
deviance were similar to the origins of fads and fashions, and that his “three laws of imitation” can explain why people engage in crime.

DIFFERENTIAL IDENTIFICATION THEORY


The theory of differential identification views the individual as a more active, voluntary participant in the criminal learning process. The
key question in explaining criminal behavior, according to Glaser, is with whom does the individual subjectively choose to identify,
criminals or noncriminals.
ECONOMIC THEORIES
economists argue that crime is a result of individuals’ making choices between using their scarce resources of time and effort in legitimate
or in illegitimate activities. A key assumption is that when making these choices, individuals are rational and choose the best option based
on the available information and resources

CAPITALIST THEORY
Marxists argue that the economic system of capitalism itself causes crime. The whole system is based on the exploitation of the working
class by the ruling class, leading to the ever-increasing wealth of one class and ever-increasing poverty of the other.

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL CRIMINOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY


is a multidisciplinary perspective that attempts to understand criminal behavior (and related outcomes, like antisocial behavior and its
consequences) by considering the interactions between biological (e.g., genetics, hormones, physiology, brain structure/functioning).

POLITICAL THEORIES OF CRIME


Criminology has always been a politically oriented discipline. Differences among theories of crime causation are associated with their
affinities with conservative, liberal, or radical political ideologies. Any crime may have political significance, whether as a source or a
consequence of political instability.
Accordingly, conservatives will assume the pathology of political offenders (especially violent ones)
liberals will assume that political offenders are mostly normal but misguided people who are reacting to the stresses imposed on them by
faulty social institutions

RADICAL THEORY shows the relationship between crime and law by which the affluent community in the society use their power in relation to the
law in order to rule over the poor or less fortunate section of the society.
radicals will assume that political offenders are reasoning people who perceive and resist the oppressive and exploitative nature of liberal
democratic capitalist society.

DEVELOPMENTAL/ LIFE-COURSE THEORIES


In general, developmental/life-course theories focus on offending behavior over time (e.g., trajectories) and on dimensions of the criminal
career and make an effort to identify risk and protective factors that relate to life-course patterns of offending.

“SA CHAPS REVIEW CENTER IKAW ANG BIDA


AT SUSUNOD NA REGISTERED CRIMINOLOGIST!!!”

The text of this manuscript, or any part and/or portion thereof, shall not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
such as but not limited to photocopying, recording, storage in any informational retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
authors and the publisher. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, and/or dissemination of any portion of this book shall be prosecuted in accordance with
law.

You might also like