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Sociological Theories
Compare and contrast your two selected theories.
The two sociological theories that will be examined are social disorganization and the social learning theory. The social disorganization theory is focused on how crime rates are directly tied to the environment where someone is living. While the social learning theory believes that people discover the world around them through modeling and observing the actions of others. (Akers, 2009)
The differences between the two are the social disorganization theory believes that the environment someone grows up in will have a direct effect on if they turn to criminal related activities. This is because of various attitudes about illegal behavior will create a sense of moral clarity or confusion about becoming involved. Whereas, the social disorganization theory believes that individuals are shaped by watching and learning about how others react to the world around them. This is when they will mirror this behavior in order to learn the most appropriate ways of interacting within society....
(Akers, 2009)
Describe how your selected theories explain specific crimes.
The social disorganization theory feels that specific crimes will occur based upon the community someone lives and is brought up in. For instance, someone who grows up in a neighborhood with lots of gang related activities will see nothing wrong with young adults associating with them. Under the social learning theory, a person will be influenced based upon their peers, parents and teachers attitudes about crime. This means that if they do not see them becoming involved in this behavior. They will be discouraged from doing so by mirroring the actions of those around them. (Akers, 2009)
Explain the policy implications of these theories.
The policy implication of these theories is showing how a different approach needs to be taken when it comes to crime and punishment. This means that there must be a focus on intervening early in the lives of at risk individuals. At the same time, positive roles models must regularly interact with them to teach…
References
Akers, R. (2009). Social Learning and Social Structure. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
biological theories, sociological theories, and psychological theories of crime. Biological explanations of criminal behavior Lombroso's Theory dates back to the late 1800s, and is not widely accepted today. Lombroso believed that a person's body type and constitution can tell a researcher whether or not the person is "a born criminal" (Crossman, 2011). Lombroso believed that criminals inherited their deviance, and that the body type of a person, if it resembled "primitive
This is the foundation of the psychiatric classification of antisocial personality disorder. Robins also thought that antisocial personality is evident early in life and that it tends to persevere from childhood to adulthood, with dissimilar behavioral demonstrations (Farrington, 2002). Normally, psychological theories often comprise motivational, inhibiting, decision-making, and learning processes. The most ordinary motivational notion is that individuals, particularly kids are naturally self-indulgent and self-centered, looking for pleasure and staying
Criminology Theories Biological Theory of Crime The biological or bio-physiological theory of crime regards human behavior in general and of deviance and criminality in particular as mainly the result of internal states of mind (Schmalleger, 2009). More specifically, the biological perspective, as it was originally detailed in the 19th century by Cesare Lombroso, emphasized the role of heredity in conjunction with the (then) new concept of Darwinian Evolution also in conjunction with
Psychological Trait Theory in Criminology: The field of criminology can basically be described as the scientific study of criminals and criminal behavior since professionals in this field try to develop theories that explain the reason for the occurrence of crimes and test the theories through observation of criminal behavior. The criminological theories in turn help in shaping the response of the society to crime in relation to preventing criminal behavior and
Travis Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory The theorist, Hirschi, asserts that those who exhibit deviant behavior desire to do so and that criminal behavior is seen among people with weak social bonds. In his social bonding model, he delineated four elements which make up social bonds, namely, attachment to partner/spouse, engagement in conforming behaviors, holding conventional beliefs and values, and dedication to conventionality (Wolfzorn, Heckert & Heckert, 2006). The theorist indicates that
Labeling Theory Originating in sociology and criminology, labeling theory (also known as social reaction theory) was developed by sociologist Howard S. Becker (1997). Labeling theory suggests that deviance, rather than constituting an act, results from the societal tendency of majorities to negatively label those individuals perceived as deviant from norms. Essentially, labeling theory involves how the self-identity and behavior of individuals determines or influences the terms used to describe or classify