Crime Theories Psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the individual, rather than on contextual factors (as sociological theories of crime do) or on biological factors (such as genetics). Personality, traits, and cognitions are all covered under the rubric of psychological theories of crime. One of the prevailing and most widely accepted psychological theory of crime is rational choice theory. Rational choice theory " is perhaps the most common reason why

Crime a Socially Constructed One's conduct or deeds turn into a crime or an offence via a progression of societal or communal conditioning. The same deed can be regarded as wrong in one community and act of valor in another or in the same community at a different point in time. The lawful status of a deed-whether it is an offense-does not depend on its substance, but on the communal reaction

"Greater freedom has increased female participation in the public sphere," which would expose greater numbers of women to criminal behaviors and the opportunities to commit crimes (Steffensmeier & Allan1996, p. 469). Combined with social control theory, opportunity theory offers a plausible explanation for the gender gap in criminal behavior. Social control theory and opportunity theory share in common the basic assumption that deviance is a natural human instinct; that

victim" refers to ancient sacrifice of a person or animal to please the Gods. Over the centuries the term gathered other meanings. Mendelsohn, Von Hentig, and Wofgang defined the term "victim" as "hapless dupes who instigated their own victimization." (VICTIMOLOGY THEORY) In 1980, due to the feminist attack against this meaning, the word "victim" was defined as anyone who was to find himself in an asymmetric situation or relationship.

Crime and Violence: Cultural Beliefs and Biases Religion and Stereotyping Diverse sociocultural customs promote diverse forms of aggression; e.g., the conventional idea that males are authorized, by nature, to discipline or control females renders the latter susceptible to sexual abuse and spousal violence. Societal tolerance towards such hampers external intervention, preventing victims from protesting and seeking support. Sexual abuse reporting is also hampered by the stigma certain cultures attach to victims. Further,

Victims and Criminal Justice Victimization, Victims and Criminal Justice Based on your understanding of routine activity theory, discuss (1) why or why not this theory can be used to guide our research on the victim-offender overlap and (2) what theory (or theories), beyond the routine activity theory, will be useful for advancing our understanding of the victim-offender overlap based on your assessment of what we do not know about the victim-offender overlap. Routine