This paper surveys the major theoretical categories used to explain criminal behavior, ranging from biological and psychobiological models to psychological, sociological, and social conflict frameworks. It examines how thinkers such as Gall, Sheldon, Freud, Durkheim, and Merton have conceptualized the origins of deviance and criminal conduct. The paper then turns to the theory and practice of criminal law, outlining its three principal functions — protection, punishment, and deterrence — and evaluating how effectively those functions address the underlying social causes of crime. It concludes by arguing that criminal law, while valuable, is structurally limited in its capacity to remedy the social inequities and disparate opportunities that drive criminal behavior.
The paper demonstrates effective comparative synthesis — drawing on multiple thinkers (Gall, Sheldon, Freud, Durkheim, Merton) without getting lost in any single theory. Each theorist is briefly contextualized, compared to adjacent frameworks, and then connected to the broader argument about what criminal law can and cannot accomplish. This technique allows an undergraduate writer to show breadth of reading while maintaining analytical focus.
The paper divides into two halves: the first surveys categories of criminological theory (biological, psychobiological, psychological, sociological, conflict-based), while the second shifts to criminal law — its ideal functions, practical applications, and societal limitations. The conclusion ties both halves together by arguing that criminal law addresses behavior after the fact but cannot substitute for the social reforms needed to reduce crime at its roots. Approximately six logical sections with clear transitional signposting throughout.
Unwanted conduct by individuals, and societal attempts to control behavior that is dangerous to others or to society as a whole, obviously predates recorded history (Schmalleger, 2001). In the modern era, sociologists have suggested many general categories of explanations for the causes of unwanted behavior classified as crime, including: free will, biological, psychobiological, psychological, sociological, social psychological, social conflict, and phenomenological theories, as well as other emergent theories conceived much more recently (Schmalleger, 2001; Henslin, 2002; Macionis, 2002).
Biological theories of crime, such as phrenology, atavism, criminal families, and somatotypes, conceive of criminal behavior as largely predetermined within the individual by virtue of inherent personal characteristics that distinguish the brains and other fundamental biological structures of criminals from those of non-criminals. Franz Joseph Gall, for example, offered the theory that criminal behavior is predictable based on the shape of the human skull.
William Sheldon's similar theory of somatotypes suggested that human beings possess one of three types of dominant physical features: ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic (Schmalleger, 2001). According to Sheldon, mesomorphs are more prone to violence and other forms of aggression that predisposed them to criminal behavior. In more recent times, the connection between somatotypes and crime has been rejected, though the concept was incorporated into theories addressing other aspects of human variation, such as athleticism and proneness to overweight and obesity (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2005).
Psychological and psychobiological theories of crime conceive of criminal behavior as a function of myriad internal factors within the individual — some of which are inherent components of the person, while others reflect the interplay between inherent factors and external influences that affect both the manner and degree to which those inherent factors shape individual behavior (Schmalleger, 2001).
Within psychological and psychobiological explanations for criminal conduct, behavioral theorists consider the totality of experiences within an individual's life as substantial factors in the development of a predisposition to criminal conduct. Psychoanalytic theorists — most famously Sigmund Freud — consider family dynamics and the earliest frustrations experienced by the individual, particularly in connection with specific areas of human needs and desires that, according to psychoanalytic theory, play a profound role in shaping individual behavior throughout adult life (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2005).
Social control theorists, such as Durkheim and Merton, proposed explanations for criminal conduct grounded in the relationship between the individual and society. Durkheim developed anomie theory, according to which an individual's identification with the norms and expectations of society is responsible for many aspects of observed human behavior (Henslin, 2002).
Merton later applied anomie theory to criminology and suggested that most individuals respond to socially promoted norms and expectations in various ways, some of which are more likely than others to contribute to criminal inclination. Merton categorized individuals as conformists, innovators, retreatists, ritualists, or rebels, and theorized that rebels are most likely to express criminal behavior (Schmalleger, 2001).
Conflict social theorists attribute social deviance — including criminal behavior — primarily to the opportunities and advantages available to individuals within their social class or group. In particular, theories of social strain consider the differences perceived by the individual between his or her own predicament and the opportunities available to others within the established framework of society (Macionis, 2002). Restraint theorists suggest that antisocial impulses are a normal feature of human behavior, but that most individuals learn not to act on those impulses out of self-preservation, influenced by social restraints such as ostracism and criminal penalties including apprehension, prosecution, and incarceration (Schmalleger, 2001).
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