Instead, there are several fundamental assumptions of psychological theories of criminality (and human behavior in general) that I will follow here (Mischel, 1968). These are: 1. The individual is the primary unit of analysis in psychological theories. 2. Personality is the major motivational element that drives behavior within individuals.
Now it is considered offensive and unusual, therefore deviant. It can be difficult to give a clear definition of deviance as a lot of it depends on people’s values and opinions. What one person views as deviant behaviour another may view as normal. Also deviant behaviour is not always bad; there is good and odd deviant behaviour. This makes it harder to define as classifying behaviour requires taking a moral standpoint and judging.
Another possible answer comes from a facilitation model (Thornberry et al., 1993) in which the norms and the group processes within the gang encourage involvement in violence and other delinquency. If norms within gangs are favorable toward violence and delinquency, members would be expected to adhere to those norms and commit delinquent acts while they were a part of the group. "Once a person enters a group, reciprocal processes lead to further commonalties in activities, including deviant ones. There is a transmission of values and, for some networks, a contagion of social problems" (Cairns and Cairns, 1991:273). A third possibility is that both processes are in effect, operating in an enhancement model, as suggested by Cairns and Cairns (1991), Esbensen and Huizinga (1993), and Hill et al.
2. How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior? To design strategies intended to control such behavior? By definition a theory is a series of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events. A theory gains explanatory power from inherent logical consistency and is “tested” by how well it describes and predicts reality General Theory: A theory that attempts to explain all (or at least most) forms of criminal conduct through a single, overarching approach.
This assignment will explore the social constructivist approach to defining and measuring of crime and deviance from a functionalist and interactionist perspective with a brief overview of the Marxist perception. It will also consider the statistical approach to measuring crime. In terms of Crime and deviance they are extremely diverse. Crime is defined as any act which breaks the law and is therefore punishable. Most, if not all, acts of crime are categorized as deviant behaviour, for example, murder.
Criminal Procedure Criminal procedures are debatable on what is more effective and how to implement such policies. Due Process and Crime Control are two different models that explain the criminal procedure policy of the United States, and they will be discussed in this paper. Along with how the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments impact both of these models. The final subject of this paper will be how the Fourteenth Amendment applied the Bill of Rights to the states. The Due Process Model is a process that works on the assumption that the criminal justice system has errors, and because of those errors a defendant is not guilty until proven otherwise.
This assumption is known as the social control theory which was developed by Travis Hirschi. In this theory Hirschi asks the question why people follow the law. For Chucky, Burnz, and Freshy this theory suggests that they may have engaged in criminal activity when their bond to society has weakened (Ortiz, 2011). There are four important interrelated aspects of this theory that could constrain these individuals behavior: attachment, commitment, involvement, and
Hence, when we study crime, it is vital to keep in mind that there are differing viewpoints within the field of criminology as to the fundamental nature of the subject matter itself. 2. How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior or to design strategies intended to control such behavior? Theory helps us to understand the world because it provides us with a fundamental pattern, which explains a variety of
Crime as defined by Winterdyk, “is a socially constructed concept used to categorize certain behaviours as requiring formal control and warranting some form of social intervention” (Winterdyk, 2006, p. 491). Individuals that commit these criminal acts are believed to have made a specific choice in the matter. The benefits and consequences have been weighed therefore the criminal has made the choice, but what other circumstances can have a role in this decision? It is understood that social structures, social processes and human biology can all have an affect on the outcome of our individual acts. However the biological flaws of persons are not as significant as one may think.
According to Sutherland, differential association refers to the principle that criminal acts are related to an individual’s frequent or constant exposure to antisocial attitudes or values. Proposition 1- Criminal behaviour is learnt. The basic argument of differential association is that, like all forms of behaviour, criminal behaviour is learnt from other people, thus eliminating the roles of heredity, human nature and innovation as causes of deviant behaviour. Example: Newly recruited gang member will learn from others how to commit crime – hot wire a car. Proposition 2 – Criminal behaviour is learnt through interaction with other people by means of a process of communication.