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The Search for Causes

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The Search for Causes C H A P T E R 3 The Search for Causes OUTLINE • Introduction • Criminological Theory • The Classical School • Biological Theories • Psychobiological Theories • Psychological Theories • Sociological Theories • Social Process Theories • Conflict Theories • Emergent Perspectives LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, students should be able to • Summarize the development of criminological theory, including the role of social research in that development. • Describe the Classical School of criminology, and show how it continues to influence criminological theorizing. • Describe the basic features of biological theories of crime causation and their shortcomings. • Explain how the mapping of human DNA has enhanced contemporary psychobiological understandings of criminal behavior. • Describe the fundamental assumptions of psychological explanations for crime and their shortcomings. • Describe the basic features of sociological theories of crime causation. • Describe social process theories of criminology, including the kinds of crime-control policies that might be based on them. • Describe conflict theories of criminality, including the kinds of crime-control policies that might be based on them. • Summarize three emergent theories of crime causation. Chapter Overview Chapter 3 provides an overview of theories used to explain the causes of crime. It begins with an introduction to theory building in criminal justice, emphasizing the importance of research for testing hypotheses. The chapter is organized into eight general categories, and Table 3-1 is an extraordinarily useful tool for its summary of the characteristics of these theories and of the people most noted for their development. Chapter 3 first discusses the criminological theories of the Classical School, including the works of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The text discusses the five basic assumptions of classical theory: 1. Crime is caused by the individual exercise of free will. 2. Pain and pleasure are the two central determinants of human behavior. 3. Crime disparages the quality of the bond that exists between individuals and society. 4. Punishment is necessary to deter violators of the law and to serve as an example to others. 5. Crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment. Theories in the Biological School search for physical or biological explanations of crime. Influenced by medical and technological advances, these theories have evolved over time. Compare the early biological theories of Gall, Lombroso, and Sheldon to contemporary biochemical theories. Gall argued that skull shape determined personality and behavior. Lombroso considered various parts of the body in his atavistic explanation for crime. Criminals, he argued, were throwbacks to earlier stages of evolution. William Sheldon used somatotyping (or body typing) to categorize each individual’s physique by its mesomorphic, endomorphic, and ectomorphic characteristics. Sheldon found that juveniles with dominant mesomorphic physiques were most likely to commit crime. Richard Dugdale has considered biological inheritance as applied to criminal families in his examination of the Jukes’ family tree and Henry Goddard’s study of the Kallikaks. Biological theories have advanced with medical technology. For example, chromosome theories look to internal gene structure to understand the causes of crime. The XYY chromosome theory was popular in the 1960s and early 1970s, but later studies question the ability of the XYY theory to predict criminal behavior. Other biological theories have examined the effects of chemical imbalances, hormones, and allergic reactions to food on criminal behavior. Psychological explanations argue that criminal behavior results from inappropriately conditioned behavior or from abnormal, dysfunctional, and inappropriate mental processes. One thread of psychological theories presented in the text is behavioral conditioning. Another thread focuses on personality disturbances and diseases of the mind. People who believe in conditioning hold that the frequency of any behavior can be increased through rewards, punishments, and/or association with other stimuli. Sigmund Freud argued that personality was developed from the interaction of the id, the ego, and the superego. One source of criminal behavior is the ability of a person’s superego to control his or her id. Sociological explanations of crime examine the effects on behavior of environmental forces such as poverty, urban decay, and unemployment. For example, Shaw and McKay’s social ecology theory argues that certain areas of a city—those with high rates of poverty, unemployment, and lack of schooling—are socially disorganized and likely to produce crime. Merton, borrowing the concept of anomie from Émile Durkheim, argued that since the means to achieve goals are not equally available to all groups, individuals are forced to use illegitimate means such as crime to accomplish goals. On the other hand, subcultural theories argue that the goals of various groups are different and some groups view committing crime as a legitimate goal. For example, Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti found that murder was an acceptable goal for certain groups. Chapter 3 also discusses social process theories, conflict theories, and some emerging theories such as feminist criminology. Social process theories explain deviant behavior by highlighting the process of interaction between individuals and society. Conflict theories consider law a tool of the powerful, which is used by the powerful to further their own interests. Feminist criminology emphasizes gender issues in criminology. None of these theories provide a definitive explanation of why people commit crimes. However, understanding how these theories explain the causes of crime is important because they have an impact on the development of criminal justice policy and the criminal justice system’s response to crime. Outline I. Introduction • Define deviance, and explain the difference between criminal and deviant behavior. Deviance A violation of social norms defining appropriate or proper behavior under a particular set of circumstances. Deviance often includes criminal acts. II. Criminological Theory • Introduce the range of theories available to explain criminal behavior. • Explain why some theories are better than others—that is, why some are better at explaining, predicting, and so on. Discuss the fact that some theories serve the political ends of interest groups that find their worldviews reaffirmed by a theory’s assertions. • Explain the concept of a theory. Describe the similarities and differences between the physical and social sciences as they relate to theory building. Theory A set of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events. A theory is strengthened by its logical consistency and is “tested” by how well it describes and predicts reality. Hypothesis An explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation. Also, something that is taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation. • Explain the use of research to test hypotheses. Research The use of standardized, systematic procedures in the search for knowledge. Interdisciplinary Theory An approach that integrates a variety of theoretical viewpoints in an attempt to explain something, such as crime and violence. III. The Classical School Classical School An eighteenth-century approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment and that emphasized the role of free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers believed that punishment, if it is to be an effective deterrent, has to outweigh the potential pleasure derived from criminal behavior. • Basic assumptions: • Crime is caused by an inappropriate exercise of free will. • Pain and pleasure are two central determinants of human behavior. • Crime is an immoral form of behavior. • Punishment is required to deter violators of law from future crimes and to serve as an example to potential violators. • Crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment. • Discuss conditioning as a psychological theory. Relate the concepts of reward and punishment to the free will and hedonistic ideas of the Classical School. Discuss the implications of the conditioning approach for treatment strategies based on it. A. Cesare Beccaria: Crime and Punishment • Wrote Essays on Crimes and Punishment • Stated that punishment should deter but not be excessive • Is considered the founder of the Classical School B. Jeremy Bentham: Hedonistic Calculus • Devised the hedonistic calculus • Believed the philosophy of social control is utilitarianism • Like Beccaria, believed that punishment should be swift and certain C. The Neoclassical Perspective • Explain this perspective, and discuss rational choice and routine activities theory. Neoclassical Criminology A contemporary version of classical criminology that emphasizes deterrence and retribution and that holds that human beings are essentially free to make choices in favor of crime and deviance or conformity to the law. Rational Choice Theory A perspective on crime causation that holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice. Rational choice theory predicts that individuals will choose to commit crime when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs of disobeying the law. Routine Activities Theory A neoclassical perspective that suggests that
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