Criminology Theories
CLN4U – Mr. MacDonald
Nature vs Nurture
 Theories of criminology generally fall into one of
two categories
 Biological Theories
 Criminal are “born”
 Sociological Theories
 Criminals are “made”
Biological Theories
 Most criminologists in this area agree that biology
alone does not create a criminal
 They see it as an interaction between certain
inherited traits and the environment
Positivism – Born
 Positive Theory (focused on biological and
physiological factors
 Criminals are born, not made (Nature not
Nurture)
 XYY theory (abnormal chromosomes) and
physical characteristics (size of jaw and teeth)
died out due to moral implications
Biological Trait Theory
 Certain traits that are believed to be
inherited may predispose criminality
 Intelligence
 Personality
 Genetic makeup
 Also looks at environmental factors that
affect biology
 Diet (see the “twinkie defence”)
 Influence of hormones, especially androgens
 Prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol
Neurophysiological Theories
 Certain neurological dysfunctions are related to
criminal behaviour
 If this is true, then proper medications may be able
to correct dysfunction, and therefore criminality
Sociological Theories
 Place emphasis on environmental factors
(upbringing, peers, environment, etc.)
Theory of Anomie
 Leading Sociologist – Emile Durkhiem
 Urban vs. Rural  Functionalism – everyone has a role; especially
criminals that make it function
 Diffusion of Responsibility – “someone else will
take care of it”
Ecological School
 Behavior foster and encouraged in certain
environments
Social Conflict Theory
 Marxist influence: capitalism creates disparity,
which creates crime
 Not necessarily always “rich vs poor”, but more
accurately “the powerful vs the powerless”
 Theories that examine oppression based on gender,
race, etc. and its effect on crime are also Social
Conflict theories
Social Psychological
Perspective
 Social psychology is the study of the relations
between individuals and people.
 They are interested in how ‘regular’ people can
commit atrocious crimes.
 Stanley Milgram was specifically interested in
how Nazi’s were able to commit horrible acts of
genocide – he focused on how people could do
this just by following orders.
Psychoanalytical Theory
 Sigmund Freud believed that all humans have
criminal tendencies.
 It is through socialization that these tendencies are
controlled during childhood.
 If a child has an identity problem with his/her
parent, this problem may cause the child to direct
its antisocial tendencies outward and thus
become a criminal.
Socialization Theory
 Upbringing, peer groups, role models influence
criminal behaviour
 A deviant’s sense of what is normal behaviour is
skewed
 Ex. Paul Bernardo and Karla Holmoka
Strain Theory
 People commit crimes when they see no
legitimate way to achieve their goals
 Explains why there is more crime among the
economically disadvantaged