Foundations of Crime

Causation
• What is Theory?
• ✓ According to Freda Adler, theory is a statement that explains
the relationship between abstract concepts in meaningful ways.
• ✓ Social theory – defined as the systematic set of interrelated
statements or principles that explain the aspects of social life.
• ✓ Theory serves as models of framework for understanding
human behavior and the forces that form it. It based on verified
social facts or readily observed phenomena that can be constantly
calculated and measured (Siegel, 2007).
 Why Theory is Important?

• It is a powerful one, it will both explain, telling you why

something is happening in such-and-such a way, and predict,
telling you what should happen next. Explanation could lead
to solutions.
 Formula of Crime Causation

• Crime is a generic term which may be referred to as felony

when it is punishable by the Revised Penal Code. Offense
when punishable by the Special Law and Misdemeanor when
it violated an ordinance.
• “T” factor is not simply “aggressive tendencies” since they are
present in all men
• “S” the situation – an intermediate factor in mobilizing the criminal
act. As each person has a unique psychological make-up it follows
that only he can achieve a particular aim in a given environment.
• “R” the resistance to temptation – it is the ability to control one’s
negative emotions, such as bad temperament, anger, etc. according
to Abrahamsen, personality reactions in criminals are by nature
comparable to those found in a disease.
 Crime

• Is as early as mankind. It is inevitable to a growing society. In fact,

David Emile, Durkheim, a French Sociologist once presented his
referential construct of society as but the “disorganized dust of
individuals”.
 Normality of
Crime
• David Emile Durkheim maintained that criminality is a “normal
because a society exempt from it is utterly impossible”. The
“fundamental conditions of social disorganization-logically imply it”.
• Durkheim maintains that crime is not only normal for society but that
is necessary. Without crime there is no evolution of law. If society is
to progress each person must be able to express himself.
• It developed in the 18th century in an attempt to reform the legal
system and to protect the accused against the harsh and arbitrary action
on the part of the state.
• It is founded by Cesare Marchese (pronounced as Marquess) di Beccaria
Bonesana, an Italian criminologist and economist.
• Emphasized the principle that people have freewill to choose their
behavior, those who violated the law were motivated by personal
needs.
• It believed in the doctrine of nullum crimen sine lege ( no crime
without law)
• The law assumes the responsibility of the individual for his voluntary
conduct.
• It theorized that punishment had a deterrent effect.
• Has a main principle that “LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME”.
• Arose during the French revolution with the modification that since
children, lunatics and others were not legally responsible for their
actions.
• They believed that there are people who have the absence of freewill
hence they must be exempted from punishment because they did not
know what they are doing; they did not know what they did was
wrong or what they did was the product of insanity.
• Its fundamental notion is that, “LET THE CHILDREN AND LUNATIC
CRIMINALS BE EXEMPTED FROM PUNISHMENT”.
• It developed in the 19th century as an attempt to apply scientific
methods to study the criminal while rejecting the legal definition of
crime.
• This school was based on the study of the criminal behavior on
scientific determinism-which explained that every act had a cause.
• Holds primarily that the people’s decision to commit
crime is a matter of choice because it was assumed
that people had freewill to choose their behavior,
those who violated the law were motivated by
personal needs such as greed, revenge, survival and
hedonism.
Holds that person will engage in criminal behavior
after weighing the consequences and benefits of
their actions.
✓ criminal behavior is a rational choice made by a
motivated offender who perceives that the chances
of gain outweigh any possible punishment or loss.
• Created by LAWRENCE E. COHEN AND MARCUS K.
FELSON
• They viewed that crime is a normal function of the
routine activities of modern living; offenses can be
expected if there is a motivated offender and a suitable
target that is not protected by capable guardians.
• MAIN CONCEPT: people may become crime victims because
their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders.
• was developed by MICHAEL GOTTFREDSON, MICHAEL
HINDELANG AND JAMES GAROFALO
• Argues that because of changing roles (working mother versus
housewife) and schedules (a child’s school calendar), people
lead different lifestyles (work and leisure activities).
• GENERAL DETERRENCE THEORY – aimed at making
potential criminal fear the consequences of crime showing
that crime does not pay.
• SPECIFIC DETERRENCE THEORY – Holds that if offenders
are punished so severely, the experience will convince
them not to repeat their illegal acts.
• Viewed that people may actually initiate the confrontation that
eventually leads to their injury or death.
• was first presented by Hans Von Hentig
• The concept of victim offender can be classified into two:
• ACTIVE PRECIPITATION - Occurs when victims act provocatively,
use threats or fighting words, or even attacks the first offenders.
• PASSIVE PRECIPITATION – occurs when the victim exhibits some
personal characteristic that unknowingly either threatens or
encourages the attacker. Hentig and applies to violent
victimization.
• Stands to reason that if more criminals are
sent to prison the crime rate should go down;
keeping known criminals out of circulation.
This theory supported on the idea of
imprisonment of criminals.
• Biological theories emphasized that criminal
behavior results from a complex interplay of
social and biological factors. It attempts to
explain behaviors contrary to societal
expectations through examination of individual
characteristics.
• This theory viewed that both behavior have biological and
social bases. Biosocial theorists believe that it is the
interaction between predisposition and environment that
produces criminality.
• Their research efforts appear to be concentrated in 3
distinct areas of study:
• a. Biochemical Factors
• b. Neurological Dysfunction
• c. Genetic Influences
 Evolutionary Theory
• Explains the existence of aggression and
violent behavior as positive adaptive behaviors
in human evolution; these traits allowed their
bearers to reproduce disproportionately, which
has had an effect on the human gene pool.
• Environmental factors influence the brain’s level
of arousal. It explains that aggression is a function
of the level of individuals need for stimulation or
arousal from the environment.
• Otherwise known as Developmental Theory suggests that
criminal behavior is a dynamic process, influenced by individual
characteristics as well as social experiences, and that the factors
that cause anti-social behaviors change dramatically over a
person’s life span.
• By Sheldon Glueck (a Polish-American Criminologists) with his
wife Eleanor Touroff-Glueck (an Americln social worker and
criminologists).
Latent trait is defined as a stable feature, characteristics,
property or condition such as defective intelligence, impulsive
personality, genetic abnormalities, the physical-chemical
functioning of the brain such as drugs, chemicals and injuries
that make some people delinquency-prone over the life course.
• David Rowe, Wayned Osgood and Alan Nicewander focus on
basic human behavior and drive such attachment, aggression,
violence, impulsivity – that are linked to antisocial behavior
patterns.
• Henry H. Goddard, Richard L. Dugdale and Arthur
Estrabook traced several generations of crime-
prone families (referred to by pseudonyms such as
the “Jukes” and the “Kallikaks”) finding evidence
that criminal tendencies were based on genetics.
• Associates body physique to behavior and criminality; it began with
the work of German psychiatrist neurologists, psychopathologists,
Ernst Kretschmer who constituted three principal types of body
physiques:
• 1. The asthenic – lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders
• 2. The athletic – medium to tall, strong, muscular, coarse bones
• 3. Pyknic – medium height, rounded figure, massive neck and
broad face.
• - William Sheldon, an American psychologist and physician who
devised his own group of somatotypes: the endomorph,
mesomorph and the ectomorph.
• It deals with the study of facial features and their relation
to human behavior.
• It was founded by Giambattista della Porta an Italian
physician and natural philosopher and founded the school
on human physiognomy.
• It posited that bumps on the head were
indications of psychological propensities. It is the
study of the conformation of the skull as indicative
mental faculties and traits of character, especially
to the hypotheses of Franz Joseph Gall.
• It holds that low intelligence is genetically determined
and inherited. This was supported by Henry H. Goddard in
his studies in 19020 that many institutionalized people
were what he considered “feeble-minded” and concluded
that at least half of all juvenile delinquents were mentally
defectives.
• Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic psychology was
originated by Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and has
still considered as one of the prominent theories in
psychology.
• ✓ This holds that the human personality is controlled by
unconscious mental processes developed in early
childhood.
• Three Major Components of Personality
• ✓ Id – dictates the needs and desires (operates under pleasure
principle)
• ✓ Ego – evaluates the reality of a position of these two extremes
(reality principle). If these three components are properly
balanced, the individual can lead a normal life.
• ✓ Superego – counteracts the id by fostering feelings of morality
(morality principle).
• According to Freud, if the child meets conflict in any of the
psychosexual stages of human development, a person can be
fixated. This means, an adult, the fixated person will exhibit
behavior trait characteristic of those encountered during
infantile sexual development.
• Behavioral theory is originally created by John B. Watson
(1878-1958)
• It was popularized by Burrhus Frederic Skinner, commonly
known as B.F. Skinner.
• This theory concerned with the study of observable behavior
rather than unconscious processes.
• It maintains that human actions are developed through
learning experiences; that behavior is learned when it is
rewarded and extinguished by negative reactions or
punishment.
• It was created by Albert Bandura (1973), a Canadian psychologist
who argued that people are not actually born with the ability to act
violently but that they learn to be aggressive through their life
experiences.
• The experiences include personally observing others acting
aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being
rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies.
• Bandura claimed that people learn to act aggressively when, as
children, they model their behavior after the violent acts of adults.
• A branch of psychology that studies the perception of reality and
the mental process required to understand the world we live.
• It focuses on mental processes- the way people perceive and
mentally represents the world around them.
• Adolescents who use information properly, who are better
conditioned to make reasoned judgments, and who can make quick
and reasoned decisions when facing emotion-laden are the ones
that can avoid anti-social behavior choices.
• ✓ Jean William Fritz Piaget (1860), a Swiss psychologist who was the first to make
a systematic study of the acquisition of understanding in children based on his
cognitive development theory.
 MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
THEORY
Moral Development Theory

• Lawrence A. Kohlberg (1927-2987) expanded Piaget’s theory

of cognitive development and applied the concept of
development stages to issues in criminology.
• Moral development theory suggests that people who obey
the law simply to avoid punishment or who have outlooks
mainly characterized by self-interest are more likely to
commit crimes than those who view the law as something
that benefits all of society and who honor the rights of
others.
• Stated that criminal and anti-social parents tend to have
delinquent and antisocial children, as shown in the classic
longitudinal surveys by Joan McCord in Boston and Lee
Robins in St. Louis.
• Having a convicted father, mother, brother, or sister
predicted a boy’s own convictions, and all four relatives
were independently important as predictors.
• This theory beats the famous saying, “OPPOSITE
CHARGES ATTRACTS”.
• It focuses on assortative mating; female offenders
tend to cohabit with or get married to male offenders.
• Children with two criminal parents are likely to be
disproportionally antisocial.
• There are two main classes of explanations concerning why
similar people tend to get married, cohabit, or become
sexual partners.
• 1. Social Homogamy – convicted people tend to choose each
other as mates because of physical and social proximity; they
meet each other in the same schools, neighborhoods, clubs,
pubs and so on.
• 2. Phenotypic Assortment – people examine each other’s
personality and behavior and choose partners who are
similar themselves.
• In 1966, Ernest W. Burgess (1886-1966) and Ronald L. Akers
combined Bandura’s social learning theory and Sutherland’s theory
of differential association-reinforcement.
• This theory suggest that:
• 1. the presence of criminal behavior depends on whether or not it
is rewarded or punished.
• 2. the most meaningful rewards and punishment are those given
by groups that are important in an individual’s life – the peer
group, the family, teachers in school and so forth.
• Hans J. Eysenck (1916-1997) in his theory of conditioning
claims that all human personality may be seen in three
dimensions such as psychoticism, extroversion, egocentric
and impulsive.
• Those who score high on measures of psychoticism are
aggressive, egocentric and impulsive.
• Those who score high on the measures of neuroticism may
be described as having low self-esteem, excessive anxiety
and wide mood swings.
• Has been proposed by James Q. Wilson (1931-2012) and
Richard Julius Herrnstein (1930- 1994).
• They explained predatory street crime by showing how
human nature develops from the interplay of psychological,
biological and social factors.
• The main concept of this theory is that the interaction of
genes with environment that some individuals form the kind
of personality likely to commit crimes.
• It has been devised by British psychiatrist Edward John M.
Bowlboy (1907-1990) who expressed the notion that child
needs warmth and affection from his/her mother or a
mother substitute.
• Bowlby emphasized that the most important phenomenon
to social development takes place after the birth of any
mammal and that is the construction of an emotional
bond between the infant and his mother.
• It explains how a certain individual acquires criminal
or undesirable behavior; it describes how the agents
of socialization such as family, environment, mass
media and peer groups contribute or affect the
behavior of a specific individual.
 THE SUBFIELDS OF
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES ARE:
• 1. Social Structure Theories – suggest that
social and economic forces operating in
deteriorated lower-class areas push many of
their residents into criminal behavior
patterns.
• 2. Social Process Theories – which hold that
criminality is a function of individual
socialization.
• Social disorganization theory was created by Chicago-based
sociologists Clifford R. Shaw (1895-1957) and Henry Mckay (1899-
1980) who link crime rates to neighborhood ecological
characteristics.
• It views crime ridden neighborhoods as those in which residents are
trying to leave at the earliest opportunity. Residents during this time
are not interested anymore when it comes to community matters.
That’s why the common sources control such as the family, business
community and social service agencies become weak and
disorganized.
• Pioneered by Chicago School sociologists Ernest W.
Burgess (1886-1966) and Robert E. Park (1864-
1944)
• Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay noted that
distinct ecological area had developed in the city of
Chicago, comprising a series of 5 concentric circles
or zones, and that there were stable and significant
differences in inter-zone crime rates.
• David Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), a French sociologist
introduced the term “anomie”, which derived from the Greek a
nomos which means without norms.
• An anomic society is one which rules of behavior (norms) have
broken down or become inoperative during periods of rapid social
change or social crisis such as war or famine.
• Anomie most likely occurs in societies that are moving forward
mechanical to organic solidarity.
• American sociologist Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) applied
Durkheim’s ideal of anomie to criminology.
• He holds that crime is a function of the conflict between the goals
people have and the means they can use to legally obtain that goals.
• Consequently, those who failed to attain their goals because of
inadequate means of would feel anger, frustration and resentment,
which are referred to as strain and that those people who are in
strain or pressure may develop criminal or delinquent solutions to
the problem of attaining goals.
• This theory was proposed by Judith R. Blau and Peter M. Blau
(1918-2002) which clearly emphasizes that a sharp division
between the rich and the poor creates an atmosphere of envy and
mistrust.
• Criminal motivation is fueled both by perceived humiliation and the
perceived right to humiliate a victim in return, accordingly, lower-
class people might feel both deprived and embittered when they
compare their life circumstances to those of the more affluent.
• Sociologist Robert Agnew reformulated the strain theory of
Robert Merton and suggests that criminality is the direct result
of negative affective states – the anger, frustration, depression,
disappointment and other adverse emotions that derive from
strain.
• Agnew tries to explain why individuals who feel stress and
strain are more likely to commit crimes and offers more
explanation of criminal activity among all elements of society
rather than restricting his views to lower-class crime.
• This theory combines the effects of social disorganization and
strain to explain how people living in deteriorated
neighborhoods react to social isolation and economic
deprivation.
• Because of the draining, frustrating, and dispiriting
experiences, members of the lower class create an
independent subculture with its own set rules and values.
• This lower-class subculture stresses excitement, toughness,
risk-taking, fearlessness and immediate gratification.
• Albert K. Cohen (1918-2014) first articulated the theory in
his classic book, “Delinquent Boys”. Cohen’s position was
that delinquent behavior of lower-class youth is actually a
protest against the norms and values middle-class U.S.
culture.
• Because the social conditions make them incapable of
achieving success legitimately, lower-class youths
experience a form of culture conflict that Cohen labels
status frustration.
• Differential Opportunity Theory is the output of the classic work of
Richard A. Cloward (1926-2001) ad Lloyd E. Ohlin’s (19018-2008)
Delinquency and Opportunity.
• This theory is a combination of strain and disorganization principles
into a portrayal of gang-sustaining criminal subculture.
• The main concept of this theory states that people in all strata of
society share the same success goals but that those in the lower-
class have limited means of achieving them.
• Identified with the writings of David Matza and his associates
Greysham M Sykes .
• Matza further argued that even the most committed criminals and
delinquents are not involved in criminality all the time; they also
attend schools, family functions and religious services.
• Their behavior can be conceived as filling along a continuum
between total freedom and total restraint and this process is called
drift – refers to the movement from one extreme of behavior to
another resulting in behavior that is sometimes unconventional,
free or deviant and at other times constraint and sober.
• Created by American criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland
and he suggests that people commit crime by learning in
social context through their interactions with others and
communication with them.
• He believed that criminal behavior is learned with others
and this includes learning the techniques of committing
the crime, and the motives, drives, rationalizations and
attitudes for committing it.
• Presented by Walter C. Reckless
• Assumes that for every individual, there exists a containing external
structure and a protective internal structure, both which provide
defense, protection or insulation against delinquency.
• According to Reckless, “outer containment” or the structural buffer
that holds the person inbounds and “Inner Containment” or
personal control
• If an individual’s containing external or outer containment and
protective internal or inner containment are weak then there’s great
possibility that the individual will commit a crime or may resort to
delinquency.
• Articulated W. Hirschi (1935-2017)
• Hirschi links the onset of criminality to the weakening of the ties that
bind people to society
• He assumes that all individuals are potential law violators, but they
are kept under control because they fear that illegal behavior will
damage their relationships with friends, parents, neighbors, teachers
and employers.
• Without these social ties or bonds, and in the absence of sensitivity
to and interest in others, a person is free to commit criminal acts.
• Created by Howard S. Becker who explains that society
creates deviance through a system of social control
agencies that designate (label) certain individuals as
delinquent, thereby stigmatizing a person and
encouraging them to accept this negative personal
identity.
• Consequences of Labeling: Becker concerns with two
effects of labeling: the creation of stigma and the effect of
self-image.
• Created by Edwin M. Lemert (1912-1996)
• Primary deviance involves norm violations or crimes that
have very little influence on the actor and can be quickly
forgotten.
• Secondary deviance occurs when a deviant event comes to
the attention of significant others or social control agents
who apply a negative label. The newly labeled offender then
recognizes his or her behavior and personality around the
consequences of the deviant act.
• Developed by Gary S. Becker (1930-2014)
• A standard model of decision-making where individuals choose
between criminal activity and legal activity on the basis of the
expected utility from those acts.
• It is assumed that participation in criminal activity is the result of an
optimizing individual responding to incentives.
• Among the factors that influence an individual’s decision to engage
in criminal activities are:
• 1. The expected gains from crime relative to earnings from legal
works.
• 2. The chance (risk) of being caught and convicted.
• 3. The extent of punishment
• 4. The opportunities in legal activities.
• Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883), in his famous “Communist Manifesto
(1848), viewed crime as the product of law enforcement policies akin to
a labeling process theory.
• He also saw connection between criminality and the inequities found in
the capitalist system.
• The most important relationship in industrial culture is between the
owners of the means of production (capitalist bourgeoisie) and the
people who do the actual labor (proletariat).
• This theory claimed that it is not necessary to have a particular amount
of wealth or prestige to be member of the capitalist; it is more
important to have the power to exploit others economically, legally and
socially.
• The Contribution of Friedrich Engel
• Portrayed crime as a function of social demoralization-a
collapse of people’s humanity reflecting a decline in
society.
• Workers are demoralized by the capitalist society, are
caught up in the process that leads to crime and violence.
• The Contribution of Willem A. Bonger
• He is famous for his Marxist socialist concepts of crime
causation, which were published in 1916.
• He believed that a crime of social and not biological origin,
but exception of few special cases, crime lies within the
boundaries of normal human behavior.
Marxist Criminology
• It views crime as a function of the capitalist
mode of production. Within this system
economic competitiveness is the essence of
social life and controls the form and function
of social institutions.
• ✓ Every element of society: government, law,
education, religion, family – is organized
around the capitalist mode of production
comprising of the owners of the production
(bourgeoisie), the worker (proletariat) and the
non-productive people (lumpen proletariat).
 Conflict Theory
• It views crime as the outcome of class
struggle. The classes that are struggling
here are the upper, middle and lower class
(have-nots).
• It also viewed that crime is defined by those
power. Power refers to the ability of
persons and groups and to determine and
control the behavior of others and to shape
public opinion to meet their personal
interests.
Social Reality of Crime
• Developed by Sociologist Richard Quinney
• According to Quinney, criminal definitions
or the law represents the interests of those
who hold power in society. Where there is
conflict between social groups - for
example, the wealthy and the poor those
who hold power will be the ones to create
the laws that benefit themselves.
Left Realism
• The most connected to the writings of British scholars John Lea and
Lock Young (1942- 2013) in their 1984 work, “What is to be Done
about Law and Order?” by taking a more “realistic” approach, saying
that street criminals prey on the poor, thus making the poor doubly
abused, first by the capitalist system and then by the members of
their class.
• Their equation is very simple: relative deprivation equals discontent;
discontent plus lack of political solution equals crime.
• Young and Lea argued that crime victims in all classes need and
deserve protection.
Postmodern Theory
• This theory focuses on the critical analysis of
communication and language in legal codes.
• It believes that language is value laden and can
promote the same sort if inequities that are
present in the rest of the social structure.
• Those in power are able to use their own
language to define crime and law while
excluding or dismissing those who are in
opposition to their (prisoners or the poor).
• The dominant language society is the language
of the rich and powerful.
Institutive-Constitutive Theory
• Gregg Barak and Stuart Henry’s institutive-constitutive
theory defines crimes as the application of harm to others.
• People who are defined as committing criminal acts are at
the same time being made unequal or “disrespected”; they
are rendered powerless to maintain or express their
humanity.
• In a sense then, the act of making people “criminals” is a
crime.
Institutive-Constitutive Theory
• According to Barak and Henry, there are 2 aspects of crime:
• a. Crime of repression – occurs when members of a group are
prevented from achieving their fullest potential because of racism,
sexism, or some other status bias.
• b. Crime of reduction – occurs when the offended party experiences
a loss of some quality relative to his or her present standing.
Conservative Ideologies
• It assumes that the ideal society is one in which authority is unquestioned.
The hierarchy of wisdom and virtue is accepted by all as based on
recognizing natural inequalities.
• Because human nature is basically egoistic, people need discipline –
instruction for those with the requisite capacity, restraint for those lacking
the capacity to understand.
• Unfortunately, society is threatened by defective people – individuals and
population groups – who cannot or will not accept the authority and
direction of their superiors, and resort to crime to profit from the labors of
others.
• Criminals are predators, and their crimes are the results of pathologies of
mind and body.
Liberalism
• It assumes that the ideal society is one in which there is equality of
opportunity and a general consensus to accept differences in rewards
as the outcomes of fair competition.
• Social stratification is functional if based on merit, that is, differences
in achievement; it is dysfunctional insofar as it is based on ascription
(eg., inherited status or other attributes independent of performance)
or mere power differences.
• Liberalism is completely the opposite of conservatism. It can be
compared to a democratic form of government in which everybody’s
opinion is respected and that what matters most is fairness and
equality among the populace.
Radicalism
• Its main notion is replace defective societies. Whether left or right,
radical ideology envisions the ideal society as one in which people-
naturally creative and freedom-loving – are able to do so as they
please in going about their peaceful business, without interference by
anyone – especially those claiming or representing some presumed
higher authority.
Identity Fusion Theory
• it is defined as a visceral feeling of oneness with the group
that is associated with increased permeability of the
boundary between the personal and social self.
• It was created by William B. Swann Jr. and Michael
Buhrmester (2012).
• The blending of individual’s personal-self and social-self with
that of a group, has attempted to explain why a person
engages in political participation.
The Biopsychosocial Model of Crime
Causation
• This theory is an integration or combination of both the “bio”,
“psycho” and the “socio”.
• The “bio” component of this theory examines aspects of biology that
influence health. These might include things like brain changes,
genetics or functioning of major body organs, such as the liver, the
kidneys, or even the motor system.
• The “psycho” component of the theory examines psychological
components, things like thoughts, emotions, or behaviors.
• The “social” component of the biopsychosocial model examines social
factors that might influence the health of an individual, thing like our
interactions with others, our culture, or our economic status.
Moral Insanity and Criminal Responsibility
• Moral insanity – a term used to describe persons who were normal in
all respects except that something was wrong with the part of the
brain that regulates affective responses.
• Henry Maudsley – a brilliant English Medical professor, shared Ray’s
concerns about criminal responsibility. According to Maudsley, some
people may be considered either “insane or criminal according to the
standpoint from which they are looked at.” He believed that for many
persons, crime is “an outlet in which their unsound tendencies are
discharged; they would go mad if they were not criminals,” and
“they do not go mad because they are criminals”.
Premenstrual
Syndrome
• Premenstrual Syndrome – refers to onset of the
menstrual cycle that triggers excessive amounts
of the female sex hormones, which affect anti-
social, aggressive behavior.
• Diana H. Fishbein concludes that there is in fact
an association between elevated levels of
female aggression and menstruation. She
further argues that:
• 1. A significant number of incarcerated females
committed their crimes during their
premenstrual phase.
• 2. That at least a small percentage of women
appear vulnerable to cyclical hormonal changes,
which makes them prone to anxiety and
hostility.
Battered Child Syndrome
• The syndrome does not establish the
culpability of any particular person; rather, it
simply indicates that a child found with
serious, repeated injuries has not suffered
those injuries by accidental means.
• Evidence of battered syndrome is used to
make the logical inference that only someone
who is regularly caring for the child who would
have occasion to inflict these types of injuries,
as an isolated act by a stranger would not
result in a pattern of successive injuries over
an extended period time.
Battered Woman Syndrome
• It is a psychological term used to describe women
who are stuck within or have recently left a violent
relationship characterized by the cycle of violence.
• It is a sort of learned helplessness. The cycle of
violence emphasizes physical violence but “physical
abuse rarely occurs without psychological abuse.”
Psychological abuse takes the form of verbal put-
downs as well as social and economic isolation. She
learns to be helpless as a survival mechanism so as
to delay incurring the wrath of the batterer/decision
maker/controller.
Postpartum Stress Syndrome
• Postpartum Stress Syndrome is an emotional
reaction which falls between baby blues and
postpartum depression. Also known as
Adjustment Disorder.
• Postpartum stress syndrome causes feelings of
anxiety and self-doubt. The woman wants to
become a perfect mother and wife, but at the
same time she feels exhausted and
overwhelmed. Women experiencing postpartum
stress syndrome usually function fairly well and
get through their day, though they feel awful
inside. It can come on without warning.
Postpartum Psychosis
• It is caused by multiple factors is uncommon
with only one thousand women developing
PPP within a few days after childbirth, it can
dramatically affect everyone involved.
• Some new mothers suffering psychosis may
have to be hospitalized for a short term or
even more rare, an unfortunate few who do
not receive the right treatment in time may
harm themselves or their child.
• The worst in postpartum psychosis is if not
treated immediately, it will resort to
committing suicide or killing her new born
baby.
Life Course Theory
• Criminality cannot be attributed to a single cause, nor does it represent a
single underlying tendency because people are influenced by different
factors as they mature.
• The multiple social and economic factors can influence criminality and also
multiple factors (maladaptive personality traits, educational failure and
family relations) that affect criminality may change over time.
• As people are into the process of transition – moving from one stage to
another stage of life like from adolescents to adulthood, along the way, he
or she may experience some disruption in any of the stages mentioned.
• The disruption in any stages can lead to criminal behavior.
Latent Trait Theory
• It is a complete opposite of life course theory because life course
theory explains that people change over the life course while latent
trait theory claims that people do not change, criminal opportunities
change; maturity brings fewer opportunities, early social control like
proper parenting can reduce criminal propensity.
• It also holds that human development is controlled b a “master trait-
such as personality, intelligence and genetic makeup,” present at
birth.
• It is also believed that this trait remains stable and unchanging
throughout a person’s lifetime whereas others suggest that it can be
altered, influenced, or changed by subsequent experience.
Interactional Theory
• It was proposed by Trence P. Thornberry
• He agrees that the onset can be traced to a deterioration of the
social bond during adolescence, marked by weakened attachment to
parents, commitment to school, and belief in conventional values.
• The onset of criminal career is supported by residence in a social
setting in which deviant peers.
• Weak bonds lead to kids to develop friendships with deviant peers
and get involved in delinquency.
Age-Graded Theory
• Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub in their work (1993), “Crime in
the Making” identify the turning points in a criminal career.
• They find out that the stability of delinquent behavior can be affected
by the events that occur in later life, even after a chronic delinquent
career has been undertaken.
• They also state that children who enter delinquent careers are those
who have trouble at home and school and maintain deviant friends.
• In this theory, the type of crime committed by a certain individual is in
consonance with his age or his age governs or dictates the type of
crime to be committed by him.
Social Development Theory
• Joseph G. Weis, Richard F. Catalano, J. David Hawkins (2001), and
their associates focus on the different factors affecting child’s social
development over the life course.
• According to their view, as children mature within their environment,
elements of socialization control their developmental process and
either insulate them form delinquency or encourage their antisocial
activities.
General Theory of Crime
• Michael R. Gottfredson and Travis W. Hirschi (1935-2017) in their
work, “General Theory of Crime,” modified and redefined some of the
principles articulated in Hirschi’s social control theory by integrating
the concepts of control with those biosocial, psychological, routine
activities and rational choice theories.
• In this theory, Gottfredson and Hirschi consider the criminal act as
separate concepts.
• They further claim that crime is rational and predictable; people
commit crime when it promises rewards and minimal threat pain; the
threat of punishment can deter crime.
Differential Coercion Theory
• Perception of coercion can begin in early life when children punitive form
of discipline including both physical attacks and psychological coercion
including negative commands.
• Critical remarks such as teasing, humiliation, whining, yelling and threats.
• Colvin identified 2 sources of coercion:
• 1. Interpersonal coercion – is direct, involving the use or threat of force
and intimidation from parents, peers, and law enforcement.
• 2. Impersonal coercion – involves pressures beyond individual control,
such as economic and social pressures caused by unemployment, poverty,
or competition among businesses or other groups.
Control Balance Theory
• Charles R. Tittle expands the concept of personal control as predisposing
element for criminality.
He believed the concept of control has 2 distinct elements:
• 1. The amount of control one is subject by others and;
• 2. The amount of control one can exercise over others.
• Conformity results when these two elements are in balance; control
imbalances produce deviant and criminal behaviors.
• According to Tittle, deviance increases when there is control deficit and
with excessive control.
Control imbalance represents a potential to commit crime and deviance.
Adler’s Theory of Masculinity
• Adler argued that, women are involved in more crime due to the
increasing participation of women in social movements since the
1970s, which changed role of female in family and the feelings of
independence in her work and thought.
• All these factors promote the “masculinization processes of women”
role in society.
• The main premise of this theory is that criminalities of women are
mainly dependent on the masculinity behavior of female. The women
are involved in more serious violent crime than non-empowered
women due to the masculinity.
Opportunity Theory
• It was created by Rita J. Simon in her work, “Women and Society”.
• This theory argued that the involvement of criminal activities is
increased when women have different opportunities.
• Increasing opportunities of women reduced the rates of violent
female offending, but increased the rates of property crimes.
• She emphasized the descriptions of different dimensions of female
criminality, that is – type, nature and also the corrective role of jail
and court in this regard.
Marginalization Theory
• This theory was created because of the work of Meda Chesney-Lind
and Kathleen Daly entitled Women and Crime: The Female Offender
(1986).
• Marginality (low salary, inadequate job, lower class position and
family victimization) of a woman penetrates criminality in
contemporary societies.
• Those women are motivated to commit crime as a rational response
to poverty and economic uncertainty that they perceive.
Critical Feminist Theory
• It is also known as Marxist feminists.
• This theory holds that gender inequality stems
from the unequal power of men and women and
the subsequent exploitation of women by men;
the cause of female criminality originates with
the onset of male supremacy and the effort of
males to control female sexuality.
• Women are a “commodity” like land or money.
That male exploitation acts as a trigger for female
criminal or delinquent behavior.
Power-Control Theory
• It is created by John L. Hagan (1985).
• He suggests that class influences delinquency and
criminality by controlling the quality of family life.
• In egalitarian families, in which the husband and the
wife share similar positions of power at home and in
the workplace - daughters gain a kind of freedom
that reflects reduced parental control.
• These families produce daughters whose law-
violating behaviors mirror those of their brothers.
• The daughters of successful and powerful mothers
are more at risk of delinquency than the daughters of
sat-at-home mothers.
Sigmund Freud’s Theory of “Penis Envy”
• It is a theory in Freudian psychoanalytic theory that proposes that
very young girls feel deprived and envious that they do not have a
penis. According to him, women are simply men without penises.
• Within this theory, a child progresses through several stages of
development, each of which contains a sexual conflict that the child
must resolve to become a healthy adult.
Chivalry or Paternalism Theory
• This theory was proposed by Otto Pollak and argues hat in a
patriarchal society, women are treated more leniently than men
because women believed to be born biologically inferior and in need
of protection from men.
• This theory further states that traditional women are treated with
extreme leniency due to chivalry resulting from paternalistic attitudes
within a patriarchal society.
Human Ecology Theory
• German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), in
1878, was the first to give the name “ecology” to the study of
interrelations and interdependence of species and by so doing gave
them character of distinct and separate science.
• It is concerned with the examination of the relationship between man
and his environment and man within an environment. It is also
concerned with the question of how people organize themselves
socially to adapt to their habitat, and in particular to the habitat of
cities and their environs.
Ecological Systems Theory
• Formulated by American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner.
• It explains how the inherent qualities of a child and his environment
interact to influence how he will grow and develop.
• Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory, he stressed the importance of
studying a child in the context of multiple environments, also known
as ecological systems in the attempt to understand his development.
A child typically finds himself simultaneously enmeshed in different
ecosystems, from the most intimate home ecological system moving
outward to the larger school system and the most expensive system
which is society and culture.
Broken Windows Theory
• James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling was
fascinated in the work of Zimbardo and proposed
that policing minor offenses, such as loitering,
panhandling, prostitution, and graffiti, might
reduce more serious crime.
• Their idea turned on the relationship between
the appearance of disorder and the actual
amount of disorderly behavior in society: “If a
window in a building is broken and left
unrepaired, all windows will soon be broken”.
Crime Pattern Theory
• This theory is particularly important in developing an
understanding of crime and place because it
combines rational choice and routine activity theory
to help explain the distribution of crime across
places.
• The distribution of offenders, targets, handlers,
guardians, and managers over time and place will
describe crime patterns.
• Pattern theory explores the interactions of offenders
with their physical and social environments that
influence offenders’ choice of targets.
Rational-Choice Perspective
• Developed by Ronald V. Clarke and Derek B. Cornish based on two
main theoretical approaches: utilitarianism and the theory on
economic choice. Utilitarianism assumes that people make decisions
with the goal of maximizing pleasure and minimization of pain.
• The theory on rational choice theory argues that a person decides to
commit crime after concluding that the benefits (the pleasure)
outweigh the risks and the effort (the pain).
• That people make decisions with a goal in mind and that they are
made more or less intelligently and with free will.
What school of criminology which has a main
principle of “Let the punishment fit the crime”?
A.Classical school
B.Neo-classical school
C.Italian school
D.Positivist school
A
What theory holds that a person will engage
criminal behavior after weighing the consequences
and benefits of his/her actions?
A.Routine Activity Theory
B.Lifestyle Theory
C.Incapacitation Theory
D.Rational Choice Theory
D
What theory emphasizes that a sharp division between
the rich and the poor creates an atmosphere of envy
and mistrust?
A.General Strain Theory
B.Cultural Deviance Theory
C.Relative Deprivation Theory
D.Concentric Zone Theory
C
Which statement below shows the principle of
punishment “swift” under classical school?
A.It pertains to punishment which must be done within a
very short time
B.It pertains to the idea that people must know they will
be punished for their illegal behavior
C.It pertains to punishment that is severe enough to
outweigh the rewards of the illegal action
D.It pertains to punishment that is equal to the crime
committed.
A
Kino is a criminal that has a pyknic body type based on
somatotyping theory of Ernst Kretschmer. What crime are
usual crimes that can be linked to that body type?
A.Murder
B.Robbery
C.Forgery
D.Larceny
C
Gardo is a barangay chairman. He has a project in their
barangay. He even gain money out of that project by
providing substandard materials. What theory has been
applied in that situation?
A.Economic Model of Criminal Behavior: Basic Theory
B.Karl Marx’s Theory
C.Differential Opportunity-Reinforcement Theory
D.Labeling Theory
A
Jane is a call center agent who is travelling at 12
midnight from her duty place to her house. Because of
her lifestyle, she was victimized of the crime of rape.
What theory has been used in that situation?
A.Lifestyle theory
B.Latent trait theory
C.Behavioral theory
D.Cognitive theory
A
What theory is concerned with the study of
observable behavior rather than unconscious process?
A.Psychodynamic theory
B.Behavioral theory
C.Social learning theory
D.Cognitive theory
B
Which statement is characterized of a body physique of
pyknic?
A.Lean, slightly built, narrow shoulders
B.Medium to tall, strong, muscular, coarse bones
C.Medium height, rounded figure, massive neck and
broad face
D.Rounded body figure, slightly built, coarse bones

C
Mario is a product of a broken family. He was just living in his
grandparents and not that attached with them too. He was more
attached with his peers who are doing anti-social activity and resulted
him to commit to criminal acts as well. What type of theory is this?

A. Social bond theory

B. Containment theory
C. General strain theory
D. Concentric zone theory
A
Which statement best explains a social reality of crime theory?

A. The laws are being created by wealthy people who has power for
their protection.
B. There is crime because of discontentment and lack of political
solution.
C. Crime happens because the members of the group developed a
feeling of oneness.
D. Crime happens because there is conflict that happens between
upper and lower class.
A
A component of human personality that dictates the
needs and desires of an individual is _______.

A.Id
B.Ego
C.Superego
D.Ego ideal
A
Juan is a member of a gang who commits a crime of theft and
they targets unlocked homes in their place and they found out
that the home owners are not there. What theory has been used
based on the situation?

A. Behavioral theory
B. Incapacitation theory
C. Rational choice theory
D. Routine activity theory
D
Slum dwellers are forced to violate the law because they
follow the rules of the deviant culture with which they are
in close and immediate contact. These scenario is an
example of what type of theory?

A.General strain theory

B.Relative deprivation theory
C.Cultural deviance theory
D.Moral development theory
C
Clara, a 13-year old child, stole a food item in a convenient store.
Based on the principle of Neo-classical school of criminology, is Clara
be held liable of the crime she committed?

A. Yes, because she violated the law about crimes against property.
B. No, because she will be also exempted of her act since she is still
in her minority.
C. Yes, because she committed a crime and she’ll be facing the
consequence of her act.
D. No, because stealing is not considered a crime so she will not be
liable of her act.
B
What theory stand to reason that if more criminals are
sent to prison or keeping known criminals out of
circulation the crime rate should go down?

A.Behavioral theory
B.Cognitive theory
C.Alternative theory
D.Incapacitation theory
D
A type of theory that states that people in all strata of
society share the same success goals but those in the
lower-class have limited means of achieving them is
______.

A.Differential opportunity theory

B.Differential association theory
C.Delinquent subculture theory
D.Relative deprivation theory
A
Pablo always witnessed his father beats her mother
every time his father is under the influence of alcohol,
then Pablo assume that beating is just fine. When Pablo
became a father already, he also beats his wife every
time he is drunk. What theory has been used in the
situation?

A.Cheater theory
B.Arousal theory
C.Life course theory
D.Evolutionary theory
D
Gina, a wife, was able to kill Daniel, her husband, because
he kept on beating her every time he got drunk. The
husband became a victim in this case since the wife just
acted on self-defense. What theory has been used in the
situation?

A.Victim precipitation theory

B.Incapacitation theory
C.Institutive-constitutive theory
D.Differential association theory
A
Mario grew in a place where crime is rampant. He also
directly interact with his friends and neighbors who are
doing anti-social acts. Later on, Mario became a criminal
as well. What type of theory has been used in the
situation?

A.Labeling theory
B.Drift/neutralization theory
C.Differential association theory
D.Differential opportunity theory
C
What is the difference between cognitive theory and alternative theory?

A. Cognitive theory is states that potential criminals fear the consequences of

crime while alternative theory holds that if offenders are punished they will
not commit crime again.
B. Cognitive theory focuses on mental process while alternative theory focuses
on assortative mating where female tend to cohabit with or get married to
male offenders.
C. Cognitive theory suggests that people who obey law simply avoid punishment
while alternative theory claims that all human personalities has three
dimensions.
D. Cognitive theory states that genes and environment are factors to commit
crimes while alternative theory has a notion that a child needs affection from
his mother.

B
Maria was being abused when she was still 8-year old.
That bad experience she had was being repressed in
what level of awareness in the human mind?

A.Conscious level
B.Subconscious level
C.Unconscious level
D.Conscience level
C
Pablo committed a crime. He was incarcerated in order to
pay his act that committed. What school of criminology
has been used in the scenario?

A.Classical school
B.Neo-classical school
C.Positivist school
D.Psychological school
C
Juan had committed a crime. It was found out that he has low
intelligence as well as his parents resulting that they are
easily attracted in violating the laws. What theory has been
used in the situation?

A. Nature theory
B. Arousal theory
C. Lifestyle theory
D.Cognitive theory
A
Cesare had experience a crisis pertaining financial
matter. He think that committing a crime might be a
solution of his problem but he also realized that he
might be also caught by the police authorities. Out of
that confusion, he still pursue the commission of crime.

A.Rational choice theory

B.Routine activity theory
C.Life Course theory
D.Evolutionary theory
A
Bentoy has been taught by his parents to eliminate his
bodily waste properly. When he grew up, he developed
that behavior of being neat and clean. What stage of
psychosexual stage is this?

A.Oral stage
B.Anal stage
C.Phallic stage
D.Genital stage
B
A school of criminology that emphasized the principle
that people have freewill choose their behavior is
__________.

A.Classical school
B.Neo-classical school
C.Positivist school
D.Italian school
A
Pedro used to cheat his wife. It was found out that Pedro
has low parental involvement when he was still young and
sexually aggressive. What theory has been used in the
scenario?

A.Evolutionary theory
B.Cheater theory
C.Arousal theory
D.Life course theory
B
What theory states that people are not actually born with
the ability to act violently but they learn to be aggressive
through their life experiences?

A.Social learning theory

B.Cognitive theory
C.Alternative theory
D.General strain theory
A
A theory that views crime as a function of the
capitalist mode of production is ________.

A.Marxist criminology
B.Classical criminology
C.Positivist criminology
D.Italian criminology
A
Babalo committed a crime of homicide and he was arrested by the
police authorities and was detained. When he was convicted of the
said crime, he was sentenced with death penalty in front of the
public so that they will witness the punishment and they will not
also commit crime because of the fear of punishment they might
experience. Based on the scenario, what type deterrence is that?

A. General deterrence
B. Specific deterrence
C. Common deterrence
D.Definite deterrence
A