Criminology is a subject which aims towards discovering the reasons behind an individual’s choice to commit crime and their behaviour in some situations. By understanding a person’s motives to commit a crime, criminologists can try and prevent crime from happening. Several criminologists developed their own theories which explain why people commit crime, what makes them do it and also how we can prevent individuals from committing a crime again.
The main theoretical perspectives examined in this essay are Biological Criminology and Psychological Criminology. Both of those theories have different approaches towards explaining the reasons behind people’s choice to commit crime. Biological Criminology focuses solely on behaviour that is criminal …show more content…
He was influenced by Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. He believed that particular faults within a human’s appearance, such as large cheekbones and thick eyebrows, is what defined a person as a criminal. This viewpoint was developed from Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as it claims that the human species are able to adjust to the environment, however those who are unable to do so are considered to be an “atavistic throwback” to the beginning of the evolution process, meaning they are more likely to be criminals (McLaughlin and Muncie, 2012: …show more content…
It is a positivist approach to criminological study, with the philosophy and methodology of the natural sciences being applied to the subject mater of criminology, which consists of crime and the criminal individual who does it. By focusing on the individual, it allows this approach to find the causation for crime within them; either by arguing people have free will and so possess rationality and choice, or by arguing that their actions are to some extent determined by the biology or psychology. Crowther (2007: 281) states that this approach “attributes the causes of criminal behaviour to mental processes that develop as individuals interact with their families and the rest of society”. The main psychological approaches I will be reviewing include psychodynamic theory, Eysenck’s trait theory of personality and Sutherland’s differential association
The main theoretical perspectives examined in this essay are Biological Criminology and Psychological Criminology. Both of those theories have different approaches towards explaining the reasons behind people’s choice to commit crime. Biological Criminology focuses solely on behaviour that is criminal …show more content…
He was influenced by Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. He believed that particular faults within a human’s appearance, such as large cheekbones and thick eyebrows, is what defined a person as a criminal. This viewpoint was developed from Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as it claims that the human species are able to adjust to the environment, however those who are unable to do so are considered to be an “atavistic throwback” to the beginning of the evolution process, meaning they are more likely to be criminals (McLaughlin and Muncie, 2012: …show more content…
It is a positivist approach to criminological study, with the philosophy and methodology of the natural sciences being applied to the subject mater of criminology, which consists of crime and the criminal individual who does it. By focusing on the individual, it allows this approach to find the causation for crime within them; either by arguing people have free will and so possess rationality and choice, or by arguing that their actions are to some extent determined by the biology or psychology. Crowther (2007: 281) states that this approach “attributes the causes of criminal behaviour to mental processes that develop as individuals interact with their families and the rest of society”. The main psychological approaches I will be reviewing include psychodynamic theory, Eysenck’s trait theory of personality and Sutherland’s differential association