The emphasis of social process theories are not on the institutions, but on the relationships formed between individual family members, peer groups, teachers, church leaders and other agents of socialization.
The key concept of all social process theories is based on learning. Sociologists have believed that individuals learn social values and norms from agents of socialization. Thus, if those agents engage in behavior that is deviant or criminal, then there is a greater chance for an individual to engage in similar behavior.
Edwin Sutherland, the father of American criminology, is one of the greatest exemplars of social process theory. Though his theory of differential association was devised largely to explain white collar crime, many of the pronouncements are also applicable to violent crime. In response to psychologists who tried to explain criminal behavior in terms of psychosis, Sutherland's differential association theory believed that like much of behavior, engaging in criminal activities is part of the social learning process (Sutherland 1983).
Social process theories further believe that criminal behavior is learned through interaction with other members of the community, most likely through communication by an individual's "significant others." These significant others include members of an individual's primary group, such as family, friends and peers. Thus, the more an individual spends time with criminals, the higher his or her chances are of engaging in criminal behavior.
Specifically, social process theories believe that spending time with miscreants exposes an individual to attitudes, techniques, motives and various rationalizations that may increase their likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior. The frequency of the contacts may vary, but the age at first contact...
Crime Theories Psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the individual, rather than on contextual factors (as sociological theories of crime do) or on biological factors (such as genetics). Personality, traits, and cognitions are all covered under the rubric of psychological theories of crime. One of the prevailing and most widely accepted psychological theory of crime is rational choice theory. Rational choice theory " is perhaps the most common reason why
Anxious / ambivalent adults often worry that their partner doesn't really love them or won't want to stay with them. Anxious / ambivalent adults want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away." (Hazen 1987-page 512). In 1990 another researcher also developed models that portrayed the attachment theories. These models were based on studies conducted to discover how we coped as adults and were based
For example, Tocqueville was able to explain 18th century European aristocrat behavior by looking at social consequences. Like Tocqueville, Marx believed that they could explain individual actions by looking at subconscious class interests. Frey has demonstrated that people will accept individually negative outcomes, if they have positive group benefits. Nietzsche believed that, while conscious of class interests, individual actions and beliefs should be viewed from an individual perspective, since they
Crime On March 9th, 2013, two New York City police officers shot and killed a sixteen-year-old Kimani Gray, and claimed afterward that he had brandished a handgun at them after being told to show his hands (Goodman, 2013). More remarkable than the New York Police Department's killing of a young black male, however, was the outpouring of community grief and anger that followed the shooting. The following Monday, March 11th, saw
Crime As Schmalleger explains, the American juvenile-justice system was designed a century ago to reform kids found guilty of minor crimes, but more and more, the system has to cope with more violent crimes committed by younger people. The response on the part of lawmakers has been largely to siphon the worst of these young people out of the juvenile system by lowering the age at which juveniles charged with serious
Social issue alcohol drugs consider a social issue interested. It human freedom, sexuality, deviance, crime, social mobility, poverty, education, aging, similar issues. Select a specific social issue investigate assignment. Social issue: Drug abuse The social problem of drug addiction is a long-standing one, yet the causes of addiction and the best way to treat addiction still remain difficult questions to answer. One contentious issue pertains to whether addiction is a 'crime' or
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