Criminological Theories

Ronald L. Akers

• PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY What Is Theory? Types of Criminological Theories Theories of Making and Enforcing Criminal Law Theories of Criminal and Deviant Behavior Criteria for Evaluating Theory Logical Consistency, Scope, and Parsimony Testability Empirical Validity Empirical Validity and the Concept of Causality and Determinism Usefulness and Policy Implications Empirical Validity as the Primary Criterion Summary DETERRENCE AND RATIONAL CHOICE THEORIES Classical Criminology and the Deterrence Doctrine Deterrence: Certainty, Severity, and Celerity of Punishment Modern Deterrence Theory Studies of Deterrence Do Criminal Sanctions Deter? Deterrence and the Experiential Effect Modifications and Expansions of Deterrence Concepts Rational Choice Theory Deterrence and Expected Utility Research on Rational Choice Theory Routine Activities Theory Felson and Cohen: Offenders, Targets, and Guardians Empirical Validity of Routine Activities Theory Summary Notes BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES Introduction Lombroso and Early Biological Theories Lombroso's Theory of the Born Criminal The Criminal as Biologically Inferior Recognizing the Inadequacies of Early Biological Theories Modern Biological Theories of Crime and Delinquency IQ, Mental Functioning, and Delinquency Testosterone and Criminal Aggressiveness Mednick's Theory of Inherited Criminal Tendencies Empirical Validity of Biological Theories of Criminal Behavior Psychoanalytic Theory Personality Theory Summary Notes SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Introduction Sutherland's Differential Association Theory Akers' Social Learning Theory Development of the Theory The Central Concepts and Propositions of Social Learning Theory The Social Learning Process: Sequence and Feedback Effects Social Structure and Social Learning Empirical Validity of Social Learning Theory Critiques and Research on Social Learning Variables Akers' Research on Social Learning Theory Summary Notes SOCIAL BONDING AND CONTROL THEORIES Introduction Early Control Theories Reiss' and Nye's Theories of Internal and External Controls Reckless' Containment Theory Sykes and Matza: Techniques of Neutralization and Drift Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory The Central Concepts and Propositions of Social Bonding Theory Empirical Validity of Social Bonding Theory Gottfredson and Hirschi: Self-Control Theory Low Self-Control as the Cause of Criminal Behavior What Is the Relationship Between Self-Control Theory and Social Bonding Theory? Testability of Self-Control Theory Research Indirectly and Directly Testing Self-Control Theory Summary Notes LABELING THEORY Introduction Labeling as a Process of Symbolic Social Interaction The Label as an Independent Variable in Crime and Deviance Empirical Evidence on Labeling Theory Developments and Modifications in Labeling Theory The Past and Future of Labeling Theory Summary Notes SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION,ANOMIE, AND STRAIN THEORIES Introduction Social Disorganization and the Urban Ecology of Crime and Delinquency Research on Social Disorganization Anomic/Strain Theory Merton's Anomie Theory Cohen: Status Deprivation and the Delinquent Subculture Cloward and Ohlin: Differential Opportunity and Delinquent Subcultures Miller: Focal Concerns of Lower-Class Culture Research on Anomie/Strain Theory Is Crime and Delinquency Concentrated in the Lower Class and Minority Groups? Other Social Structural Correlates of Crime Gangs and Delinquent Subcultures School Dropout and Delinquency Perceived Discrepancy Between Aspirations and Expectations Agnew's General Strain Theory of Crime and Delinquency Summary Notes CONFLICT THEORY Introduction Law is a Type of Social Control Consensus and Functionalist Theories of Law Conflict Theory of Law and Criminal Justice Empirical Validity of Consensus and Conflict Theories of Law and Criminal Justice Research on Legislation and Public Opinion on Crimes Research on Legal and Extra-legal Variables in the Criminal Justice System Conflict Theory of Criminal Behavior Empirical Validity of Conflict Theory of Criminal Behavior Summary Notes MARXIST AND CRITICAL THEORIES Marxist Theory Marxist Theory of Law and Criminal Justice Instrumentalist and Structuralist Marxism Empirical Adequacy of Marxist Theory of Law and Justice Marxist Theory of Crime Bonger: Early Marxist Theory of Crime Quinney: Class, State, and Crime Modifications of Marxist Theory Is Crime the Result of a Capitalist Economy? Critical Criminology Critical/Constitutive Criminology Left Realism Peacemaking Criminology Summary Notes FEMINIST THEORIES Introduction Feminist Theory of Criminal Justice Empirical Validity of Feminist Theory of Criminal Justice Feminist Theories of Crime Women's Liberation and Female Crime Power-Control Theory of Gender and Delinquency Patriarchal Society and Crime Empirical Validity of Feminist Theory Summary Notes INTEGRATING CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES Theory Competition Versus Theory Integration Varieties of Theoretical Integration in Criminology Conceptual Integration Akers: Integration by Conceptual Absorption Pearson and Weiner: Conceptual Integrative Framework Propositional Integration Elliott's Integrative Model of Strain, Bonding, and Learning Krohn's Network Analysis Thornberry's Interactional Theory Kaplan's Self-Derogation Theory Bernard's Unified Conflict Theory of Criminal Behavior and Criminal Law Tittle's Control Balance Theory How Successful Has Theoretical Integration Been in Criminology? Summary Notes REFERENCES AUTHOR INDEX SUBJECT INDEX