Theory Construction and Evaluation in Criminology

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Theory Construction and Evaluation in Criminology

• 1.Importance of Theory
• 2.Theory Evaluation

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What is Theory?

• Theory is a set on interconnected statements or
  propositions that explain how two or more events
  or factors are related to one another

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Example

• Children who experienced harsh and inconsistent
  punishment are more likely to become deviant

Harsh Inconsistent Punishment
Violence
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More complicated theory
Isolation
Violence
Harsh Inconsistent Punishment
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Two ways to build a theory

• Deductive Approach (theory, hypothesis, research
  design, observations, empirical generalizations,
  new theory)
• Inductive Approach (research design,
  observations, empirical generalizations, new
  theory)

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A Model of the Research Process
THEORY
Deduction
HYPOTHESIS
FINDINGS
Operationalization
Induction
Analysis
DATA GATHERING
RESEARCH DESIGN
Measurement
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Quantitative Qualitative

• Hypothesis
• Data are in the form of numbers from precise
  measurement
• Theory is largely causal and deductive
• Replication is possible
• Analysis proceeds by using statistics, tables, or
  charts

• No hypothesis
• Data are in the form of words and images from
  observations, and transcripts
• Theory noncausal and inductive
• Replication is rare
• Analysis proceeds by extracting themes or
  generalizations (although numbers are possible)

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Examples

• Physical abuse in childhood is associate to
  future violence
• Is child neglect is also related to violence
  perpetration later in life
• Survey of a group of incarcerated criminals about
  their childhood experiences
• Theory about how the impact of child neglect is
  similar/different from child abuse in terms of
  its criminogenic effect

• Field study of active burglars
• Face-to-face interviews with burglars about the
  ways they select the targets
• Theory about how a household can become a target
  for burglary

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Criteria for Evaluating Theory

• Logical consistency
• The scope
• Parsimony
• Testability
• Empirical validity
• Usefulness and Policy implications

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Logical consistency

• Propositions of a theory have to be logically
  stated and internally consistent

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The Scope

• The Scope of a theory refers to the range of
  phenomena which it proposes to explain
• A theory that accounts only for the crime of
  check forgery may be accurate, but it is
  obviously very limited in scope
• Gottfredson and Hirschi posit that both imprudent
  and criminal behaviors can be predicted by a
  common characteristic lack of self-control

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Parsimony

• Parsimony (simplicity of theorys structure)
• The theory based on fewest assumptions and
  requiring the fewest propositions is considered
  the superior theory

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Differential Association Theory is based upon
these nine postulates

• 1. Criminal behavior is learned
• 2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction
  with others persons in a process of communication
• 3. The principal part of the learning of criminal
  behavior occurs within intimate personal groups
• 4. When criminal behavior is learned, the
  learning includes techniques of committing the
  crime, which are sometimes very complicated,
  sometimes simple and the specific direction of
  motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes
• 5. The specific direction of motives and drives
  is learned from definitions of the legal codes as
  favorable or unfavorable to committing deviant
  acts

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Differential Association is based upon these nine
postulates

• 6. A person becomes delinquent because of an
  excess of definitions favorable to violation of
  law over definitions unfavorable to violation of
  the law
• 7. Differential associations may vary in
  frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
• 8. The process of learning criminal behavior by
  association with criminal and anticriminal
  patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are
  involved in any other learning
• 9. While criminal behavior is an expression of
  general needs and values, it is not explained by
  those general needs and values, since non
  criminal behavior is an expression of the same
  needs and values

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Testability

• Testability by objective and repeatable evidence
  (theory which are untestable are not scientific)

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Untestable theories

• Propositions are open-ended so that any
  contradictory empirical evidence can be
  interpreted or re-interpreted to support the
  theory
• A theory may propose that males who robe banks
  are motivated by an unconscious impulse to
  resolve their guilt over their childhood sexual
  attraction toward their mothers

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Untestable theories

• If we find enough bank robbers who fit this
  description, then the theory is supported
• If research uncover that bank robbers claim their
  only motive is money then that does not mean that
  the theory is rejected
• Denial of these feeling by robbers supports the
  theory, because the same unconscious impulse that
  motivated them to rob also rendered them
  unconscious of their true motivation

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Untestable Theories

• A theory may also be untestable because its
  concepts are not measurable by observable events
• If a theory proposes that people commit crimes
  because they are obsessed by invisible demons,
  there is no way to prove it
• Imitation in social learning theory is observable
  thing

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Empirical validity

• Empirical validity means that a theory has been
  supported by research evidence
• None of the theories is found to be entirely true
  or false
• The questions is, what degree of empirical
  support does the theory have (weak or strong)

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Usefulness and Policy implications

• Every criminological theory implies a therapy or
  policy
• The better the theory explain the problem, the
  better it is able to guide efforts to solve the
  problem