Developmental Theories - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 29
About This Presentation
Title:

Developmental Theories

Description:

Each of the theories tries to explain between individual differences ... Terence Thornberry (1987) Interactions are very important in shaping the behavior ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:220
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 30
Provided by: arinage
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Developmental Theories


1
Developmental Theories
  • Life-course perspective
  • Latent Trait perspective

2
Why do we need developmental theories?
  • Can criminologists be satisfied with existing
    theories?
  • Each of the theories tries to explain between
    individual differences

3
Why do we need developmental theories?
  • What about within individual differences?
  • Do you believe that people do not change?

4
Life course theory
Life is a dynamic process. As people travel
through the life course they are bombarded by
changing perceptions and experiences and as a
result their behavior will change directions
(sometimes for better and sometimes for worse)
5
Developmental theories
  • Common tendencies in development
  • You can predict what a person went through
  • Do not ask the relatively simple questions Why
    do people commit crime? Or Why do some people
    desist from crime?
  • They want to know how the criminal behavior
    changes over the life course
  • What are the possible scenarios?

6
Age-graded Theory
8-9 years
15-24 years
45-55 years
7
Age and Crime
  • Age is inversely related to criminality
  • Younger people (regardless class, race, sex)
    commit crime more often than their older peers

8
Dynamics of criminal behavior (can you think of
any theories that could explain these scenarios?)
9
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
  • LATENT TRAIT THEORIES
  • The General Theory of Crime Gottfredson and
    Hirschi
  • The Differential Coercion Theory Colvin
  • The Control Balance Theory Tittle
  • LIFE COURSE THEORIES
  • Age-Graded Theory Sampson and Laub
  • Theory of Delinquent Development Farrington
  • Interactional Theory Thornberry

10
LATENT TRAIT THEORY
  • Master Trait Personal attributes present at
    birth or established early in life, and it
    remains stable over time, i.e., personality,
    intelligence, and genetic traits
  • Personal traits do not change
  • Criminal opportunities change
  • Maturity brings less opportunity
  • Early social control and proper parenting can
    reduce criminal propensity

11
Mark Colvin-Differential coercion theory
  • Control varies along two continua and dimensions
  • Non-coercive and consistent
  • Non-coercive and erratic
  • Coercive and consistent
  • Coercive and erratic
  • Likelihood of crime and deviance varies according
    to the amount of coercion experienced

12
Age-Graded Life-Course Theory
  • Causal relationship between early delinquent
    offending and later adult deviant behavior is not
    solely a product of individual characteristics
  • Social events may change some individuals while
    others continue to offend
  • Informal social bonds to family and employment
    during adulthood explain changes in criminality

13
Age-Graded Life-Course Theory
14
Life-course model
  • Social bonds created by strong attachment to a
    spouse, military, job stability and commitment,
    and employee-employer interdependence reduce
    crime
  • The social ties embedded in adult transitions
    (i.e. marital attachment and job stability)
    explain variations in crime

15
Farrigntons Developmental Theory
  • Cambridge Study (longitudinal study of 411 London
    boys)
  • Persistent offenders start at 8 years old
    (property crimes)
  • Poor parental supervision, delinquent friends,,
    aggressiveness are the factors that predict the
    future offending

16
Farrigntons desisters
  • Shy personality
  • Having few friends (at age 8)
  • Having nondeviant families
  • Being highly regarded by their mothers
  • Social bond variables (similar to Sampson and
    Laubs theory)

17
Interactional Theory
  • Terence Thornberry (1987)
  • Interactions are very important in shaping the
    behavior
  • Attachment to parents, peers, social institutions
    change over time
  • Further, delinquents not only are influenced by
    their social surroundings but also have an impact
    on others through their behavior

18
Thornberrys Model
  • Interactive or reciprocal
  • The base for the model came from control theory
    and social learning theory
  • Fundamental cause of delinquency lies in the
    weakening of social constrains over the conduct
    of the individuals
  • Next step is association with delinquent peers
  • This association foster delinquent values and
    delinquent behavior

19
Thornberrys Model
1
3
Weak parental attachment
Delinquent association
Delinquent behavior
2
4
5
6
This model answers the contradiction between
Social Learning theory and Control theory about
what goes first deviant behavior or association
with delinquent peers.
20
Thornberrys Model
  • Interactional process creates a behavioral
    trajectory that predicts increasing involvement
    in delinquency and crime
  • Initial weak bonds lead to high delinquency, the
    high delinquency further weakens the conventional
    bonds
  • Combination of these effects make it difficult to
    reestablish bonds to conventional society at
    later age

21
Thornberrys Model
  • What about effect of employment, college,
    military, and marriage?
  • These variables play an important role in
    determining whether delinquency will continue or
    desist

22
Pattersons Social-Interactional Developmental
Model (1989)
  • Children and their environment are in constant
    interchange
  • The start of antisocial behavior happens in
    dysfunctional families (harsh and inconsistent
    discipline, little positive parental involvement,
    poor monitoring)
  • Family members directly train the child to
    perform antisocial behaviors

23
Pattersons Social-Interactional Developmental
Model (1989)
  • In dysfunctional families, coercion is a way of
    life
  • Child might see that only coercion can stop other
    family members from employing hitting
  • Antisocial children manifest conduct problems
    outside the home (rejected by peers)
  • Later they gravitate toward deviant peer groups
  • This association reinforces delinquent behavior
  • Later these children will have dysfunctional
    families and promote coercion

24
Tittles Control Balance Theory
  • Control theorists focus on the factors that
    restrain the behavior of individuals
  • Tittle made an innovation by arguing that people
    are not only objects of control but also agents
    of control
  • Each person has a certain amount of control that
    she/she is under and a certain amount of control
    she/he exerts

25
Tittles Control Balance Theory
  • Tittle sought to have a General Theory and thus
    to explain all forms of deviance
  • For some, the relative amount of control is in
    balance (Control Balance )
  • Some suffer from deficit of control and others
    experience a control surplus (Control Imbalance)
  • Control balance is associated with conformity
    and Control imbalance tends to be associated with
    deviance

26
Tittles Control Balance Theory
Exploitation
Balance
Submission
Defiance
Predation
Plunder
Decadence
Conformity
Repression
Autonomy
27
Tittles Control Balance Theory
White-collar crimes
Serious forms of crime
vandalism
Exploitation
Balance
Submission
Defiance
Predation
Plunder
Decadence
Conformity
Repression
Autonomy
28
Tittles Control Balance Theory
  • Predisposition to deviance is in each of us
  • Human nature has a strong urge for autonomy (to
    escape the control that others wish to impose on
    us)
  • Motivation appears when two conditions transpire
    a person becomes aware of his/her control
    imbalance and realize that deviant behavior can
    change this imbalance and person must
    experience" negative emotion of being humiliated
    or denigrated

29
Tittles Control Balance Theory
  • Once motivation has emerged, deviant behavior
    still might not occur
  • Opportunity must be present
  • Constraints (fear of being caught, moral
    ambitions, social bonds) also must be overcome
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com