Developmental Theories

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Developmental Theories

• Life-course perspective
• Latent Trait perspective

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Why do we need developmental theories?

• Can criminologists be satisfied with existing
  theories?
• Each of the theories tries to explain between
  individual differences

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Why do we need developmental theories?

• What about within individual differences?
• Do you believe that people do not change?

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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)
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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?

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Age-graded Theory
8-9 years
15-24 years
45-55 years
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Age and Crime

• Age is inversely related to criminality
• Younger people (regardless class, race, sex)
  commit crime more often than their older peers

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Dynamics of criminal behavior (can you think of
any theories that could explain these scenarios?)
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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

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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

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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

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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

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Age-Graded Life-Course Theory
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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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Thornberrys Model
1
3
Weak parental attachment
Delinquent association
Delinquent behavior
2
4
5
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This model answers the contradiction between
Social Learning theory and Control theory about
what goes first deviant behavior or association
with delinquent peers.
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Tittles Control Balance Theory
Exploitation
Balance
Submission
Defiance
Predation
Plunder
Decadence
Conformity
Repression
Autonomy
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Tittles Control Balance Theory
White-collar crimes
Serious forms of crime
vandalism
Exploitation
Balance
Submission
Defiance
Predation
Plunder
Decadence
Conformity
Repression
Autonomy
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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

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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