Sociological Theories Of Criminal Behavior Analysis

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ociological theories of criminal behavior focus their attention on environmental factors that play a role in shaping criminal behavior. Unlike the psychological and biological perspectives, these theories mainly focus on the macro level, and their explanation of crime is group orientated rather than individualized based. However, there are micro-level sociological theories, such as rational choice theory, that attempt to suggest the motivation for the individual who chose to engage in criminal behavior. The contemporary sociological theories that will be examined in this post will include the social conflict theory, social disorganization theory, and rational choice theory.
Social conflict theory upholds the position that deviant behaviors …show more content…

He also adds that inequalities in wealth and income create poverty and homelessness for the working class and crime is seen as a rational response to this social problem (as cited in “Crime and Deviance: Marxist Perspective, 2014 slide 5). The nature of capitalist encourages a culture of greed which incites the poor to engage in criminal behavior.
The strengths of the social conflict theory are that it is one that promotes social change as it understands the complex social mechanism creating inequalities in resources and power among the competing groups of individuals. Social conflict theory suggests that anywhere inequality exists, then competition for these resources will continue to challenge the fabric and framework of the given society. The social conflict theory also provided valuable insight into our countries struggles with the civil rights movement, and women’s rights movement where groups of individuals were challenging the power of the power elite and demanding equal rights and equal access to society’s …show more content…

They also noted that the neighborhoods with the highest crime rates have at least three common problems; physical decrepitude, poverty, and a higher level of ethnic and culture mixing (Inderbitizin, Bates, & Gainey, 2015).
. Delinquency and crime are perceived as a reasonable response by individuals to abnormal situations. Social disorganization theory is widely used as an essential predictor of youth violence and crime.
Social disorganization asserts that substantial levels of community connections along with a sense of civic responsibility motivate individuals to become active members of the community and also acts as a deterrent to criminal behavior. This theory helps us to explain the development of subcultures and their development of social norms differ from mainstream society. Social disorganization theory provides useful interventions for reducing crime rates such as developing community outreach programs, or neighborhood watch

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