Criminological Theories Of Criminal Behaviour

Characteristics that are highly associated with criminal behaviour, such as aggression, can be identified from a young age. However, the development of criminal behaviour is shaped in integration to other risk factors (Moeller, 2001). Aggressive behaviour might only cause a risk factor if it is integrated with other risk factors, for instance drug addiction or family abuse (Moeller, 2001). There are many criminological theories which argue that behaviour is caused by the environment, rather than internal private events. However, there are other theories, such as Albert Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning theory which claims that learning is a cognitive process which occurs in a social context. In this social context, people learn new behaviours,