Theories of Crime Causation
Theories of Crime Causation from
Psychological and Sociological Perspectives
Throughout the history of criminological thought, various theories on crime causation have been formulated and many questions as to why individuals commit crime still remain unanswered. This essay will focus on psychological and sociological theories in relation to criminological matters.
Criminology the study of crime in society arose from sociology and psychology in the late 1800’s. It has three main schools of thought; classical, positivist and Chicago. The Italian criminologist and economist Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) the father of classical criminal theory said human beings are free willed individuals who commit crime when they rationally calculate that the crime will give them more pleasure than pain and yield more benefit than loss. Beccarria was against the death penalty and an advocate that ‘the punishment should fit the crime’ (Carpenter, 2013) Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) created the neoclassical school of criminology who mostly agreed with Beccaria except Bentham believed mitigating circumstances were a cause of crime.
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology rejected the classical theory of crime associated with Beccaria and Bentham. It was Lombroso who argued the idea of genetically determined, distinct criminal types. He said criminals were atavistic beings who could be easily recognised by their abnormal physical features. (Tierney 1996) These anomalies included the shape of their skulls, asymmetry of the face and head, large cheekbones, ears and lips, long arms and a twisted nose. (Hoque, 2011)
Hans Eysenck thought that criminal behaviour was the result of an "interaction between certain environmental conditions and features of the nervous system” (Bartol, 2005) He was a firm believer in neurophysiological aspects that relate to criminals. According to Hans, extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are
Psychological and Sociological Perspectives
Throughout the history of criminological thought, various theories on crime causation have been formulated and many questions as to why individuals commit crime still remain unanswered. This essay will focus on psychological and sociological theories in relation to criminological matters.
Criminology the study of crime in society arose from sociology and psychology in the late 1800’s. It has three main schools of thought; classical, positivist and Chicago. The Italian criminologist and economist Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) the father of classical criminal theory said human beings are free willed individuals who commit crime when they rationally calculate that the crime will give them more pleasure than pain and yield more benefit than loss. Beccarria was against the death penalty and an advocate that ‘the punishment should fit the crime’ (Carpenter, 2013) Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) created the neoclassical school of criminology who mostly agreed with Beccaria except Bentham believed mitigating circumstances were a cause of crime.
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology rejected the classical theory of crime associated with Beccaria and Bentham. It was Lombroso who argued the idea of genetically determined, distinct criminal types. He said criminals were atavistic beings who could be easily recognised by their abnormal physical features. (Tierney 1996) These anomalies included the shape of their skulls, asymmetry of the face and head, large cheekbones, ears and lips, long arms and a twisted nose. (Hoque, 2011)
Hans Eysenck thought that criminal behaviour was the result of an "interaction between certain environmental conditions and features of the nervous system” (Bartol, 2005) He was a firm believer in neurophysiological aspects that relate to criminals. According to Hans, extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are