Module 2
Theories of Criminal Behaviour
• Biological Theories
• Psychological theories
• Economic Theories
• Sociological Theories
Biological Theories
Lombroso's Atavistic Form
One of the oldest biological explanations for crime is the atavistic form. In 1876, Cesare
Lombroso proposed that criminals are primitive and genetically different from law-abiding
citizens. Not only that, but they also look different compared to normal citizens.
According to Lombroso, criminals have the following characteristics:
• High cheekbones
• Facial asymmetry
• A narrow, sloping brow
• A strong, prominent jaw
• Drooping eyelids
• Large ears
• Dark skin
• Extra toes
He also suggested these features are more pronounced in different types of criminals.
Sheldon's Somatotype
William Sheldon was an American psychologist and physician who, in the 1940s, developed
the theory that different body types, or somatotypes, are associated with different personality
types, also known as constitutional psychology.
He proposed three somatypes: ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic. Each body
type was associated with a particular personality:
• Ectomorphic: People who are very skinny and tall, with fine bones and statures.
• Mesophormic: People with a strong, square, muscular body type. They have even
weight distribution, a good posture and a narrow waist.
• Endomorphic: People who are rounded and soft, overweight and typically short. They
have a hard time losing weight.
Sheldon noted that the vast majority of criminals were mesomorphs. One explanation is that a
solid, muscular person becomes involved in crime at an early age due to their intimidating
appearance.
XYY "Supermale" Syndrome
Another biological theory attempting to explain sex and gender differentials in criminal
behaviour is known as the XYY Syndrome theory. XYY syndrome is a genetic condition in
which a human male has an extra male (Y) chromosome.
Jacobs, Brunton, Melville, Brittain, and McCLemonts, 1965 proposed the “chromosomal
theory” according to which chromosomal irregularity is linked to criminal behaviour. It was
discovered that there were men with two Y chromosomes which made them more masculine
and therefore more aggressive. Jacob says that this enhanced aggressiveness would result in an
increased chance that men would commit violent crimes.
As early as 1974, prominent geneticists Jon Beckwith and Jonathan King called the notion of
a dangerous XYY “Supermale” Syndrome a dangerous myth. This idea was primarily based on
assumptions about the tendency of males to be more aggressive than females and early studies
of XYY males in prisons.
Mark and Ervin's (1970) Dyscontrol theory
Both proposed that lesions in the temporal lobe and limbic system result in electrical
disorganization within the brain which can lead to a dyscontrol syndrome. Symptoms of this
syndrome could include outbursts of sudden physical violence, impulsive sexual behaviour and
serious traffic violations.
Modern biological Theories
Neurological theories of crime include:
1. Focus on the frontal lobe: Criminologists and neurologists emphasize the frontal lobe
of the cerebral cortex due to its involvement in various cognitive functions such as
abstract thought, planning, attention, self-monitoring, and behavioural inhibition.
2. Reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex: Studies, such as those by Raine et al.
(1997), have found reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system of violent
offenders compared to non-criminals.
3. Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD): Individuals with APD often exhibit
decreased emotional response and lack of empathy.
4. Neurotransmitters and aggression: Excessive levels of dopamine and norepinephrine
can be associated with aggression, while reduced levels of serotonin have been linked
to impulsivity and criminal behaviour.
5. Genetic predisposition: Recent research has identified genes such as the MAOA gene
and CDH13 that may contribute to a genetic predisposition for criminal behaviour.
These genes are involved in the regulation of neurotransmitters like dopamine and
serotonin, as well as in processes related to impulsivity and substance abuse.
Genetic explanations of crime include:
1. Genetic predisposition: Genetic factors can predispose individuals to commit crimes
due to their influence on physiological factors such as the structure and functioning of
the nervous system and neurochemistry.
2. Environmental influences: While genetic factors play a role in predisposing
individuals to criminal behaviour, exposure to environments where criminal behaviour
is prevalent further increases the likelihood of engaging in criminal activities.
Environmental factors can interact with genetic predispositions to shape behaviour.
Psychological Theories
Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation (1944)
Bowlby stated early separation of children from their mothers was a reason for criminal
behaviour and patterns.
According to Bowlby when a child is separated from their mother at an early stage, then their
social development is not complete. An incomplete social development leads to incompetency
in dealing with social issues and thus the child experiences long-term issues in developing
Positive social relations, which also leads to antisocial behavioural patterns and thus leads to
criminal behaviour.
Psychodynamic theory: Sigmund Freud
According to him, everyone carries the residue of their childhood experiences, and emotional
attachments which guide our future actions and behaviours. It also guides how we view things
and relationships.
Freud explained three important parts of Personality:
1. Id: Id demands immediate gratification. It is the part of personality that can be
completely irrational at times and would just seek to gratify the need somehow.
2. Superego: The superego is the part of personality that is linked to morality. It guides
our actions to be under the control of morality.
3. Ego: The ego is the third most important part of our personality which creates a balance
between the Id and Superego and sets boundaries for both of them.
Psychodynamic theorists believe that in criminals, the Superego and Ego completely take a
back seat and it’s only the Id that is in action that causes loss of impulse control in such
individuals leading to increased expression of pleasure-seeking drives.
The psychoanalytic perspective also explains that unhealthy expression of unconscious desires
and defence mechanisms also leads to criminal intent and behaviour.
Eysenck Theory of Personality:
Eysenck's theory of personality, known as the PEN model, highlights three dimensions:
Psychoticism (P), Extraversion (E), and Neuroticism (N). Psychoticism refers to aggression
and antisocial tendencies, Extraversion to sociability and sensation-seeking, and Neuroticism
to anxiety and emotional instability. Eysenck suggested that individuals high in Psychoticism,
along with high levels of Extraversion and Neuroticism, are more likely to engage in criminal
behaviour. These traits are thought to be influenced by both genetic - variances and
abnormalities in autonomic arousal, neurobiology neuroendocrine functioning and
environmental factors - adverse childhood experiences, negative social environment and
substance abuse, providing insights into the predisposition to criminality.
Behavioural Theory:
According to behavioural theory, criminal behaviour is a learned behaviour. If an individual,
during his childhood, had experienced a violent environment or had witnessed time and again
violence getting rewarded or if he/ she had acquired criminality as part of socialisation in his
community, then one can expect such an individual to indulge in criminal and violent
behaviours. For instance, the individual in his/her childhood years if had been observing his
father or any other adult or peer being rewarded for violent behaviours, then the individual
acquires and internalises the violent behaviour, and uses it to get the desired outcome. This is
also termed “modelling”, as stated by Bandura (1977).
Cognitive Theory:
Cognitive theory provides insights into criminal behaviour by focusing on the mental processes
of individuals. This theory encompasses two sub-disciplines: moral development and
information processing.
Moral development:
• Pre-conventional level: Children learn to obey rules to avoid punishment (stage 1) and
act in their self-interest (stage 2).
• Conventional level: Individuals understand societal roles and norms, seek approval
and obey laws (stage 3), and accept societal rules and responsibilities (stage 4).
• Post-conventional level: Moral judgment is based on social contracts (stage 5) and
principled conscience (stage 6).
For explaining criminality and criminal behaviour, this theory states criminals are significantly
lower in their moral judgment development.
Information processing and criminal behaviour:
According to this, people use their thought processes step by step to make a decision-based on
the information that they received through their information processing system. Proper
processing can lead to appropriate responses, thus avoiding criminal behaviour whereas faulty
cognitive processes, influenced by childhood experiences such as exposure to violence or
neglect, may lead to inappropriate reasoning and violent behaviours.
Sociological Theories
Structural Functionalism
Structural Functionalism argues deviant behaviour plays a constructive part in society as it
brings together different parts of the population within a society. That’s because deviance helps
to demarcate limitations for acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, which in turn serves to
affirm our cultural values and norms.
While deviant behaviour can throw off social balance, society may adjust social norms in the
process of restoring that balance. In other words, deviant behaviour can then contribute to
social stability in the long term because it challenges norms while promoting social cohesion.
Social Strain Typology
Social Strain typology by Robert Merton proposes that deviant behaviour can be classified by
typology that’s based on a person’s motivations or adherence to cultural objectives, as well as
their beliefs about how they can obtain those goals. The main “types” of social deviance are
ritualism, innovation, rebellion, retreatism, and conformity.
This theory also suggests that people can turn towards deviant behaviour while pursuing
accepted social values/goals. For example, some people turn to crime for the culturally
accepted value of seeking to lead a wealthy life. Deviance can mean breaking one norm to
place another before it, which is a fundamental insight into social strain typology.
Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory views deviant behaviour as a consequence of material inequality between
various socio-political groups. Those groups might be drawn along the lines of gender, religion,
race, class, and so on. Each socio-political group tends to perceive its interests in competition
with others. In other words, the members of various groups tend to perceive rights and other
social privileges as a zero-sum game, where gains for outsiders mean losses for your group.
Groups that find themselves in an unequal social position in society will be inclined to deviant
behaviour to change those circumstances, including the structures that helped create them. As
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” From the
perspective of Conflict Theory, people often act in defiance of social norms to express a
grievance.
Labeling Theory
Labelling Theory argues that deviant behaviour is often a consequence of having a deviant-like
label applied to a person. For example, a teacher labelling a student as a troublemaker. That
label can then be mentally adopted by the person it’s been assigned to, leading them to exhibit
the actions, attitudes, and behaviours associated with it.
In short, this theory tends to focus on how people become deviant as a result of others forcing
that identity upon them. It allows us to develop a better understanding of how a person’s
previous behaviours can be reinterpreted about the symbolic labelling they encountered
throughout their lives.
Social Control Theory
Social control theory focuses on how social bonds and mechanisms of social control influence
an individual’s propensity to engage in criminal behaviour. This theory suggests that
individuals are less likely to engage in crime when they have strong social bonds, such as
attachments to family, friends, and community, as well as commitments to conventional
activities, such as education or employment. These social bonds act as a form of social control
that inhibits an individual’s inclination to engage in criminal behaviour.
One well-known social control theory is Travis Hirschi’s theory of social bonds, developed in
the 1960s. Hirschi argued that individuals who have strong bonds to society, through their
attachments, commitments, involvements, and beliefs, are less likely to engage in criminal
behaviour. For example, a study by Sampson and Laub (1993) found that individuals who had
strong marital bonds, such as being married and having children, were less likely to engage in
criminal behaviour compared to those who did not have such bonds.
Social Disorganization Theory
Social disorganization theory, also known as ecological theory, focuses on how the
characteristics of neighbourhoods and communities influence crime rates. This theory suggests
that crime is more likely to occur in areas with weak social ties, limited economic opportunities,
and high levels of poverty and inequality. According to social disorganization theory, these
factors can lead to social disorganization, which in turn can create an environment conducive
to criminal behaviour.
One classic study that supports social disorganization theory is the research conducted by
sociologist Robert Sampson and his colleagues in the 1990s. They found that neighbourhoods
with high levels of poverty, residential mobility, and racial heterogeneity had higher crime
rates, even after controlling for individual-level factors such as age, gender, and race. For
example, in their study of Chicago neighbourhoods, they found that crime rates were higher in
neighbourhoods with concentrated poverty, where there were fewer stable social networks and
collective efficacy, which refers to the ability of a community to come together to solve
common problems.
Economic Theories
Becker's Economic Theory of Crime:
The economic theory of crime, also known as rational choice theory, posits that individuals
engage in criminal behaviour after weighing the costs and benefits of their actions. This theory
assumes that humans are rational actors who make decisions based on maximizing their utility
or satisfaction. Key concepts within the economic theory of crime include:
1. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Individuals weigh the potential benefits of committing a crime
(such as financial gain or personal satisfaction) against the perceived costs (including
the risk of apprehension, legal penalties, and social stigma).
2. Opportunity Costs: Criminal behaviour is seen as a choice made by individuals who
perceive the benefits of committing a crime to outweigh the potential costs, including
the opportunity costs of engaging in legal activities instead.
3. Deterrence: The effectiveness of legal sanctions and law enforcement in deterring
crime is central to the economic theory of crime. It suggests that increasing the
perceived costs of crime through stricter punishments or increased likelihood of
apprehension can deter individuals from engaging in criminal behaviour.
4. Rational Decision-Making: Criminals are viewed as rational decision-makers who
carefully evaluate the risks and rewards of criminal activities before choosing to engage
in them. This perspective emphasizes the role of individual preferences, incentives, and
constraints in shaping criminal behaviour.
Models of Economic Theory of Crime:
The rational model emphasizes the rational decision-making process behind criminal
behaviour. Individuals are viewed as weighing the costs and benefits of engaging in crime and
making decisions based on maximizing their utility. Strategies derived from this model focus
on increasing the perceived costs of crime through deterrence measures and situational crime
prevention.
In contrast, the present-oriented or myopic model suggests that individuals, particularly those
from disadvantaged backgrounds, prioritize short-term gains over long-term consequences.
Factors such as poverty and lack of opportunity contribute to present-oriented decision-making,
leading to involvement in crime. Interventions based on this model aim to address immediate
needs and provide alternatives to criminal behaviour, such as education and employment
opportunities.
The radical political economic model emphasizes structural and systemic factors underlying
crime, such as inequality and economic exploitation. Crime is viewed as a response to broader
social and economic injustices, rather than solely individual choices. Strategies informed by
this model focus on addressing underlying inequalities, promoting social justice, and
empowering marginalized communities.