Criminological Theory - Essay Example

The biological perspectives on criminality holds that criminal behavior is caused by physiological factors that are rooted in an individual , the Sociological Development theory provides an integrated approach on the cause of crime in society as an interaction between an individuals and the societies social structures and the Psychological perspective on crime views deviancy and deviant behavior as the product of dysfunctional personalities in an individual. I have utilized the strain theory by Robert Merton as an example of sociological perspective on crime, the Somatotype theory by William Sheldon for the case of biological perspective and the Psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud as an example to Psychological perspective on crime.

All this theories will seek to exemplify what cause crime and deviancy in society. This paper will look into various theory of crime in the society that have been put forward to explain causes of crime and deviant behavior and provide an example for each category presented .The theories that seek to explain crime and causes of criminal behavior in society are categorized in biological, sociological or psychological theories of crime. Sociological theories of crime are categorized into four groups namely, the social process theory, the rational theory, the social conflict theory and the social structure theory.

The four theories are further categorized as social disorganization theory and the strain theory. The social disorganization theories focus on conditions prevailing in urban centers that influence crime. This theory presupposes that high unemployment, low income levels, large number of single parent households and high college drop outs contributes to crime. The strain theories on the other hand stresses that crime is caused by the existence of conflict between the goals and the legal means that