The Atavistic Criminal Developed By Jean-Gabriel De Tarde

However, while crime was a big offender in any society, Durkheim’s anomie theory was about how society gave little to no moral support to those individuals who were pressured into a life of crime— ironic, isn’t it?

This theory proposes on the reflection that criminal behavior is usually driven by a dominating trait that is available in an individual at the stage of birth and afterbirth. This existence of this trait is not derivative of the change a person experiences in the course of his or her life (Ritzer, 2011, pg 100). The trait is usually stable and does not change in the life process of a human. It is also asserted in this theory that the master trait responsible in directing the behavioral characteristics in a human. Some of these theories proponents are Michael Gottfreson and Travis Hirschi. They significantly contribute to the

However, an underlying weakness of Durkheim is that his theory basically assumes individuals do not have a choice over their actions as their lives are predestined because of the social conditions in which they live in (Burke, 2005, p.127). This implies that there is no scientific evidence and therefore impossible to locate any acceptable mechanism to explain social change which has led to his work being dismissed methodically (Ronald, 1991). Therefore, Merton’s theory is not just denying any reason for social change, but it could create the assumption that deviance behaviour is more common in lower class where individuals live in poor social environments so are ultimately prone to take the path of crime.

Emile Durkheim studied deviance with the functionalism approach. Functionalism argues that each element of social structure helps maintain the stability of society (156). Durkheim actually viewed crime and delinquent behavior as a normal and necessary occurrence in a social system. These societies see the behavior as wrong and a punishment is the consequence. Functionalists believe that deviance helps clarify moral boundaries. It helps society’s moral compass to distinguish the difference between what is right and what is wrong. A function of deviance is to promote social cohesion; people can be brought together as a community in the face of crime or other violations (156).

Sociologists have developed six main sociological theories of deviance. Emile Durkheim’s Anomie theory suggests that people become disconnected from society because they feel that the norms are inadequate examples for behavior. Durkheim said, “We must not say that an action shocks the common conscience because it is criminal, but rather that it is criminal because it shocks the common conscience.” The strain theory by Robert K. Merton suggests that American are geared toward deviance because of a lack of legitimate options to attain the monetary goal that Americans emphasize (Tischler, p. 146). Travis Hirschi posed the control theory which focuses on the importance of the people around you to mold you into a regular lifestyle. He said that there are four main points to why someone will become deviant or not: attachment to others, commitment to conformity, involvement

Emile Durkheim, the ‘father’ of functionalism believed that crime played an important role in society. He described the organic analogy of society which describes that

The theories of sociological impact focus on external factors as they relate to crime, conversely, the previously studied theories focused on the internal factors (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The external factors of crime have been noted as influences, including neighborhood organization, which create delinquency, moreover, criminal actions. These types of theories study the environment surrounding individuals to determine how they may influence crime. The majority of sociological theories share the same beginnings related to the works of Emile Durkheim who argued single individuals were not the cause of crime conversely society created the opportunities, if not incentive, for criminal actions.

This essay shall describe and evaluate two influential theories which have been used to explain criminality: strain and biological abnormality. The first sociological theory examines the social structures, and the second psychological examines the individual. Research supporting and criticizing these theories shall also be examined Strain theories developed within the school of sociology argue that the presence of certain stressors can increase the likelihood of crime. There are three categories of stressors: The feeling of disempowerment, the presence of negative stimuli, and the loss of positive stimuli.

The topic I have chosen strikes huge debate amongst sociologists, there is no one reason that either crime or deviance is committed and because of this, several theories - including the two main theories I will be focussing on, functionalism and feminism - have impacted sociological thinking majorly. For instance, a functionalist perspective sees society as a body of separate but interdependent parts all of which must function properly for society to then function properly (Kirby and Kidd, 2000). Therefore, deviant and criminal behaviour would be seen by functionalists as behaviour that is out-with the norms of a particular society and so is detrimental to the proper functioning of society, thus such behaviour is considered dysfunctional. A man who made a huge impact on functionalist thinking - Durkheim -

Durkheim believes that crime is normal, and argues there are at least two reasons why crime and deviance are found in all societies: not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values, so some individuals will be prone to deviate, and particularly in modern societies, there is a diversity of lifestyles and values Different

It is a theory of society that focuses on the structures that create the society and on how the society is able to remain stable. Emile Durkheim’s basic insight was that, since deviance

Within the social science field, strain theory has been expanded and advanced by many theorists over the last century. Created by Emile Durkheim in a study surrounding suicide, it quickly adapted to other areas of criminology and sociology. Strain theory can explain many forms of crimes, it cannot account for all forms of crime and deviant behaviour within society. Strain is prevalent throughout many forms of societal life, but not all can be linked to the crimes of which are committed by those within society, it tends to turn a blind eye to some forms of crime of which have not been acknowledged by the theorists. Though explicitly arguing the idea that strain theory does not account for all types of deviance, this will also include the arguments which have been put forward to say that strain theory does account for all kinds of crime.

Differential association theory was Sutherland’s major sociological contribution to criminology, similar in importance to strain theory and social control theory. These theories all explain deviance in terms of the individual’s social relationship. Sutherland’s theory make tracks from the pathological perspective and biological perspective by features the cause of crime to the social context of individuals. “He rejected biological determinism and the extreme individualism of psychiatry, as well as economic explanation of crime. His search for alternative understanding of crime led to developmental of differential association theory. In contrast to both classical and biological theories, differential association theory pose no obvious

The strain theory explains the criminal behavior and is a breakdown of why people commit crimes. The theory was developed by an American Sociologist Robert K. Merton (1910-2003). Merton believed that the society influences deviance and plays a huge role in criminals committing crimes. Emile Durkheim (1858-1957) presented the earliest version of the strain theory. He believed that well-built societies set restrictions on individual goals, meaning that the person was given a chance to achieve their goals. Durkheim theory centers on the pursuit of limitless goals, whereas Merton theory targets the lower economic individuals who are incapable of achieving more limited economic goals.

Criminologists and sociologist have long been in debate for century's to explain criminal behaviour. The two main paradigms of thought are between 'nature' and 'nurture'. Nature is in reference to a learnt behaviour where a multitude of characteristics, in society influence whether a person becomes deviant such as poverty, physical abuse or neglect. Nurture defines biological features which could inevitability lead to a individuals deviant or criminal behaviour, because criminality is believed by biological positivist to be inherited from a persons parents. However, I believe that criminal behaviour is a mixture of characteristics that lead to deviant acts such as psychological illness & Environmental factors. Therefore, this essay