Developmental Theories Of Criminality

511 Words3 Pages
The developmental theories look at how criminality is constantly changing and is influences by social influences and individual influences. Three are three developmental theories that describe how a criminal career develops. One theory, the life course theory describes how criminality develops over the course of a person’s life by the experiences and life events that alter its course. Another theory, the propensity theory, is the view that some people have an unchanging characteristic that makes them more prone to committing crimes. Lastly, the trajectory theory describes there are different paths to becoming a criminal, therefore leading to other offenders. All of these theories fall under the idea that criminality develops over the time.…show more content…
Every individual has personality traits and characteristics. These traits combined with a variety of social experiences can lead to a person becoming an offender. Different factors and experiences may cause a person to have antisocial behaviors. These attitudes can change over a person’s lifespan. Any interaction that a person has experienced contributes to a larger picture. The way they react to an experience builds into a person’s personality and ability to cope with hardships. Family, friends, and environment can also affect how a person develops overtime. The more unstable a person’s life is the more likely they are to commit a crime. If a person deviates from the societal norm at an early age the are also more likely to commit a crime. When crimes are committed at younger age this leaves the person a higher risk for becoming a criminal For example, people that have poor behaviors over an extended period of time may have problem behavior syndrome. This is when a person participates in high risk behavior that could eventually lead to a life of crime. When a person has a problem behavior syndrome behavior is often seen crime as a type of social problems instead of a product of other social problems. Children who often exhibit problem behaviors that are not corrected over time often commit even worse crimes later in
Show More
Related

  • Window Breaking Sociology

    1347 Words  | 6 Pages

    Brooke Salisbury Final Exam q1. Based on what we have discussed in class, as well as theory, crime does not occur randomly across neighborhoods, street segments, or places. According to Wilson and Kelling, at the community level, disorder and crime are usually inextricably linked, in a kind of developmental sequence. Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired; all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as true

    Read More

More about Developmental Theories Of Criminality

Open Document