Sociological View vs. Developmental View, Research Paper Example

Sociological and developmental views both include a synthesis of a number of theories that are utilized to generate a more complete understanding of these analytical methodologies. Sociological theories are created to explain the social forces that contribute to or result in criminal behavior (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). Meanwhile, developmental theories claim that economic, cultural, and environmental influences control delinquent behavior. Sociological and developmental views are similar because they both attempt to explain that external factors contribute to criminal behavior. However, sociological theories state that individuals enact criminal behavior primarily due to social causes while the developmental theories state that various external factors contribute to the development of criminal behavior. It is plausible to use a culmination of these two theories to gain a complete analysis of the characteristics that need to be present to trigger the physical act of crime.

To determine how sociological and developmental views can be used to understand the leading factors that contribute to crime, it is first necessary to determine what each of these two concepts represent. The sociological view demonstrates that factors such as “strain, group conflict, subculture ideas, economics, and language” are factors that help us understand crime and interpret its causes (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). Prior to the development of the sociological view, criminologists believed that crimes occurred as a consequence of the physiology or personality of the offender. However, the sociological perspective claims that criminal behavior is caused by factors that occur outside of the individual. It is these external factors that cause an individual to enact criminal behaviors or become identified as a transgressor.

Like the sociological perspective, the developmental perspective claims that external influences contribute to the development of criminal behaviors. While sociological theories claim that “strain, group conflict, subculture ideas, economics, and language” contribute to the development of criminal behaviors, developmental theories take this assumption a step further by showing how these issues fit into the larger context of economics, culture, and environmental influences. As such, the developmental perspective considers that the development of criminal behaviors could be understood by viewing the situation of the individual with a broader lens (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). The structure, process, reaction, and conflict theories are developmental perspectives that are utilized to determine how the individual interacts with the economy, culture, and environment to analyze how the criminal behavior has been established.

Many professionals believe that it is essential to incorporate knowledge from both the sociological and developmental perspectives in order to gain a true understanding of the development of criminal behavior. For example, Terence P. Thornberry has discovered that we can use “sociological framework for the developmental study of street crime in America” (Thornberry, 2004). He claims that historic as well as modern social, cultural, and environmental processes could be used to determine why criminal behaviors occur. It is therefore important to assess the value of combining existing theories to gain a more comprehensive understanding of criminal behavior. Doing so will provide us with more evidence to create a more complete picture of the reality of the criminal world.

References

Siegel, L.J., Welsh, B.C. (2014). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Wadsworth Publishing.

Thornberry, T.P. (2004). Developmental Theories of Crime and Delinquency. Transaction Publishers.