Sociology crime and deviance
CHARACTERISE BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE GIVING EXAMPLES OF EACH EXPLAINING THE USEFULNESS AND LIMITATIONS OF EACH "APPROACH".
There are three main theories of why crime and deviance exists in society. There are biological, psychological and sociological explanations for this occurrence. First of all deviance, in the simplest view is "essentially statistical, defining as deviant anything that varies too widely from the average" (Becker, 1963, p.4). A deviant person is one who …
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…are too good to miss (Giddens, 1993, p.131). This view of crime is one of action not reaction.
Labelling theory has been applauded as being the most efficient and useful in interpreting facets of crime and deviant behaviour (Giddens, 1993, p.132). However most researchers will agree that the "different theories are useful to explain certain deviant activities" (Roach-Anleu, 1995, p.45) and that understanding the social environments and context in which the crime takes place is of paramount importance.
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