- Position‹2 of 2
- Crime is caused by the individual
The Behavioral Theory of crime describes how an individuals direct environment can effect whether or not they commit a crime. This theory is also related to differential association.
The argument
The behavioral theory places importance on an individual's direct environment, and how this individual interacts with it. This theory posits that criminal behavior is learned and created by either a close family member or friend rewarding them in some way for this behavior, or if the individual is seeing a behavior being glorified in either a movie or television series that they admire. According to the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, the Behavioral Theory of crime has much evidence behind it, “Because these principles can be applied to behaviors of all kinds, the learning perspective provides valuable tools for understanding crime and delinquency.”
Premises
Counter-arguments
Many argue that this theory is not necessary valid because there are so many people who have become criminals even without any criminal influence in their lives. This would indicate that criminality is not a learned behavior in all cases.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] A theory that locates the cause in a person's environment and associations does not support the position it is filed under: if criminal behaviour is learned from others, the cause lies in the social surroundings, which is the rival position in this debate. [Rejecting P2] No evidence is offered for either mechanism, and the media claim is among the most contested in criminology, where the research has not established that exposure to depicted crime produces it. [Rejecting P3] The quotation says the learning perspective provides valuable tools for understanding crime, which is a claim about its usefulness rather than a finding that it explains criminality — and the counter notes offenders with no criminal influence to learn from, which the theory as stated cannot accommodate.