Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, students will be able to:

  • Discuss why criminal justice scholars study the causes of crime
  • Describe the five theoretical frameworks that criminological theories use to explain crime
  • Identify crime prevention strategies that reduce offenders’ desires and opportunities for criminal behavior
  • Discuss the role of biology on crime
  • Explain how social factors might contribute to criminal behavior
  • Compare and contrast three different social psychological explanations of crime
  • Demonstrate how cognitive processes contribute to criminal behavior
  • Understand and explain juvenile delinquency
  • Frame criminological theory in the context of criminal justice policy