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Period: to
The Late Modern Period
This timespan is begun with the age of enlightenment, where the ideas of individual liberty flourish, furthermore we can see the strengthening of governments and the formations of our modern states. The enlightenment left in its wake revolutions; both social and political which define the way we see how criminality was seen during this period. Ultimately, the Late Modern Period ended with the largest conflict in human history, where we can see another great shift of how we theorise criminality. -
Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life (Biological))
This publication detailed that organisms change over time to best provide for themselves in any given environment, this is known as natural selection and is part of the overarching theory of evolution. Darwin, C. R. 1859. On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. [1st edition] Available from: http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F373&viewtype=text&pageseq=1 [Accessed 04/12/2023] -
Cesare Lombroso publishes L'uomo Delinquente (Criminal Man) (Biological)
Drawing on Darwin's theory of evolution, Lombroso introduces the idea of atavism; the idea that criminals all share similar facial characteristics that are evolutionary throwbacks to more primitivistic humans. Harrower, J 2003, Psychology in Practice : Crime, Hodder Education Group, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 04/12/2023]. -
Durkheim forms the Anomie Theory (Sociological)
Emile Durkheim, a structuralist-functionalist sociologist, argued that crime was a perfectly normal feature of modern society. As society underwent modernisation, the dissolution of tight-knit, moral based rural communities was replaced by large industrialised groups and institutions all with conflicts of interest which lead to a breakdown of social order due to the division of labour; thus the system breaks down into 'Anomie'. (Zembroski, 2011) -
Sigmund Freud Publishes Analysis Of A Phobia In A Five-Year-Old Boy (Psychological)
In this famous case study, Freud utilises all of his psychodynamic theories into diagnosing a five year old boy with a phobia of horses. He demonstrated the Tripartite Theory, the idea that our unconscious mind might hold internalised conflicts and also how our development as youths might impact our behaviour when we're fully developed. Gross, R 2007, Key Studies in Psychology, Hodder Education Group, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 14/12/2023]. -
Charles Goring publishes The English Convict (Biological)
The publishing of The English Convict introduced the idea of the statistical method; therein he discredited physiological theories while instead finding a correlation between low intelligence and poor physique and criminality, giving credence to there still being a biological explanation. Goring, C, 1913, The English Convict; A Statistical Study, London : H.M.S., London. Accessed: https://archive.org/details/englishconvictst00goriuoft/page/n3/mode/2up -
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World War I
The end of the first world war led to a brief period of economic prosperity in the 1920s, but this was quickly followed by the great depression in the 1930s. -
Johannes Lange conducts one of the earliest twin studies (Biological, Scientific)
Lange in his research found that MZ twins were far more likely to both be incarcerated than DZ twins. Twin studies are now imperative when conducting biological research and studies like this paved the way for its validity. -
Sutherland defines differential association (Psychological)
Sutherland Postulated that criminal behaviour is learned by observing those around them. The deviancy comes from a set of values held by a particular unit, a family with a criminally inclined set of values will produce a criminally inclined child, as illustrated in Osborne and West (1979) where children with convicted fathers are more likely to have a conviction themselves by age 18 than those that do not. -
Period: to
World War II
The end of the second world war was followed by a period of economic abundance in most of the western world, this is where we can see the fundamental ideas of the "American Dream" begin to flourish and that theorists like Merton use. It's important to note that after World War II, purely biological theories in the academic world were shunned due to their use by the Nazi party. Most theories which incorporate biology from this point use the term "biosocial". -
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Contemporary Period
In response to World War II, governments around the world begin forming welfare states. A push for social justice resulted in governmental spending for research projects increasing tenfold. The shift of criminology started to pivot from the punishment or rooting out of crime to the deterministic causation of crime. This is where the sociological theories of crime start to flourish. -
Eysenck publishes Dimensions of Personality (Psychological)
Eysenck's personality theory postulates that a criminal could be distinguished using a finely crafted personality questionnaire. Eysenck argued that those who score higher in extraversion and neuroticism also tend toward criminal activities. Revelle, W, 2016, Hans Eysenck: Personality theorist, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 103, Pages 32-39, ISSN 0191-8869, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.007.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886916302604) -
Bowlby's Theory of Maternal Deprivation (Psychological)
Bowlby argued that the attachment an infant and a mother have are central to our survival and have evolutionarily become part of the human experience. If a baby were to suffer long-term withdrawal from their mother, this would have dire consequences; in the world of criminology this would be delinquency, lower intelligence, aggression, depression and affectionless psychopathy. Soddy K. (1952). Maternal Care and Mental Health. Mental health (London), 11(2), 70–75. -
Period: to
Political Turmoil
The Sixties and Seventies were subject to much political turmoil leading to an increase in crime and the way we think, study and apply criminology. This period is most notable when regarding sociological theories, as often you will find the theory in question was formed as a reaction to the unprecedented turbulence of these times. -
Bandura commences the Bobo Doll Experiment (Psychological)
The bobo doll experiment is the most relevant case study in relating social learning theory to criminology. It has been studied that aggressive behaviour can be observed and replicated, more importantly, it took only one event (a provocation) to lead to such behaviour. Howitt, D, 2015, Introduction to Forensic and Criminal Psychology, Pearson Publication. Available from: VLE Books[https://r1.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9781292003078#]. [Accessed 14/12/2023] -
Howard Becker Releases Outsiders
In this book, Howard Becker puts forth the ideas of the Labelling Theory, a part of the larger interactionalist theory of criminology. Most notably, he outlines the ideas of the self fulfilling prophecy. -
Merton forms Strain Theory while revising Anomie (Sociological)
Merton's strain theory agrees with the idea of anomie, but not exactly how one falls into the state. Merton argued it was the inequality of society which leads to crime; everyone and every institution has the same goal, however others have far more opportunity in achieving that goal than others. Those who have little to no life chances will inevitably adjust to their circumstance and that means the breaking of the norms and governing ways of the institution. (Zembroski, 2011)