1 CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO THEORY COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

OUTLINE  What is Theory?  Components of Scientific Theories  Philosophical Assumptions  Paradigms  Evaluating Theories  Defining Crime  Theory is important! 2 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

WHAT IS A THEORY?  An explanation  Theories of crime explain HOW things are RELATED to criminal behavior.  Things related to crime include:  Human nature  Biological things  Psychological things  Sociological things  Some combination of them all 3 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES  Concepts  Definitions of Concepts  Propositions 4 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES  Concepts  Words or phrases that represent some phenomenon.  Examples: crime, poverty  Object of theory is to explain how concepts are related 5 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES  Definitions of Concepts  Nominal definitions: Dictionary definitions  Example: Crime is a violation of the criminal law  Operational definitions: Describe how concepts will be measured for research purposes  Example: Crime is an offense known to the police (UCR) 6 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES  Propositions:  Are interrelated concepts  Example: As poverty increases, crime increases  Types of Propositions:  Positive linear relationships  Negative linear relationships  No relationship  Curvilinear relationships 7 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS  Provide the foundation for all criminological theories  They cannot be tested empirically  An empirical (scientific) test uses the human senses to discover some aspect of the world.  Example: Existence of God or people are good  Often ignored when examining theories 8 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

3 TYPES OF PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS 1. Ethical assumptions  Right & Wrong 2. Epistemological assumptions  How knowledge is obtained 3. Metaphysical assumptions  Nature of reality  Nature of Humans—Ontology  Nature of Society—Cosmology 9 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS  Ethical Assumptions  AKA normative implications  Are ideas about what is good, bad, right and wrong  Focus on what we should do in response to crime (policy)  Conservative, liberal & radical 10 COPYRIGHT © 2015 CAROLINA ACADEMIC PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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