Theory, from the Greek word for viewing or contemplation, has played a significant role in the understanding of science since the early 19th century but was not considered central before then. Instead, philosophers and scientists spoke more often of (Natural) Law and of hypothesis, defined by Mill as “any supposition which we make (either without
An interconnected set of terms – globalization, global, globality – dominated analytic discourse toward the end of the twentieth century. The considerable disagreements among theorists are set out below. Then the specific issue of cultural globalization and its debates are addressed. Key Debates About Globalization One argument queried whether globalization was an old process, or
Theories of hybridity entered international communication research at a time when the cultural imperialism thesis was ceding ground to the media globalization paradigm. This has been controversial because “the idea of cultural hybridization is one of those deceptively simple-seeming notions which turns out . . . to have lots of tricky connotations and theoretical implications”
Criminology has historically been an androcentric, or male-focused and male-centered, field. Early criminologists basically ignored female crime. Those who did discuss this issue considered it to be part of females’ pathology or hysterical nature, as psychologist Sigmund Freud suggested. A theory is based on some type of data, which may be collected from actual subjects
Labeling theories see crime and deviance as social constructions. Theorists stress that it is not the act per se that is problematic, but rather society’s negative reaction to it. Labeling theory asserts that individuals acquire certain stigmatizing labels through social interactions, particularly through institutions such as schools and the juvenile justice system. These labels may
In social psychology, consistency theories constitute a body of four theories: Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory (1957), Fritz Heider’s balance theory (1946, 1958), Charles Osgood and Percy Tannenbaum’s consistency theory (1955), and Rosenberg’s model of affective–cognitive consistency (1956). Consistency theories are characterized by the assumption that humans strive for a balanced state of cognitions and
Theories of policing, largely comparative in nature, seek to explain why policing systems differ widely in their organization, the powers and authority granted them, the roles and tasks they are entrusted with, the occupational cultures that characterize their work, their interactions with civic society and the state, the quality and effectiveness of their work, the
Some researchers maintain that there is a biological basis for crime and violence, theorizing that biological and genetic factors affect the brain and central nervous system in ways that lead to delinquent behavior. Biological theories (sometimes called trait theories or positivism) of crime and violence focus on how a youth’s brain and central nervous system
Choice theories of crime and violence are based on the assumption that humans can exercise free will and that people make rational decisions. According to this view, delinquents choose to act improperly, just as nondelinquents choose to act properly. These theories suggest that youths choose to behave in certain ways based on personal desires such
Control theories are unique in the field of criminology in that they intend to answer a different question than do most other theories. While most criminological theories are intended to explain why criminals offend, control theories seek to identify the reasons why persons refrain from criminal activity. Thus the assumptions are that crime is not