CRJ 404 Lecture 5: Macro Level Theories

• School: ASU
• Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Course: CRJ 404
• Professor: Brooks Robbin

Document Summary

Traditional sociological theories that are considered sociological positivist theories. Social structural theorists take a deterministic position on delinquency. Factors outside of the conscious control individuals. Social organization of society and/or the environment, influence or determine, delinquency. Two general types of macro level theories: anomie theory and social disorganization theory. These theories consider the role of large scale-social change on human behavior, and the effect of the environment on individuals. If we want to figure out why youth are committing acts of delinquency, we will want to step outside and take a look at the world around us! Anomie theories are theories that consider how the society is structured, and how that structure impacts our ability to follow social norms. Society is based on a set of norms and that most community members share these norms. When people go against the norms, it is typically because they are experiencing forces in their social world that are leading them to do so.