ABSTRACT
The search for theoretical understanding is a search for general, rational, simple, and empirically accurate explanations of variation in criminal behavior. General explanations are ones that apply to a range of specific observations. For example, a general theory of criminal conduct will account for variation in both violent and nonviolent offenses, and will do so, for men and women of different ages, races, nationalities, and socioeconomic origins.
In this chapter the history of theory within criminology is traced. Early on, criminology ignored and was even hostile to the intrusion of psychology into theoretical explanations of crime. However, the empirical research demanded inclusion of social-psychological constructs for a fuller understanding of criminal behavior. The chapter ends with the theoretical perspective adopted in this text: a General Personality and Cognitive Social Learning (GPCSL) theory of criminal conduct. GPCSL specifies how criminal behavior is learned and the major risk/need factors, referred to as the Central Eight.
