ABSTRACT
This chapter explores several theories to explain crime, deviance, and victimization. The law enforcement professional, the business executive, and the policy-maker assume that decisions are made based upon the facts as they are in the real world. Deterrence theory argues that people will avoid criminal activity if the known punishments associated with the act outweigh any perceived benefit. Social learning theory rests on the premise that behavior that is positively reinforced is learned, while behavior that is negatively reinforced is not learned. Labeling theory argues that deviance is socially constructed through the actions of an audience witnessing deviance, and not the individual who committed the act. Social bonding theory asserts that crime and deviance result when an individual’s bonds to conventional society are broken. Strain theory, most associated with Robert Agnew, asserts that the presence of unwanted stimuli, called strains, produces negative emotions.
