Developmental Theories Life Course and Latent Traits

Chapter 9
Developmental Theories:
Latent Trait and Life Course
Criminology 9th and 10th
edition Larry J. Siegel
Asad Majeed Baloch

Questions
What makes crime-prone individuals?
Are personal traits more important

than social variables
as predictors of criminal activity?
Do you think there is a

general theory of
crime for all crimes?
Developmental Theories
 LATENT TRAIT THEORIES
 LIFE COURSE THEORIES

Two Types of Latent Traits
CONSTANT LATENT EVOLOVING
Inflexible Flexible
Unchanging Varying
Influenced by Influenced by Human interaction

psychological/Biological relationship, contact, and
traits association
Life Course and Latent Trait Theories
Latent Trait Theory
 Master Trait: Personal attributes may be present at birth
or established early in life, and it remains stable over time,
i.e., damaged or impulsive personality, defective intelligence,
genetic abnormalities, and environmental influences on
brain functions such as drugs, chemicals, and injuries.
 Regardless of gender, those who maintain one of these suspect

traits may be at risk to crime and criminal careers.
 Propensity to commit crime is stable, criminal opportunities

fluctuate over time, maturity brings less opportunity.
 Early social control and proper parenting can reduce criminal

propensity.
Latent Trait Theories
 The General Theory of Crime: Gottfredson

and Hirschi
 The Differential Coercion Theory: Colvin
 The Control Balance Theory: Tittle

Latent Trait Theories:
General Theory
Major Premise
Crime and criminality are separate concepts.
People choose to commit crime when they lack
self-control. People lacking in self-control will
seize criminal opportunities.
GTC: Criminal Acts
and the Criminal Offender
Rational
Choice
Routine SELF Biosocial

Activities CONTROL Traits
Psycho-
logical
General Theory of Crime
GTC:
Self–Control as a Stabilizing Force
The propensity to commit crime

remains stable throughout a person’s
life.
Change in the frequency of criminal
activity is purely a function of change
in criminal opportunity.
The General Theory of Crime
Gottfredson and Hirschi
Impulsive personality Low self-control

due to inadequate
child-rearing
Crime and practices.
deviance
Criminal Weakening of
Opportunity social bonds
Analyzing the General Theory of Crime:
Benefits
 Helps explain why some people who lack self-control can

escape criminality, and conversely, why some people
who have self-control might not escape criminality
 Integrating criminal propensity and criminal opportunity

can explain why some children enter into chronic offending
while others living in similar environments are able to
resist criminal activity.
Criticisms of the
General Theory of
Crime
 Fails to address individual and ecological patterns in crime rates
 Although male and female crime rates differ, there is little evidence that
males are more impulsive than females; the similar argument applies
to minorities.
 It assumes propensity does not change; opportunities change.
 Research only supports a modest relationship between self-control as a

causal factor in criminality over different forms of deviant behavior
 Evidence shows that criminals in other countries do not lack self-

control, indicating that the theory may be culturally limited.
Question
Do you think the General Theory of Crime

can explain either white collar crime
or
organized crime?
Differential Coercion Theory:
Colvin
Low self-control is produced by experiences a person has with
destructive social forces called coercion.
 Interpersonal coercion or direct coercion: Use or threat of

force and intimidation from parents, peers, and significant
others.
 Impersonal coercion: Coercion beyond individual

control; i.e., economic and social pressure caused by
unemployment, poverty, and competition.
 Prosocial Behavior: Low coercion, high self-esteem,

strong moral and social bond.
Question
According to Colvin,
what is coercive ideation?
Differential Coercion
Control-Balance Theory:
Tittle
The amount of The amount of
control one is subject control one can exercise
to by others – deficit over others – excessive
control can lead to: control can lead to:
Predation Exploitation
Defiance Plunder
Submission Decadence
Conformity results when these two elements are in

balance: control imbalances produce
deviant and criminal behaviors
Control Balance Theory
Life Course Traits
 Criminality is influenced by individual characteristics,

social experiences, economic and environmental factors.
 People change over the life course.
 Criminal involvement changes over time as a result of life

transitions.
 A variety of pathways to crime.

Questions
What is the problem behavior syndrome (PBS)?
To a life course theorist, what are pathways to crime?
How does Age of Onset relate to the

Continuity of Crime?
Who are “life course persisters?”

Pathways to Crime
 There are three pathways to commit crime.
 Authority Conflict Pathway
Early Age, Stubborn, Disobedience
 The Covert Pathway
Under Handed, pocket picking, Stolen credit cards, Stealing
Cars, Dealing Drugs.
 Overt Pathways
Aggresion, Annoy Others, Bulling, Phyical , Fighting,
Violence
Loeber’s Pathways to
Crime
Life Course Theories
 Social Development Model (SDM): Weis, Catalano, and
Hawkins.
 Theory of Delinquent Development: Farrington
 Interactional Theory: Thornberry
 Age-Graded Theory: Sampson and Laub
 General Theory of Crime and Delinquency: Agnew

Questions That Are Important
to Life-course Theorists
 Why people begin committing antisocial acts?
 Why do some stop or desist, while others continue or persist?
 Why do some escalate the severity of their criminality - that is, go from
shoplifting to drug dealing to armed robbery- while others de-escalate and
commit less serious crime as they mature?
 If some terminate their criminal activity, what, if anything, causes them to

begin again?
 Why do some criminals specialize in certain types of crime, while others

are
generalists engaging in a garden variety of antisocial behavior?
Developmental Theories:
Social Development Model
STRENGTHS
MAJOR PREMISE
Combines
Weak social controls
elements of social
produce crime. A
structural, social
person’s place in the
control, and social
structure influences
learning theories.
his or her bond to
Accounts for
society.
variations in the
crime rate.
The Social Development Model of
Antisocial Behavior
Integrated Cognitive Antisocial
Potential (ICAP) Theory
Major Premise
People with antisocial potential (AP) are at risk
to commit anti-social acts.
AP can be viewed as both
a long-and short-term phenomenon.
Strengths
Identifies different types of criminal propensity
and shows how they may influence behavior
in both the short and long term.
Developmental Theory:
Interactional Theory
MAJOR PREMISE - Criminals go through lifestyle
changes during their offending careers.
STRENGTHS - Combines sociological and

psychological theories.
Overview of the
Interactional Theory of Delinquency: Thornberry
Bonding variables
• Attachment to parents
• Commitment to school
• Belief in conventional values
•Social class
•Race
•Sex
Delinquent
•Neighborhood behavior
characteristics
Learning variables
• Association with delinquent
peers
• Formation of delinquent
values
Developmental Theory: Age-
graded Theory: Sampson and
Laub
STRENGTHS
MAJOR PREMISE
Shows how crime is a
As people mature, the developmental process
factors that influence that shifts in direction over
their propensity to the life course.
commit crime change.
In childhood, family CRIMINAL CAREER
factors are critical; in TRAJECTORIES CAN BE
adulthood, marital and REVERSED.
job factors are key.

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Chapter 9

Asad Majeed Baloch

What makes crime-prone individuals?

Are personal traits more important

Do you think there is a

 LATENT TRAIT THEORIES

 LIFE COURSE THEORIES

CONSTANT LATENT EVOLOVING

Influenced by Influenced by Human interaction

 Regardless of gender, those who maintain one of these suspect

 Propensity to commit crime is stable, criminal opportunities

 Early social control and proper parenting can reduce criminal

 The General Theory of Crime: Gottfredson

 The Differential Coercion Theory: Colvin

 The Control Balance Theory: Tittle

Routine SELF Biosocial

The propensity to commit crime

Impulsive personality Low self-control

 Helps explain why some people who lack self-control can

 Integrating criminal propensity and criminal opportunity

 It assumes propensity does not change; opportunities change.

 Research only supports a modest relationship between self-control as a

 Evidence shows that criminals in other countries do not lack self-

Do you think the General Theory of Crime

 Interpersonal coercion or direct coercion: Use or threat of

 Impersonal coercion: Coercion beyond individual

 Prosocial Behavior: Low coercion, high self-esteem,

Conformity results when these two elements are in

 Criminality is influenced by individual characteristics,

 People change over the life course.

 Criminal involvement changes over time as a result of life

 A variety of pathways to crime.

What is the problem behavior syndrome (PBS)?

To a life course theorist, what are pathways to crime?

How does Age of Onset relate to the

Who are “life course persisters?”

 Theory of Delinquent Development: Farrington

 Interactional Theory: Thornberry

 Age-Graded Theory: Sampson and Laub

 General Theory of Crime and Delinquency: Agnew

 Why do some stop or desist, while others continue or persist?

 If some terminate their criminal activity, what, if anything, causes them to

 Why do some criminals specialize in certain types of crime, while others

STRENGTHS - Combines sociological and

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