What is Theory?

1. What Is a Theory?

A theory is an explanation of an observed occurrence in an environment. A theory asks the fundamental questions—who, what, when, where, how, and why—and tries to answer them. Theories do their best to explain the world according to the facts that are present to them at the time (Paternoster & Bachman, 2001). They can also be used to predict outcomes by formulating ideas for experimentation and research to either prove or disprove the theories.

In the world of criminal justice, theories are used to explain the causes of criminal behavior, both on an individual level (micro) and a group level (macro). They attempt to explain why people commit crimes and identify risk factors for committing crimes. Additionally, they can focus on how certain laws are created and enforced.

Micro-level explanations focus on causation instances from a personal perspective.

EXAMPLE

“John Smith committed the crime of robbery because of a lack of parental control at home.”

Macro-level explanations focus on causation instances from a group perspective.

EXAMPLE

“The crime rate in New Orleans is increasing because city leaders are ineffective in providing adequate leadership initiatives to fight the growing problems plaguing the city.”

But theories need to have a starting point; they cannot just come out of thin air. They need a concept, which is the foundation of any theory (Fedorek, 2019). It is imperative that a theory has a clearly defined concept before the process can begin. In criminal justice, these concepts include deviance, delinquency, and even crime itself. If a theory does not have a clearly defined concept, it cannot be evaluated.

EXAMPLE

We might try to explain a specific increase in convenience store robberies in Shreveport, Louisiana, through an inability of the offenders to control their own behavior. This lack of self-control now becomes another concept that can be measured along with the newly defined robbery concept.

Now we have our concepts defined: robbery and self-control. Once they are defined, they need to be measured in a process called operationalization. Operationalization determines how best to measure those concepts, now called variables (Fedorek, 2019). Self-control can be measured in a variety of ways. One such way is to evaluate a person’s ability to resist temptation. Once the relationship between variables is tested, they must be verified to not be affected by other outside influences. When two variables are affected by a third, this is called spuriousness.

EXAMPLE

We know that convenience stores sell many products that can have addictive properties (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, high-sugar-content junk foods, etc.).

Once the variables are determined and the concepts are defined, our theory becomes more refined. We can now say within a greater reasonable degree of probability that the increase in crime in Shreveport, Louisiana, is due to the relationship between addictive products being sold and the lack of self-control of the offenders.

terms to know

Theory

An explanation of an observed occurrence in an environment.

Micro-Level Explanation

An explanation that explores causation instances from a personal perspective.

Macro-Level Explanation

An explanation that explores causation instances from a group perspective.

Concept

An abstract idea or general notion that represents a phenomenon, characteristic, or process used to categorize, describe, and analyze social reality.

Operationalization

The measurement of variables.

Spuriousness

A correlation that occurs when two factors appear causally related to one another but are not.

2. What Makes a Good Theory?

There are many theories on criminal behavior causation, so which one is right? Which is more appropriate than another in a certain circumstance? How do we determine which theory to apply in a situation? Criminal justice uses many disciplines to answer the questions of causality, and they do not always agree (Fedorek, 2019). However, Akers and Sellers (2013) developed important criteria to judge these theories:

• Logical consistency
• Scope
• Parsimony
• Testability
• Empirical validity
• Usefulness

A parsimonious theory is concise, elegant, and simple, meaning there are not too many constructs or hypotheses. Simply put, parsimony refers to a theory’s “simplicity.” A good theory must also have testability; it must be open to possible falsification. Once a theory is tested for falsification and it passes, it is then verified, or empirically validated. A theory is not connected to the real world unless people besides the theorists agree on using some of its symbols to identify specific events or things (Wallace, 1974).

Finally, all theories must also be useful, suggesting how to control, prevent, or reduce crime through policy or program. The premise of a particular theory will guide policymakers.

EXAMPLE

If a theory suggested that juveniles learn how to commit crime through a network of delinquent peers, policymakers would try to identify juveniles at risk for joining delinquent subcultures (Fedorek, 2019).

term to know

Parsimonious Theory

A scientific principle, often referred to as Occam's Razor, that favors the simplest explanation that adequately explains observed data, avoiding unnecessary assumptions or complexity.

REFERENCES

Akers, R. L., & Sellers, C. S. (2013). Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. New York: Oxford University Press.

Fedorek, B. (2019). Criminological Theory. In A. S. Burke, D. Carter, B. Fedorek, T. Morey, L. Rutz-Burri, & S. Sanchez, SOU-CCJ230 Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System. (pp. 157-187). Open Oregon Educational Resources.

Paternoster, R., & Bachman, R. (2001). Explaining criminals and crime: Essays in contemporary criminological theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wallace, W. L. (1974). Book Review: Sociological Theory Construction. by Jack P. Gibbs. American Journal of Sociology, 80(1), 242-244. www.jstor.org/stable/2776974