1 Crime and Violence: Forces for Good or Evil? Lecture Three Sociological Theories

2 Learning to be violent? If violence has been learned there is also the potential that it can be unlearned criminals are not ‘born evil’ there is not much difference between ‘law-abiding’ people and criminals “either the experience or observation of aggression”. (Jones, 2000:49)

3 Edwin Sutherland - ‘differential association’ Remember: The act itself The relationship of the participants to each other The location of the act The outcome Social rules – because different rules apply in different situations Social roles – because who we are might determine how we act Social power

4 THE BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT Albert Bandura The exact type of aggressive behaviour shown (e.g. kicking, swearing, punching). The frequency of the aggression shown. The targets for the aggression—who or what the aggression was directed towards, such as women, members of minority groups, toys.

5 The model is similar to them (e.g. in sex and age). The model is admired (e.g. a pop star or footballer) and has desirable characteristics (e.g. is attractive). The model is rewarded. They are directly rewarded for the behaviour. For a study on violent games see:

6 Excitation-Transfer Theory Pre-existing Aggression Anger generated by provocation Increased likelihood of aggression

7 Strain theory Merton – anomie – normlessness “Discomforting because over the years, video games have been blamed for everything from destroying marriages to turning balanced adults into murderers and rapists. At the very least, will video games produce a generation of unsociable hermits?”

8 Interactionism and labelling Violence - a situated transaction Goffman