Provide an argument for the death penalty using rational choice/deterrence theory

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Question #1: Provide an argument for or against the use of integrative theories.  Determine whether these theories clarify or confuse our explanations for crime.

A number of criminologists have attempted to develop integrated theories of crime.  Recognizing that traditional biological, psychological, and sociological theories are of limited utility, integrationists have attempted to link theories either in an end-to-end approach to demonstrate where one theory’s dependent variable may be used as another theory’s independent variable, or by looking for central issues that run through several theories (Fuller, 2010, pg. 105).  

There is some question as to whether integrating theories is even desirable.  Many theories have contrasting assumptions that make integration not only difficult, but in some cases impossible.  For example, control theories assume that the motivation to break the law is relatively constant, whereas strain theories consider the motivation to break the law as variable and as an issue that can be measured and tested. Furthermore, some theories are developed at a micro level, so combining them with theories developed at a macro level can violate the assumptions of both types of theories.  Nevertheless, the integration of theories has produced a number of perspectives that are well worth investigating.  The most popular integrated theories include: integrated theory of delinquent behavior, interactional theory of delinquency, and control balance theory (Fuller, 2010, pg. 106).

Integrated Theory of Delinquent Behavior

Delbert Elliott, Suzanne Ageton, and Rachel Canter combine strain theory, social control theory, and social learning theory to explain delinquency within the lower and middle classes.  Elliott and his colleagues assert that all youths experience issues with strain, social control, and association with delinquent peer groups regardless of class; however, the types of issues differ slightly depending on social class depending on class expectations or aspirations (Fuller, 2010, pg. 106). This theory is attractive to those who study delinquency because it greatly expands the range of variables under consideration and attempts to understand multiple paths to delinquency.

Interactional Theory of Delinquency

Terence Thornberry has developed an integrated theory in which he looks at low social control and exposure to delinquent peers over the entire course of adolescent development.  Thornberry does not include strain theory as part of his integrated perspective but rather looks at how parental attachment diminishes as youths grow older and how commitment to conventional values, such as employment and education, protects the youth from delinquent behavior. Furthermore, Thornberry employs life-course perspective to demonstrate how the effects of delinquent peers and self-control change as adolescents are exposed to changes in sets of peers. Life-course changes such as plans for marriage and family bond the youth to conventional society and inevitably results in a lower involvement in delinquency (Fuller, 2010, pg. 106). Furthermore, delinquents not only are influenced by their social surroundings but also have an impact on others through their behavior – including their delinquent behavior (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2007, pg. 312).

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Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Thornberry’s theory is that of reciprocity.  According to Thornberry, association with delinquent peers increases the chances for individual delinquency, but individual delinquency also increases the chances for association with delinquent peers.  In a sort of feedback loop, the group and individual aspects of delinquency feed one another until the youth is fully involved in delinquency, usually with a set of delinquent friends. Thornberry’s theory has much in common with the integrated theory of delinquent behavior in that it relies on the effect of delinquent peers for part of its explanation of delinquency.  Thornberry’s theory, ...

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