Sociological explanations for crime and deviance span multiple levels, with theories alternately focusing on micro- meso- and macro-level causes. The goal of this chapter is to highlight how social psychology informs our understanding of crime and deviance at each of these levels of analysis. We begin by examining micro-level approaches, organizing this section by the social psychological processes that these approaches invoke. We turn next to how social psychology informs our understanding of meso-level crime, focusing on white-collar crime. Finally, we discuss the influences of social psychology in theories that examine macro-level differences in criminal behavior, highlighting social disorganization theory, classic strain theory, and routine activity theory, while also discussing the intersection between these explicitly macro-level approaches and micro-level theories of crime. Throughout, we assess whether the empirical evidence supports social psychological explanations for criminal behavior. We end by discussing ways in which our understanding of crime and deviance can be advanced by additional theorizing and empirical research on the role of social psychological processes in crime and deviance.

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The Social Psychology of Crime and Deviance

  • Jody Clay-Warner,
  • Avery E. Warner

摘要

Sociological explanations for crime and deviance span multiple levels, with theories alternately focusing on micro- meso- and macro-level causes. The goal of this chapter is to highlight how social psychology informs our understanding of crime and deviance at each of these levels of analysis. We begin by examining micro-level approaches, organizing this section by the social psychological processes that these approaches invoke. We turn next to how social psychology informs our understanding of meso-level crime, focusing on white-collar crime. Finally, we discuss the influences of social psychology in theories that examine macro-level differences in criminal behavior, highlighting social disorganization theory, classic strain theory, and routine activity theory, while also discussing the intersection between these explicitly macro-level approaches and micro-level theories of crime. Throughout, we assess whether the empirical evidence supports social psychological explanations for criminal behavior. We end by discussing ways in which our understanding of crime and deviance can be advanced by additional theorizing and empirical research on the role of social psychological processes in crime and deviance.