Class: CJ233: Introduction to Forensic Psychology
Unit 2 Project: Differentiate Criminal Behavior
Kaplan University
July 17, 2011

Talking about crime and the role of a forensic psychologist in order to understand crime, and the various theoretical theories to describe, track, and understand the different criminal behaviors, we can forget some of the pioneers of the nineteenth-century, Charles Goring (1870-1919), Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904) and Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), and their contribution to the development and studies of the Sociological, Biological, Psychological, and Social-Psychological theories.

The Sociological theory studies social behavior and cultural factors, such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, moral values, friends, environmental, situational factors, poor education, and how these factors contribute to criminal behavior.
The basis of the Sociological theories is that certain groups within society have fewer opportunities than others to achieve their goals. For example; Kids that are raised by a single parent, with financial limitations have a highly propensity to join gangs, and commit robbery than a kid that have been raised by both parents.

Biological Theories are focused primarily in the study of physical and biological conditions that control human behavior.
It was in this area where Cesare Lambroso focused his studies. His theory was based on the assumption that criminals have specific physical feature abnormalities. His theory implied that prisoners had common facial characteristics, such as the shape of their skulls, large cheekbones, ears and lips, similar asymmetry of their heads and faces, etc.

Psychological Theory Trait View is the second branch of the Trait Theories, and its main focus is the psychological aspects of crime, including the association among learning, intelligence, personality,