S02 E13 — Socio-biological Theories of Crime and Deviance (Roger Hopkins Burke)

Welcome to CSS Breakdown: Book by Book — Season 2, where we’re unpacking Roger Hopkins Burke’s ‘An Introduction to Criminological Theory.’ In Episode 13, we explore how biology and society intertwine to shape criminal behavior in the chapter on Socio-biological Theories of Crime and Deviance.

In this episode, we explore Chapter 13 of An Introduction to Criminological Theory by Roger Hopkins Burke, diving into socio-biological criminology — an integrated approach that bridges biology, psychology, and social environment in explaining crime.

🔬 Key topics include:

• ​The biosocial model, explaining how genetic predispositions, neurological conditions, and environmental triggers influence criminal tendencies
• ​Theories by Sarnoff Mednick and James Q. Wilson on how conscience and behavior develop through both inherited traits and social learning
• ​The role of early childhood adversity, including perinatal complications and parenting, in shaping deviant behavior
• ​Controversial topics like evolutionary theories of aggression and rape, and their place in modern criminological discourse
• ​The push toward a multifactorial explanation of crime, rejecting one-size-fits-all narratives

Whether you're prepping for the CSS exam or deepening your understanding of modern criminology, this episode equips you with a balanced and critical view of how science and society interact in the study of deviance.