The application of cognitive theories to criminal behaviour has moved through various stages. Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory (1930s/40s) introduced the notion of cognitions (definitions in the theory) as a factor in explaining crime. Following Skinner’s operant learning, Bandura’s social learning theory (1960s/70s) emphasised the role of cognition acquiring and maintaining behaviour, including criminal behaviour. In the 1980s social information processing articulated the sequence of encoding social cues, interpretation of cues, clarification of response goals, response access or construction, response decision and behavioural response. These cognitive processes may be affected by the individual’s emotional state, particularly anger in crimes of interpersonal violence. The 1980s also gave the view of the criminal as a rational decision-maker prepared to seize an opportunity to offend. The theories have given two contrasting approaches to crime reduction: (i) change offenders’ thinking and values; (ii) remove the opportunity for crime through situational crime prevention.

This chapter reviews classic theories of CMC that are relevant to understanding personal media use, including media richness theory, social presence theory, channel expansion theory, the hyperpersonal model, social information processing theory, channel complementary theory, and media multiplexity theory. The chapter also explores emergent and important perspectives, such as relationship interdependence and mundane mediated relationship maintenance. This chapter introduces the communicate bond belong (CBB) theory, which examines how the content of communication, particularly the episode of communication, influences the satiation of the fundamental need to belong. One advantage of CBB is its focus on human energy management, which stipulates that humans seek to conserve energy expenditure and invest their time and energy toward future belongingness need satiation. From the perspective of CBB theory, personal media use is understood as result of three forces: need satiation, energy conservation and investment, and homeostatic balance of social interaction and time alone.