Theories III. Social Process Theories

1. Social Learning Theories

A) Differential Association

B) Neutralization

2. Social Control Theories

A) Containment

B) Social Control

3. Integrating Theories

General Theory of Crime

1. Social Learning Theories

A) Differential Association: Sutherland 1939

People become delinquent because they are exposed to values, definitions, attitudes, or norms that favor the violation of the law.

• The same concept has different meaning for different people.

• Meanings are shared in cultures or subcultures.
• Sutherland: Culture conflict arises when definitions of right and wrong collude.

• Individuals become criminal, because they hang out (associate) with people who have values that condone criminal behavior.
• They adapt these values.

• Delinquency: if values (associations, definitions) favorable to violating the law outweigh values favorable to obeying the law

Sutherland also specified conditions of association. Conditions under which pro crime norms or associations are encountered determine the internalization (acceptance) of these norms. These conditions are:

• frequency
• duration
• priority
• intensity

DETERRENT

• Isolate criminals, so they do not "pollute" the values of others.
• Be more reluctant to put people with minor offences in jail, where they associate with people with a delinquent subculture.
• Give good role models to transfer positive values.

B) Neutralization Theory

An interesting furthering of Sutherland

Question: Do delinquents know the norms and values of the mainstream society, or are they so entangled in their alternative deviant normative system that they do not understand the mainstream culture?

First assumption:

"Juvenile delinquents act on their own normative system that deeply contradicts the norms of mainstream society."

Question: What are the implications of this assumption?

Second assumption:

"Juvenile delinquents know the normative value system that they share with mainstream society, but act upon a different value system."

Question: What are the implications of this assumption?

Which of those assumptions is right:

Do juvenile delinquents have their own normative system, or do they share the norms with mainstream society? Probably both is true to a certain extent. Delinquents violate social norms and values without abandoning them.

Many delinquents exhibit feelings of shame and guilt when they are apprehended.

This fact clearly speaks for the knowledge of mainstream norms.

Neutralization Theory

Delinquents learn both, values and attitudes of

a) law abiding citizens and

b) delinquents

They can follow both value systems.

However, they learn techniques that temporarily neutralize values of law abiding citizens.

This allows them to drift back and forth between the legitimate and the delinquent worlds.

We manipulate mainstream norms and values by engaging in rationalizations:

Table: Neutralization Theory: We manipulate mainstream norms and values by engaging in rationalizations.

Crime creating Victims and Vice

Since in the case of vice, we rightfully

• denial injury
• see no victim
• condemn the authorities

We will learn rationalizations and generalize them even if we wrongfully justify victimizing crimes

CRITICAL EVALUATION

This theory allows us to explain why people behave quite nicely towards their own folks (neighbors, family...).

Do criminals neutralize law-violating behavior before or after the violation?

• if they do it afterwards, cognitive theories are more appealing: cognitive dissonance, attitude consistency...

DETERRENT OF CRIME

Give counter arguments to the rationalizations:

• show how victims suffer
• show the insignificance of their reference group (higher loyalties)
• ....

2. Social Control Theories

A) Containment: Walter Reckless

Society produces a series of pushes and pulls toward delinquency.

Containment Theory

Pulls toward delinquency

• internal pushes
• external pressure
• external pulls

These pulls are counteracted by

• inner containments
• outer containments

Social Control Theories

B) Hirschi's Social Control Theory

We are all born criminals

• It is not the skill and training that enables a person to be a criminal.

• We do not have to learn special values or norms in order to be criminal.

We are saved from being delinquent by being controlled by social bonds such as:

• belief
• attachment
• commitment
• involvement

DETERRENCE

Provide social bonds through community programs, party's...

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Question: "What does the following assumption imply: " we become delinquent because we have no social bonds"

Help: party animals have social bonds

=> Only loners become criminals.

Overhead

Theorem:    results that had already been shown to be true

Axiom: in logic and mathematics, a basic principle that is assumed to be true without proof.

Theorem 1: There is an absolute wrong and right

Problems

·      there is no absolute right and wrong

·      what is right and wrong is defined by society

·      every society is responsible for their definition of right and wrong

    There is no truth with a capital “T”

·      Religion preaches Truth

·      Science investigates truth

Theorem II:  The criminal justice system wants to eliminate crime

All attachments, even with deviants, are beneficial.

Does the involvement with a gang prevent delinquency?

Developmental Theories of Crime

Integrated Theory of Crime

Of course, we can integrate different theories that we learned. I want to give only one popular example, the General Theory of Crime.

General Theory of Crime

Hirschi's Social Control Theory

+ psychological theories

+ others (depending on the theories version)

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