7 - Social Control Theories

Question 1

Social Control

Answer 1

Practically any phenomenon that leads to conformity. Defines what is deviant to society.

• EX. smoking in society, once seen as acceptable, then gradually became more and more restricted when it was found to be bad for health.

Question 2

Social Control Theories

Answer 2

Focus on TECHNIQUES and STRATEGIES that regulate human behaviour and lead to conformity (obedience to society’s rules).

More involved and committed one is to conventional activities and values and the greater the attachment to parents / loved ones / friends, the less likely they are to violate society’s rules and to jeopardize relationships and aspirations.

Question 3

‘Net-Widening’

Answer 3

Social control apparatus has actually extended its grip on more people [newer soft-core deviants usually let off w/ warning are now roped into participating in alternative measures program or community service].

Social control sys has expanded as community control has supplemented rather than replaced formal institutions.

Question 4

Macrosociological Theories

Answer 4

Explores formal systems for the control of groups such as legal system / law enforcement / laws, powerful groups in society, governmental / private social and economic directives. These types of control can be pos (inhibit rule breaking behaviour) or neg (foster oppressive, restrictive, or corrupt practices by those in power).

Focuses on broader social structures such as community structure, economic factors, ethnic or racial composition of a community, and other patterns used to characterize groups.

Question 5

Microsociological Theories

Answer 5

Focuses on informal systems. Collect data from individuals, often guided by hypotheses that apply to individuals as well as groups.

Frequently examine / reference a person’s internal control system.

Question 6

(Macro) Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 6

Focuses on development of high-crime areas where there is a disintegration of conventional values caused by rapid industrialization, increased immigration and urbanization.

How lack of social controls (formal and informal) contribute to delinquency and crime.

Cultural Anomie (conflict with the traditional customs of parents), leading to loosening of social controls, in turn leads to criminal behaviour.

• EX Polish Immigrants in Chicago -> older adjusted w/ existing life experience / education / etc. leading to higher conformity / lower crime. Younger had few of the older traditions, and not yet assimilated to the new ones. Rates of crime / delinquency rose.

Social Disorganization Theory claims crime, delinquency, health problems, truancy and unemployment are greater in areas near the city centre.

Question 7

Park & Burgess Model (Soc Disorg.)

Answer 7

• Introduced principles of ecology (study of plants / animals relationship to the environment) into study of human society.
• Examined area characteristics rather than criminals for explanations of high crime rate.
• Natural urban areas called concentric zones extending out from downtown central business district of Chicago to the commuter zone at the fringes of the city. Each zone has its own structure, organization, cultural characteristics and unique inhabitants.

Question 8

Social Disorganization

Answer 8

Breakdown of effective social bonds, family and neighbourhood associations, and social controls in the neighbourhood and communities.

Question 9

Zone 1

Answer 9

Central Business District -> Law offices, company headquarters, retail establishments and some commercial recreation [MOST EXPENSIVE].

Question 10

Zone 2

Answer 10

Transition Zone -> city’s poor, unskilled, and disadvantaged lived in dilapidated housing next to old factories [LEAST EXPENSIVE]. High mobility / volatility, cultural pockets / ethnic diversity, VERY UNSTABLE.

Question 11

Zone 3

Answer 11

Blue-Collar Residential -> housed working class, people whose jobs enabled them to enjoy some city comforts offered at its fringes. More stability, duplexes, zone 2 saves to move here.

Question 12

Zone 4

Answer 12

Middle-Income Residential -> middle class (professionals, small-business owners, and the managerial class). More ownership / less rental.

Question 13

Zone 5

Answer 13

Commuter Residential -> satellite towns & suburbs. Lots of Wealth / Stability.

Question 14

Shaw & Mckay (Soc Disorg.)

Answer 14

investigate crime rates in the various zones of Chicago using Park and Burgess’ model to examine how people were distributed spatially in the process of urban growth.

Highest rates of delinquency persisted in same areas of Chicago over 30+ years, even tho ethnic composition changed. Conclusion that crucial factor was not the ethnicity but rather position of group in terms of economic status and cultural values.

Also determined older boys were associated w/ younger boys in various offences and that the techniques for committing delinquent acts had been passed on through the years [Cultural Transmission].

Question 15

Cultural Transmission

Answer 15

Delinquency was socially learned behaviour, transmitted from one generation to the next in disorganized urban areas.

Question 16

Policy Implications of Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 16

Invest in informal social control [After school programs, better schools, rec centers, child care]

Question 17

Critiques of Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 17

• Too focused on how crime patterns are transmitted not how they came about in the first place.
• Fails to explain why delinquents stop committing crime as they get older.
• Fails to explain why not everyone in socially disorganized areas do not commit crime / why some neighbourhoods w/ low social control seem to be insulated from crime.
• Not proper explanation of middle-class delinquency.
• Derogatory implications of term ‘dis’ organization.

Question 18

Personal and Social Control

Answer 18

Social control theorists emphasize rational nature of human beings.

Support idea of social (external) control and personal (individual) control being important forces in keeping individuals from committing crimes. These controls contribute to understanding of both criminal and conforming behaviours.

Why don’t MORE people commit crime? Why obey the rules?

Question 19

Toby’s Stake in Conformity

Answer 19

Correspondence of behaviour to society’s patterns, norms, or standards. One person may respond to conditions in ‘bad’ neighbourhood by becoming hostile to conventional values, knowing chances for legitimate success are poor. Other may maintain stake in conformity and remain committed to abiding by the law.

How can theory of social disorganization explain why only a few among so many slum youth commit crimes? Can explain why one neighbourhood has higher crime rate than another, but not why one particular individual becomes a hoodlum whereas another does not. Complementary role of neighbourhood social disorganization and individual’s own stake in conformity.

Reminds us that when trying to account for crime in general, we should look at both group-level explanations (social disorganization) AND individual-level explanations (stake in conformity).

Question 20

Reckless’ Containment Theory

Answer 20

Assumes that for every individual, there exists a containing external structure and a protective internal structure, both of which provide defense, protection or insulation against delinquency.

Probability of deviance directly related to extent to which internal pushes (immediate need for gratification, restlessness and hostility), external pressures (poverty, unemployment, blocked opportunities), and external pulls are controlled by one’s inner / outer containment.

Strong self-concept (way one views themselves in relation to the world) and other internal controls plus outer control = low likelihood of deviance.

Question 21

Outer Containment

Answer 21

Structural buffer that holds the person in bounds. Can be found in cohesion among members of a group, sense of belongingness, identification w/ one+ persons in the group, set of reasonable limits / responsibilities, and a role that provides a guide for a person’s activities.

Question 22

Inner Containment

Answer 22

Personal control. Ensured by a good self-concept, self-control, strong ego, well developed conscience, high frustration tolerance, and high sense of responsibility.

Question 23

Criticism of Reckless’ Containment Theory

Answer 23

• Terminology poorly defined.
• difficult to test empirically
• fails to consider why some poorly contained youth commit property VS violent crimes.

Question 24

(Micro) Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory

Answer 24

Social Control Theory explains conformity and adherence to rules, NOT deviance.

Four social bonds that promote socialization and conformity. Stronger the bonds, less likelihood of delinquency. Weakness in any of the bonds associated w/ delinquency.

Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief.

Question 25

Hirschi’s Attachment

Answer 25

Attachment to parents, school / teachers, peers.

Youths who have formed significant attachment to parents refrain from delinquency because the consequences might jeopardize the relationship.

Parent-Child bond forms path thru which conventional ideals and expectations can pass. Bolstered by time spent w/ parent, intimacy of communication w/ parent and affectional identification w/ parent.

School: Attachment depends on youth’s appreciation for the institution, perception of how he or she is received by teachers / peers, and level of achievement in class.

Attachment to PARENTS & SCHOOL overshadows bond formed w/ peers.

Question 26

Hirschi’s Commitment

Answer 26

Investment in conventional lines of action. Support and participation in social activities that tie individual to society’s moral / ethical code.

Includes vocational aspirations, educational expectations, and educational aspirations.

EX. Tim Onyshuk at Sheridan college -> Iron John program. college students mentor young boys at risk in the community and provide positive role models for them, encourage conventional behaviour among them. Social Bonds are created AND reinforced.

Greater the aspiration, more unlikely delinquency becomes [Long Term Committed].

Question 27

Hirschi’s Involvement

Answer 27

Preoccupation w/ activities that promote the interests of society. Bond is derived from involvement in school-related activities (ex homework) rather than in working-class adult activities (ex. smoking and drinking).

The more the youth is involved in adult activities (drink, smoke, date) the more likely delinquency.

Busy doing conventional things = no time for deviant acts.

EX. Big Brothers / Sisters programs that offer tutoring OR Study Buddy program in EDM increases student involvement in conventional society by pairing uni and college students w/ elementary, junior and highschool students who require help with their studies.

Question 28

Hirschi’s Belief

Answer 28

Assent to society’s value system. Value system of any society entails respect for its laws and for the people and instructions that enforce them.

If young ppl no longer believe laws are fair, bond to society weakens, probability they will commit delinquent acts increases.

Question 29

Evaluation of Hirschi’s Social Bonds / Control Theory

Answer 29

Seeks to explain delinquency NOT adult criminal behaviour

Concerns attitudes / beliefs / behaviours that while deviant are often characteristic of adolescents.

Doesn’t clearly define terms such as affective values, beliefs, norms and attitudes.

Faults in research study

failure to describe chain of events leading to inadequate bonds

creating artificial division of unsocialized vs socialized youths

suggesting SCT explains WHY delinquency occurs, when it typically explains no more than 50% and only 1 to 2 percent of future delinquency [LOWER EXPLANATORY POWER].

Doesn’t really apply to females / didn’t explore sex differences in relation to social bonds [ETHIC OF CARE -> many girls raised to care for others. Raised dif, more rules & expectations for girls.]

Question 30

Matza’s Social Control and Drift Theory

Answer 30

Explains why some adolescents ‘drift’ in and out of delinquency.

Juveniles sense a moral obligation to be bound by the law, a ‘bond’ to the law which creates responsibility and control. This remains in place most of the time.

When NOT in place, youth may enter into state of drift -> period where they exist in limbo between convention and crime, responding in turn to demands of each (flirting w/ each of them) while postponing commitment and evading decision.

Adolescents then justify those delinquent acts with rationalization techniques, defense mechanisms releasing youth from constraints of moral order.

Question 31

Drift

Answer 31

period where youth exist in limbo between convention and crime, responding in turn to demands of each (flirting w/ each of them) while postponing commitment and evading decision.

Question 32

Matza’s Rationalization / Neutralization Techniques

Answer 32

• Denial of responsibility -> “not my fault”, “I was victim of circumstance”
• Denial of injury -> “no one got hurt”, “they have insurance, what’s the problem?”
• Appeal to higher loyalties -> “my friends were depending on me, I had to deliver, what was I supposed to do?”
• Denial of the victim -> “I did what I had to do, anyone woulda done the same thing”, “She was asking for it”
• Condemnation of the condemner -> “I bet they’ve done much worse than what I did”

Question 33

Recent Theoretical Explorations Include

Answer 33

Developmental, Life Course and General Theories of Crime

Question 34

Development Theories

Answer 34

Why offending starts (onset), continues (continuance), gets more severe / frequent (escalation), gets less severe / frequent (de-escalation), and stops / ends (desistance).

Instead of exclusive focus on one stage of dev, it considers each developmental period in the life-span.

Question 35

(Life-Course) Sampson & Laub’s Age Graded Theory / Turning Point Theory

Answer 35

Assumes that the causal relationship between early delinquent offending and later adult deviant behavior is not solely a product of individual characteristics; social events may change some individuals while others continue to offend [TURNING POINTS IN ONE’S LIFE].

Question 36

Farrington’s Theory of Delinquent Development

Answer 36

Alleges that stability in criminal behaviour resides in the individual rather than in the environment; the social problem of crime is largely medicalized, constituting a psychological model of anti-social behaviour rather than a theory of crime and delinquency.

Question 37

Hirschi and Gottfredson’s General Theory of Crime

Answer 37

Assumes offenders have little control over their own behaviour and desires. When immediate gratification outweighs long-term interests, crime occurs. Crime is a function of poor self control.

Ineffective child-rearing practices and inadequate socialization
->
poor self-control
->
either criminal acts
OR
non-criminal acts that result in harm (smoking, drinking, accidents).

Question 38

Synnomie

Answer 38

Related to societies with low crime rates, OPPOSITE OF ANOMIE (syn = WITH, nomie = NORMS).