Chapter 14: Social Control Theory Flashcards
Later theorist of social control focused on what?
focused more on how the social bonds of individuals help constrain crime and delinquency.
Social Control theory
People refrain from committing criminal acts because they do not want to jeopardize their bonds to conventional society.
What does social control theorist assume?
humans are neither good or bad. However, we are born with the capacity to do wrong.
Social control theory asks the questions “____” rather than “why do they do it”
“why don’t we all do it?”
Who pointed out the importance of social bonds?
Emile Durkheim
What are social bonds?
The degree to which an individual has ties to their society.
Egoistic suicide
Occurs from when a persons social ties are so weak that they are free of social constraints and act on their self-interest.
Anomic Suicide
Occurs when a lack of social integration, leaves a society without a clear system of moral beliefs and sentiments.
If the rules are weak and if there is minimal agreement about their applicability, …..
society will be unable to regulate morality effectively, and deviance is more likely as people pursue their aspirations without check.
Who are some theorist on social disorganization theories?
Durkheim, Thrasher, Shaw and McKay.
Communities characterized by poverty, physical deterioration, and racial or ethnic conflict were too _____ to exert effective control over the behaviour of residents
disorganized
_____ arise spontaneously in areas where social controls are weak.
Gangs
_______ is the natural result of the activities of youth in areas with weak social controls.
Delinquency
WHO ARGUED IT: “high rates of crime are attributed to the failure of social institutions to provide adequate social controls.”
Shaw and McKay
From the 1930s to 1960s, very few changes were made to social theory for 2 reasons, what were they?
- Early research was methodologically flawed.
2. subject to the problem of ecological fallacy.
Ecological Fallacy
An error made when information is gathered at a group level and conclusions are drawn about individuals.
Example: low-income people commit the most crime.
Who was the first to distinguish between social controls and personal controls.
Albert Reiss
Includes ties to primary groups such as the family and community institutions.
Social controls
Have been internalized by an individual.
Personal Controls.
According to Reiss, delinquency will result how?
if social and personal controls are absent, break down, in conflict, or cannot be enforced.
He found that success or failure on probation was associated with the absence of social and personal controls
Reiss
He developed a techniques for measuring self-reported delinquency
Ivan Nye
Nye believed that ______ was the most significant group in the development of social control.
Family.
He linked 4 aspects of social bonds that constrain our behaviour
Travis Hirschi
What are the 4 social bonds of Hirschi’s theory?
- Attachment
- Commitment
- Involvement
- Belief
What is attachment?
The degree to which an individual has effective ties to other persons. (Hirschi’s theory)
what is Commitment?
The degree to which an individual pursues conventional goals. (Hirschi’s theory)
What is Involvement?
The degree to which an individual is active in conventional activities. (Hirschi’s Theory)
What is Belief?
The degree to which an individual believes in conventional values, morality, and the legitimacy of the law. (Hirschi’s Theory)
The following phrase is an example of which social bond theory by Hirschi: “society has a common value system, however, individuals vary in the degree to which they believe they should obey it”
Belief.
The control theorist say that deviant acts are made possible by what?
the absence of beliefs forbidding them.
Which one of Hirschi’s social bonds are wrong and harmful?
Involvement.
Which 2 theorists proposed that individuals who lack self-control have a greater propensity to commit crimes when they have the opportunity to do so?
Gottfredson and Hirschi.
Individuals who ____ _________ are impulsive and focus on the moment instead of planning the future.
lack self-control.
Why do some people lack self-control?
Because of poor early childhood socialization.
which theorist do not view physical punishment as the best way to control behaviour
Control theorists
what sanction is most most powerful according to control theorists?
disapproval by people one cares about
Families with inconsistent or lax discipline were much more likely to have what type of children?
Delinquent Children
TRUE OR FALSE: Strict parents results in lower rates of delinquency
FALSE!
results in higher rates.
TRUE OF FALSE: Schools play a primary role in socialization and is an important determinant of delinquency.
TRUE!
TRUE OF FALSE: The correlation between school failure and delinquency is relatively weak
FALSE!
The correlation is relatively strong.
In 1969, which two theorist reported that religion was not related to delinquency?
Hirschi and Stark
What are some criticisms of social control theory
- Does not adequately explain white collar crime.
- does not account for the motivation to deviate.
- TOO individualistic and conservative.
