CHAPTER 14 (test #3) Flashcards
Explain the assumptions of social control theory? What does it ask and what does it focus on?
Assumptions:
- human beings are neither good nor evil
- people are born with the capacity to do wrong
- no special motivation is needed to explain deviance
- it is conformity, not deviance, that needs to be explained (bc ppl naturally try to gratify themselves in the most efficient way)
- purposes that ppl refrain from committing criminal acts because they don’t want to jeopardize their bonds to conventional society
Asks: Why don’t we ALL commit deviance? (answer is that we conform because of social controls)
Focuses on:
- why we refrain from deviance
- the processes the bind people to the social order
Explain Durkheim’s Social Integration theory?
Early social control theories explained how some types of social structures led to high rates of crime and deviance
Durkheim:
- emphasized the importance of social bonds to our understanding of deviant behaviour
- if rules are strong and there is consensus about them –> little deviance
- if rules are weak with little consensus –> deviance will be common
- without socially regulated goals, deviance is more likely, as people pursue their aspirations without check
Define social bond
Define social controls
The degree to which an individual has ties to his or her society
The processes that bind us to the social order
When do egoistic suicide and anomic suicide occur? (Durkheim and Social Integration)
Egoistic : occurs when there are weak social constraints and the person acts in self-interest
Anomic : occurs when a lack of social integration leaves a society without a clear system of moral beliefs
What were the ideas the came from Thrasher and the Gang?
Gangs predominated in areas where there were breaks in the structure of social organization (weak social controls) –> city slums, economic or ecological boundaries, adolescence
Gangs are not necessarily delinquent, however, delinquency often is the natural result of activities of youth in areas with weak social controls
Why did control theory almost disappear between the 1930s and 60s?
- strain and subcultural theories rather than social control theories dominated the field at this time
Primarily because early research was methodologically flawed
- the degree of social control in slum neighbourhoods was not directly measured, only inferred
The theory also suffered from ecological fallacy (conclusions about individuals from group data)
- the inference that class correlates with criminal behaviour is not necessarily true
Which theorists laid the foundations for control theory?
Shaw and McKay, and Thrasher
Explain Shaw and McKay’s early social control theory
- Saw deviance as originating not in the pathology of individuals but rather in the social disorganization of communities
- In the Chicago neighbourhoods they studied, crime rates remained high in specific areas even though the racial and ethnic characteristics of the residents changed as new waves of immigrants moved to the city
- Shaw and McKay attributed crime to the failure of neighbourhood institutions and organizations (such as families, schools, and churches) to provide adequate social controls
- emphasized the importance of a criminal subculture that developed in those high crime areas
- ecological analysis - showing highest crime rates near city centre and declined outward
**Shaw and McKay’s research subject to the problem of ecological fallacy and only studied official crime statistics
What was Albert Reiss’ contribution to social control theory?
Reiss differentiated between social controls, which include ties to primary social groups such as family and community institutions, and personal controls, which have been internalized by an individual.
- The absence of both will lead to delinquency
Also found that success or failure of young males on probation was associated with the absence of both social and personal controls
Describe Ivan Nye’s contribution to social control theory?
4 types of controls?
Most significant social group?
Nye expanded on the work of Reiss and was the first to use self-report data of delinquency (more advanced method)
- His research examined a random sample of American high school students
Theory was that delinquency is not motivated by the resulting gains, but that weak controls will free a person to commit delinquent acts by lowering their cost relative to available alternatives
4 types of controls:
- Direct controls : police, parents
- Internalized control : conscience, guilt
- Indirect control : affective ties to others
- Availability of alternative ways to goals
Also believed the family was the most significant social group in the development of social controls and internal controls
Describe Hirschi’s Social Bond theory
(what are the 4 types of social bonds)?
He published the Causes of Delinquency (1969)
Argued that individuals are more likely to turn to illegitimate means if their bonds to society are weak or broken
4 Types of Social Bonds:
- Attachment:
- affective ties with others - don’t want to commit crime because we don’t want to hurt or embarrass ppl we like - Commitment:
- pursuing conventional goals (deviance occurs when ppl have low commitment to conventional goals and aspirations) - Involvement:
- The degree to which an individual is active in conventional activities (busy ppl don’t have time for deviance) - Belief:
- beliefs in conventional values, morality, and the legitimacy of law (absence of beliefs makes deviance more possible)
Explain the Self-Control General Theory of Crime
(who developed it?)
What is the research in support for this theory?
Developed by Gottfredson and Hirschi
- people with low self-control are more likely to commit crime and engage in risky activity when given the opportunity
- ppl with low self-control are impulsive, focus on the moment, have unstable personal relationships, and are less likely to feel remorse
- Early childhood socialization will determine an individual’s self-control. Bad parenting is a key factor
Australian researchers found that low-self control was related to higher levels of cyberbullying
Canadian research found a correlation between self-control and drug use
How did Sampson and Laub cast doubt on the Self-control General Theory of Crime?
Said that lack of self-control insinuating lifelong deviance is not always the case
- deviance may subside with transitions (turning points) in one’s life and changes in social bonds –> Found that those who developed adult social bonds, such as stable jobs and marriages, were less likely to stay involved in crime than those who did not develop these ties
Explain how social control theory emphasizes family relationships?
Family relationships provide children with the attachments that restrain their deviance
Strength of family ties:
- rejection and hostility are typical of the families of delinquents
Parental supervision and discipline:
- clear, consistent discipline that shows disapproval of unwanted behaviour = non-delinquency
- strict discipline, harsh physical punishment, lack of parental warmth = delinquency
Parental role model:
- an association between criminality of the parent and that of the child (may be bc of problems that accompany criminal parents - ex. poverty)?
- Hirschi argued that strong ties to parents will act as a deterrent to delinquency regardless of the criminality of the parents
- However, West and Farrington (1973) found that boys with at least one parent convicted of a criminal offence were more than twice as likely to become delinquent as those whose parents had no convictions
Explain how Schooling plays a part in Social Control Theory
School plays a primary role in socialization and is an important determinant of delinquency
- relatively strong correlation between school failure and delinquency
2 Interrelated Ways School Impacts Delinquency:
- the school has taken over many of the occupational socialization functions formerly performed by the family
- the school is related to delinquency through its effects on children’s daily lives
Explain how Religion plays a part in Social Control Theory
- Conventional wisdom has long held that people with strong religious commitment are not likely to become criminals
- However, some research showed no relationship (Hirschi and Stark)
Later work:
**Research shows that religiosity was related to reduced levels of involvement in crime and delinquency in communities where religion is important (moral community to reinforce religious teachings), but not in highly secularized communities
*most impact is on behaviour such as drug use that may not be universally condemned
Can Control Theory explain upper-world crime?
- Control theory has focused on street crime and delinquency, not on occupational crime committed by high-status adults (can’t rly explain the deviance of ppl who have a high stake in conformity)
Hagan examined upper-world crime in the Watergate scandal:
- key factor is that upper world morality has not been clearly defined
- elites often receive only token punishment for deviance
Explain The Role of Delinquent Peers in relation to Control Theory
Control theory fails to account for the influence of deviant peers because they would say it is an individual with no ties at all that will engage in delinquency
*ties to delinquent peers has a stronger correlation with delinquency and drug use than social control
Combining differential association theory and control theory offers a better overall explanation of crime:
- while control theory conceive’s social bonds as wither weak or strong, differential association exposes them as multidimensional: conventional and unconventional
- the adolescent’s lack of ties to the conventional order will increase association with deviant peers, since the adolescent has nothing to lose by this affiliation
- these ties will increase the probability that the adolescent will be involved in deviance
Is control theory a conservative theory of crime?
- conflict theorists argue that political and economic structures are ignored by social control theorists
- fair because an individual’s relationships with institutions are conditioned by structural factors
However,
- critics ignore that control variables can be incorporated into a structural perspective –> control theory focuses on an individual’s relationships with social institutions; and structural factors condition those relationships
Explain Policy Implications in The Family that have come from control theory
**Key focus is to strengthen family bonds, make sure that parents love and care for their children, and train family to supervise and train children
Patterns –> said to punish the misdeeds of children to they will not persist –> deviance should be recognized, monitored, and punished –> parents should be trained to use effective, non-physical punishment
The Oregon Social Learning Center: parents of pre-adolescent problem children are taught how to discipline their children consistently and effectively (non-physically) and rewarding good conduct, as well as how to interact more positively as a family
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Program (PCIT) evaluation studies show significant improvements in parenting skills and the behaviour of their children
*these programs can co-exist with interventions advocating structural change
Explain Policy Implications in Schools that have come from control theory
**improve classroom interaction, improve curriculum, assist transition from school to work
Schools can help at-risk student academically and behaviourally
- Studies have examined the quality of teacher-student relationships. Failure to get along with teachers may weaken an adolescent’s commitment to school
–> The Incredible Years program succeeded in changing teachers’ methods so that they were better able to teach youth with behaviour problems
Qualities of an effective school:
- high standards and values, student participation in decision making, small school and class size, low staff turnover, mix of intellectually and socially disadvantaged students, curriculum relevant to student lives and minority cultures
Briefly explain Social Disorganization Theories (theorists and key elements) (from the textbook table)
Theorists: Durkheim, Thrasher, Shaw and McKay
Key Elements: Deviance will be highest in disorganized communities that lack social controls
Briefly explain Early Social Control Theories (theorists and key elements) (from the textbook table)
Theorists: Reiss, Nye
Key Elements: Stress the importance of personal controls, particularly those provided by the family
Briefly explain Control-differential Association Theory (theorists and key elements) (from the textbook table)
Theorists: Linden
Key Elements: Lack of ties to the conventional order will increase the likelihood of association with deviant peers - these ties will in turn increase the probability of delinquency involvement
What is the difference in what early social control theorists and later theorists focused on?
Early theorists = community-level controls
Later theorists = social bonds of individuals
How has recent theoretical work returned to the social disorganization tradition?
By linking societal and community factors to individual-level bonds
How is social control theory different from Lombroso’s positivist theory?
Lombroso believed that criminals were more like animals
Control theorists believe we are all animals (but not depraved atavists like Lombroso’s)
What does control theory say about female criminality?
Suggested that women are heavily involved in conventional activities like child-rearing and these may provide stronger bonds to the social order - thus female crime rates will be lower than those of males
What are the basic strengths and weaknesses/criticisms of social control theory
Strengths:
- fits the data (parents + schools impact on deviance)
- explains maturational reform
Weaknesses:
- under-emphasis on delinquent peers and other motivating factors
- only discusses interpersonal controls (there are others such as legal controls)
- does not adequately explain white-collar (upper-world) crime
- does not account for the motivation to deviate
- it’s too individualistic
- it’s too conservative
