Download Control Theories: An Overview of Social Bond Theory and Self-Control Theory and more Slides Criminal Justice in PDF only on Docsity! Control theories Social Bond Theory Self-Control Theory Docsity.com Control Theories • Instead of asking what drives people to commit crime, they ask why do most people not commit crime • All of us, beginning at birth, possess the hedonistic drive to act in the kinds of selfish and aggressive ways that lead to criminal behavior. Docsity.com What are controls/restrains? • “My parents raised me to respect the law” • “I do not want to upset my parents” • “I know what is right and what is wrong” • “I am afraid of being caught” • “I worry about my reputation” Controls (or restraints against delinquency) Docsity.com Control Theories: Main focus • Focus on restraining or "controlling" factors that are broken or missing • Control theories investigate the ways in which our behavior is regulated by influences of family, school, morals, values, beliefs, etc. Docsity.com Types of Control • Direct control • Indirect control • Belief • Self-control (Internal control) Docsity.com Monitoring behavior • Someone is watching and sanctioning Very high levels of monitoring and over strict parents may be ineffective and sometimes, they may even increase delinquency (perhaps for reasons related to strain theory) Docsity.com Sanctioning delinquency • Parents, teachers, police, courts, correctional agencies Docsity.com Teen Arrested For Texting In Class • WAUWATOSA- A 14-year old girl was arrested for texting in class. • The teacher told to stop, but the teen kept at it. The teacher called the school's police officer. • The officer demanded the phone, and the teen hid it down in her pants and denied having a cell phone. • She was arrested for disorderly conduct for disrupting class, disobeying the teacher, and lying to the officer about having a phone. • Not only was she arrested and forced to appear in court, she ended up with a $300 bail and she was suspended for a week Docsity.com Social Bond Theory Travis Hirschi Social Control Theory Causes of Delinquency (1969) Social Bond Theory- Delinquent acts result when an individual's bonds to society are weak or broken Attachment Commitment Involvement Belief Docsity.com Social Bond Theory Travis Hirschi • Attachment refers to the level of psychological affection one has for prosocial others and institutions. • For Hirschi, parents and schools were of critical importance in this regard. Docsity.com Social Bond Theory Travis Hirschi • Commitment involves the time, energy, and effort expended in conventional lines of action, such as getting an education and saving money for the future. • In essence, Hirschi noted that people are less likely to misbehave when they know that they have something to lose. Docsity.com Social Bond Theory Travis Hirschi • Perhaps the most significant element of Hirschi’s theory is that, taken together, these social bonds coalesce in a way that controls our behavior indirectly—that is, we do not need to have these bonds directly present in our lives to keep our behavior in check. Docsity.com CRIMINAL
BEHAVIOR
Docsity.com
Empirical validity of the theory • Theory suggests that attachment to parents (even delinquent ones) and friends (even delinquent ones) would decrease delinquency • Research has shown the opposite Docsity.com Elements of low self-control • People with low self-control have a “here and now” orientation and are unable or unwilling to delay gratification • Criminal acts are exciting, risky, and thrilling • People lacking self-control tend to be adventuresome, active, and physical • Those with high levels of self-control tend to be cautious, cognitive, and verbal Docsity.com Determinants of Low Self-Control • Low self-control is produced in families: 1) where there is little attachment between parent and child 2) where parents fail to recognize deviant behavior (for example, in cases where parents are also deviant), 3) where parents recognize deviant behavior but fail to correct it Docsity.com Self-control • Once formed in childhood, the amount of self- control remain relatively stable throughout life • Family is the most important agent • Peer groups are relatively unimportant in the development of self-control Docsity.com
