Social Control Theory - Sociology of Deviance - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology of Deviance

Download Social Control Theory - Sociology of Deviance - Lecture Slides and more Slides Sociology of Deviance in PDF only on Docsity! Social Control Theory docsity.com Social Control Theory • Everyone is motivated to break the law • So, the question is NOT: Why do we break rules? But, Why don’t we? • Deviance results from weak social constraints • A theory of conformity • Constraints originate in our social experience docsity.com Hirschi’s Social Bonds • Emotional Attachment to conventional others (parents, teachers, friends), avoid their disapproval • Material Commitment = deviance places investments in conventional relationships at risk • Temporal Involvement = limits criminal opportunity – “idle hands are devil’s workshop” • Moral Belief in the “rightness” of rules and laws, internalization, personal standards docsity.com The Life-Course Perspective Sampson and Laub (1993) • Trajectories = long-term pathways through life • Turning Points = short-term events that affect life trajectories docsity.com Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control • Turning points increase or decrease informal social control • Create or destroy connections to society • School, employment, marriage, family • Tend to be age-graded, but vary by person docsity.com The Origins of Self-Control Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) • Young children naturally break rules • By age 8-10, kids most kids learn to control their behavior • Parenting is the key • Monitoring, detection, punishment • Poor parenting leads to low self-control in children docsity.com Empirical Patterns that Fit • Offenders tend to be generalists (not specialists) • Smoking, drinking, drug use, speeding, unprotected sex • Most offending requires no special skill, tend to be impulsive • Opportunity is key • Offending usually brings immediate benefit, despite potential for long-term costs docsity.com Hirschi’s Informal Social Control Theory Bad relationships/ Weak social bonds Deviance docsity.com