Social Control Theory Essay

Social control theory and social learning theory are two theories that suggest why deviant behavior is chosen to be acted upon by some individuals and not others. Both take a different stance on the issue. Social control theory suggests people’s behavior is based on their bonds to society, if they have strong bonds to society they conform and if not they have a tendency to act out or become involved in criminal or deviant behavior. Social learning theory suggest that through vicarious learning people learn from observing others and based on what the observe make the choice of whether to copy those actions to obtain desired results or chose not to if

Self-control theory, which is regularly alluded to as the General Theory of Crime, has been one of the major theory ideal models in the field of criminology, which was created by criminologist Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi’s. General Theory of crime is defined as characterized as the development theory that changes social control hypothesis by coordinating idea from biosocial, mental, routine exercises and normal decision speculations (Siegel 2017: 278). This criminological theory focuses on the lack of a people poise, which is the fundamental factor behind criminal conduct or congruity. This helps influence criminologist to find evidence in the reasoning behind criminal behavior and the attribute tendency to commit crimes to a person’s level of self-control. Accordingly, the purpose of this researcher paper is to explain how this theory has a positive impact not only for criminologist, but allows the society to gain knowledge on why crime occurs.

Social control theory is used to help one understand and reduce levels of criminal activity. It is based upon the idea that an individual’s basic belief system, morals, values, commitments and relationships foster a lawful environment. Most individuals who possess these values and beliefs tend to have a level of self-control over their actions and are consequently prepared to remain on the correct side of the law. Furthermore, social control theory is used to examine how society can influence criminal behaviour. It also emphasizes the idea that when an individual is involved and in-touch with their community, they are less likely to commit acts of delinquency.

Individuals with strong and stable attachments to others within society, such as family, friends and community institutions are presumed to be less likely to violate social norms, because such behaviour would distress these respective attachments (Reginald et al, 1995). Second, is commitment, meaning having an individual investment in social activities. For example, an individual who has invested time, energy and resources into conforming to social norms, such as educational and career goals, is less likely to become involved in a gang (Goodwill 2009). In particular, since they have invested heavily in conforming these individuals have more to lose than those who have not invested in their future in a conforming fashion. (Reginald et al, 1995). Third, is involvement, which Hirschi utilized in order to illustrate that when large amounts of structured time are invested in socially approved activities, such as sports or work, the time for available deviance is drastically reduced (Reginald et al, 1995). Specifically, active engagement in conventional endeavors acts as a powerful protective factor against delinquency (Huebner and Betts, 2002). Hirschi’s final element of social bonding is belief. This pertains to an actor’s level of belief in the moral validity of shared social values and norms (Reginald et al, 1995). When an individual strongly believes in the conventional norms they are less likely to deviate from

Most people do not engage in criminal activities due to the controls that are placed. According to law.jrank.org, the control theory focuses on “factors that restrain the individual from engaging in crime.” When there is direct control such as police officers monitoring crimes and family members defining rules such as who the person can engage with or not then it can limit criminal activities. On the other hand, when people are directly monitored their behavior is much different compared to when they are not monitored. According to law.jrank.org, stake in conformity is also a restraint to crime. People who have a lot to lose will less likely to engage in criminal activities. There have been studies that state that people who care about their

In today's day and age contemporary society's are built upon the thought of citizen conformity to a prescribed set of values and norms to. This idea of complies to social standards makes one think as to how these norms of fact society as a whole and an individual. The main driving component which draws people too conformity are the desire to be excepted in certain status groups. People fear that if they do not conformity is norms that they will be breaking the social contract therefore been shunned by society at not being able to achieve their personal goals. Further analysis of these forces for conformity in contemporary society it will be shown that these forces produced negative ethical conduct and

Travis Hirschi developed two major control theories which are influential in criminology today (Lecture). Hirschi first theory was Social Bond Theory which he explained in his paper Causes in Delinquency, published in 1969 (Lecture). Hirschi criticized his theory and moved the locus of control from the person’s position in society to what internally drove the person not to commit crime (Cullen Text, Part VI). In 1990, Hirschi discounted Social Bond Theory and teamed up with Michael Gottfredson in the paper a General Theory of Crime where they explained their new theory, Self-Control Theory (Lecture).

To determine the effectiveness causal factors of crime the social control and bonding theory will be applied by conducting a meta-analysis on an empirical study. The Social Control Theory tells us about the behavior of juveniles and how they relate to the ties of society. A juvenile that has a strong bond to its society produce more positive actions. A juvenile that has a weak bond with its community can lead to criminal behavior. The Social Control Theory implies that the environment can affect behavior. The study of the Social Control Theory focuses on “the relationship between social control and social learning at the level of inter-personal relations, specifically the joint influences between parents and peers as they relate to delinquent behavior”(Champion, 2004). Family ties, commitment to society, and the belief of what is important are a few elements of the social control theory. The Social Bond Theory puts focus on an individual and their peer influences and peer groups. In this theory, attachment is extremely important when it pertains to parental figures. The strength or weakness of a family is a great variable and

According to Hirschi (1969), the bonds we form as a family, in school, and to religion may keep us from committing deviant behavior. The bonds with our family, with our peers, and within a religious group are what helps to decide whether an individual will be criminal or not based on whether these bonds are weak or strong. Hirschi suggested looking at why people do not commit crime, rather than why they do. There are four aspects of social bonding theory which deter people from criminal behavior including: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. “In explaining conforming behavior, sociologist justly emphasize sensitivity to the opinion or others” (Hirschi, 1974, p.16). This tells us that attachment refers to how much we value the opinion of what others think of us, such as parents, friends, or teachers. If we have strong bonds to the people we value the opinion of, we are less likely to violate what they consider a norm. Next is commitment, not commitment in

In this essay, I will critically assess that deviant behaviour is likely, related to the strength of social bonds. The Control Theory is the criminological theory, which is mostly driven by classicist beliefs, similar in the freedom of choice, and the ability to stop ourselves from committing a crime. It is a theory of why individual’s do not commit the crime? (Hirschi,1969) The theory was popular in the 1950’s/1960’s, as this was a new way of thinking since other theorists were interested, why do people commit a crime? and the control theory begins to explain the social controls/bonds to their society, which can insulate an individual from deviance. As it is presumed the majority of people would commit the crime if they had the chance. It

Finally, I believe morals strongly control ones ' behaviors. Morals differentiate between good and bad. Though, in some faith based morals, breaking this code of right and wrong can sometimes end in punishment that is not always the case. The majority of the times, our conscience, the little voice in our head or felling in our stomach telling us to refrain from certain activity, is what keeps us from participating in criminal behavior. People that don’t pay attention to their conscience or just don 't have one in general, usually find themselves in sticky situations faster than their peers. In some situations, our morals and conscience or overridden due to social strain that leads to criminal behavior. The social strain theory predicts such things as not having enough money for luxuries or simply just living in poverty can lead people to crime (Siegel 204). Although sometime it can be ignored, our morals and conscience play a vast role in control one 's behavior, along with family, peers, and the fear of punishment.

Social integration and moral regulation have the potential to keep deviance at a functional level

For all we think we know about crime there is still much we do not. Where we find crime, we find motives and this leads to the action of committing the crime. An area that we can look at in sociology that helps explain this idea is the knowledge of control theory. This theory helps uncover what processes or environments lead to a life of criminal acts while at the same time it allows for a chance to learn about our world from a social perspective. It will be important to investigate what in fact control theory is, how it applies to the world in a sociological manner and to explore the implication of the theory in real-time crime.

Societal reactions.Social control agencies responses towards the deviant, greatly affect deviance outcomes. Instead of minimising deviance the police can cause deviance to be amplified. (Marshall,

Criminal behavior is defined as an act that violates the public law established by the government. Individuals exhibiting criminal behavior may be subjected to negative consequences such as imprisonment or death penalty. Criminal behavior is normally associated with deviance, which is the violation of norms (Henslin, 2017). The factors which influence the criminal behavior is often debated by researchers, whether they are acquired or inborn. Specifically, scientists who study sociobiology believe that genetic predispositions lead people to engage in deviant or criminal acts (Henslin, 2017). As the study of genetics advance, more biological explanations are utilized to illustrate the variety of crime by race, sex, age, and social class (Henslin, 2017). Individuals who carry certain traits will more likely engage in deviant or criminal acts compared to those people who do not hold these characteristics. According to sociobiologists, females are less likely to exhibit criminal behavior due to the fact that they possess more empathy and greater self-control over their impulses compared to their male counterpart (Henslin, 2017). However, human behavior is highly versatile that it can be shaped by myriad of factors, and not just by genetics alone. Sociologists believe that there are external factors that encourage people to violate norms. They also examine outside influences, such as associations of a certain individual, their social locations, and their membership in