Sociological Theories: Emphasis on Social Process

1
Chapter 7

• Sociological Theories Emphasis on Social Process

2
Learning Theories

• Introduction
• Socialization is critical for social order
• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
• Deviant norms and values are learned from
  delinquent peers
• Criminality is result of socialization process

3

• Edwin H. Sutherland Differential Association
  Theory
• Principles of Criminology (1939)
• Study of professional thieves and white-collar
  crime
• Influenced by Gabriel Tarde, French social
  psychologist

4

• Differential Association Theory
• Criminal behavior is learned
• Learned through interaction with others through
  communication
• Occurs within intimate personal groups
• Learning includes techniques and specific
  motives, drives, rationalizations and attitudes
• Definition of legal codes as favorable or
  unfavorable

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• Excess of definitions favorable to crime
• Frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
• Learning criminal behavior same as learning other
  types of activities
• Criminal behavior not explained by general needs
  and values

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• Evaluation of Differential Association Theory
• Positive Aspects
• Emphasized social nature of crime
• Significant historical importance
• Explains variation in offending of people in
  similar structural conditions
• watershed in criminology

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• Criticisms of the theory
• Problem of causal order
• Neglects other influences of friends behavior
• Implication that crime committed in groups
• Claims mass media has little effect
• Difficulties in testing the theory
• Does the theory apply to females?

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• Other Learning Theories
• Daniel Glaser Differential Identification Theory
• Rests on notion of reference groups
• Learning criminal behavior can occur without
  interacting with the group influencing you
• Albert Bandura Social Learning Theory
• Social learning theory of aggression
• Aggressive tendencies are learned
• Studied effects of mass media on aggression

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• Burgess and Akers Differential Reinforcement
• Integration of operant conditioning and
  differential association concept
• Criminal behavior more likely to be learned if
  reinforced
• People calculate potential rewards and risks of
  the behavior

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Control Theories

• Introduction
• Why do people not become criminals?
• Personal controls individual conscience,
  commitment to law, positive self-concept
• Social controls attachments to and involvement
  in conventional social institutions (i.e. family,
  schools, religion)

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• Walter Reckless Containment Theory
• Inner and outer containments help prevent
  juvenile offending
• Inner containments positive self-concept,
  tolerance for frustration, ability to set
  realistic goals
• Outer containments institutions such as family
• Internal pushes need for immediate
  gratification, restlessness, and hostile attitude
• External pushes poverty, unemployment

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• Evaluation of Containment Theory
• Chicken-and-egg question which comes first
• Is positive self-concept most important factor in
  preventing delinquency?
• Research does not always find link between
  self-concept and delinquency

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• Gresham M. Sykes and David Matza Neutralization
  and Drift Theory
• Need to neutralize guilt before committing crime
• Denial of responsibility
• Denial of injury
• Denial of the victim
• Condemnation of the condemners
• Appeal to higher loyalties
• Drift into and out of delinquency

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• Evaluation of Neutralization and Drift Theory
• Some dont accept conventional values, thus
  having nothing to feel guilty about or to
  neutralize
• Techniques of neutralization may be
  after-the-fact rationalizations rather than
  before-the-fact
• Drift theory - What about chronic offenders?

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• Travis Hirschi Social Bonding Theory
• Bonds to conventional social institutions may
  keep us from committing crime
• Four elements of social bond
• Attachment
• Commitment
• Involvement
• Belief

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• Research supports the theory
• Relatively simple to define and measure variables
  of the theory
• Family structure the way the family is organized
• Family interaction nature of interaction and
  relationships
• Family disruption

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• Physical and sexual abuse are thought to
  contribute to delinquency
• Children of teen mothers at higher risk
• Poor grades and negative attitudes about teachers
  more likely to be delinquent
• Religiosity helps prevent delinquency/criminal
  behavior?

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• Sociodemographic Factors and Social Bond Theory
• Gender girls less delinquent than boys because
  of attachment to family and school
• Race and Class inconsistent findings in
  research Asian-Americans traditionally have
  stronger bonds social class and parental
  discipline
• Age bonding theory helps explain why criminality
  decreases as we age out of adolescence

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• Evaluation of Social Bonding Theory
• Relationship between social bonding and
  delinquency pretty weak
• Explains minor offending more so than serious
  offending
• Causal order
• Difficult to distinguish between commitment and
  involvement

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• Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi
  Self-Control Theory
• All crime stems from one problem lack of
  self-control (resulting from ineffective child
  rearing)
• Reducing crime will involve improving child
  rearing

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• Evaluation of the theory
• Circular reasoning
• What is the proper measurement of low
  self-control?
• Does not adequately delineate causal order
• Effects of low self-control are not strong
• Assumes low self-control lasts throughout ones
  life
• Is the only source of low self-control
  ineffective child-rearing?
• Assumption that all crime is spontaneous and
  unskilled

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• Charles R. Tittle Control Balance Theory
• People are limited by roles in society
• More likely to commit crime when control-ratio is
  not in balance
• Control surplus (corporate executives)
• Control deficit (urban poor)
• People want to be autonomous
• Societies w/ larger imbalance will have more crime

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• Colvin and Cullen Coercive Control and Social
  Support Theory
• Coercion force that compels a person to act
  because of fear can be micro or macro
• Social support assistance from communities,
  social networks,confiding partners
• Coercion causes crime and support reduces or
  prevents it

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• Chronic crime most likely to occur if both
  coercion and social support are inconsistent
• Consistent coercion more likely to lead to mental
  illness
• Theory still too new to have been adequately
  tested
• Important implications on how to reduce crime

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Integrating Social Process and Structural
Explanations

• Introduction
• Theoretical integration
• Delbert Elliott integration of strain, social
  learning, and social control theories
• Thornberrys Interactional theory

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• Life-Course Criminology
• Recognizes importance of childhood problems for
  adolescent delinquency and adult criminality
• Also emphasizes many children exposed to problems
  do not end up committing crime
• Turning points in ones life that may lead to
  desistance from crime
• Marriage
• Employment opportunities

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• A Final Word on Theoretical Integration
• Some scholars dispute value of integrated
  theories
• More comprehensive explanation of crime and
  delinquency?