Essays on Social Control Theory

INTRODUCTION

Today the modern world is dealing with a number of serious issues all across the globe, like warfare, terrorism and civil and social unrest. This is currently the case in the United States. There has always been debate and protest among the diverse people of America, but that has seemed to increase over the last few years. There has been a great deal of political and ethical based arguments that are heatedly debated, from political, religious and societal levels. Most recently some of these issues are related to police violence, racial divides, women’s rights and the recent Presidential ...

The social disorganization theory associates the rates of delinquency with the levels of the socioeconomic conditions in any society. Continual poverty will increase delinquency especially among the lower class members of the community. It applies to the social landscape of America because of its stratified nature i.e. there has been an unequal distribution of prestige, wealth, and also power in the country (Part two- Theories of Delinquency, n.d., p. 130). The theory is more pronounced in the US than the cultural deviance theories because of the difficulty in subscribing to the behavioral demands of various social groups. In addition ...

INTRODUCTION

Criminal justice professionals and academics work to understand why some people engage in criminal behaviors and others do not. In other words, what makes a criminal into a criminal? There are many theories that have been developed to explain deviance or criminal behavior. Some believe that criminal behavior is a choice and are deserving of consequences, while others argue that some offenders are predispositioned for it; they are not entirely responsible for their actions. Two of those theories worthy of discussion are Social Control Theory and Subculture Theory. Social Control Theory argues that people turn to deviances and criminal ...

INTRODUCTION

Throughout human history there has always been crime, from the most petty of crimes to the most heinous of criminal injury, abuses and murder. The most gruesome of crimes are those involving murder, whether premeditated or “heat of the moment,” which carry heavy criminal consequences. These cases are tragic, but no murders are more disturbing and shocking than those committed by serial murderers. These are killers who torture, dismember and murder victims in very specific and very ugly ways that are an extension of the killer’s needs. There have been many serial killers who have become famous for ...

Rape is defined as a crime involving one person having sexual intercourse with another person without prior consent, which has most recently applied to male victims, but usually involves physical force or deception to get the victim to submit or become subdued. There are seven theories which describe and define deviant behavior including social control, functionalism, anomie, social disorganization, strain theory, critical theory, and stigma theory. It seems most likely the social control theory can better explain why rapists participate in their form of deviant behavior. This paper will analyze various articles discussing theories related to rapist behavior. The ...

The continuity of the anti-social behavior can be associated to the life-course theory which explains the continuity and change in behavior over time by making a connection between the past events and experiences to the present (Laub & Samson, 2005). Based on this theory, the extent of continuity in behavior between childhood, adolescence and adulthood should be analyzed to draw on the life-course framework in relation to social control and crime. In the beginning, a person’s criminal tendencies can be traced back to his or her childhood antisocial behavior, until reaching the adolescent delinquency, and the last stage is ...

The social bond theory under the sub-field of criminology is often in use when understanding criminal behaviors. An American criminologist Travis Hirschi was the one that developed the social bond theory back in the 1960s, also called as the social control theory. There is a belief that socialization and formation of personal relationships play the significant role in human development that keeps them away from crimes or from engaging in any forms of social deviance. Entirely, the social bond theory refers to that framework that criminologists put into use while explaining why a person would make a decision to ...

In the world today, there are people that have the desire to live according to society’s rules so as to keep from being the odd person out, and that desire is even stronger today than it was 25 years ago. People either scramble into groups or are put into them because of how the world views them or how they grew up, and both have a critical impact on how a person views the world or the people around them. There are also other evils in the world or about society that makes people yearn to be loved, ...

Abstract

Social control theory obtained popularity across the 1960s which sociologists had different notions about crime. During the period, Travis Hirschi presented forth the innovative control theory rendering. This was a theory based on the existing social control concepts. The intent of this paper is to establish the links between school, family and other social aspects serve as ways of diminishing an individual’s propensity in deviant behavior.

Introduction

The social control theory maintains that crime happens when these bonds encounter weaknesses or lack sufficient establishment. The control theorists are for the fact that without the bonds, crime becomes an inevitable result ( ...

Introduction:

Criminological theories attempt to define crime and shed light on the criminal justice system. Moreover, the theories further shed light into the intrinsic nature of the crime and its offender, and thus enhancing the rationale in devising the preventive measures (Tibet & Craig 107). Theories envelop the making and the contravention of the law, criminal and deviant conduct, and criminal activity patterns. The principal sociological crime theories consider the immediate social environment, such as the family unit, local community, peer groups, and learning institutions. The theories explain why some individuals have higher inclination to crime unlike others (Black 89). ...

Application of Social Theories to Deviance

Introduction Deviance is usually defined as a behaviors by an individual that does not confine to the accepted cultural and social norms in the society. There are many types of deviant behavior in the society with each having its unique brand of characteristics. However, it is crucial to note that deviant behavior is interpreted differently across different cultural and social settings. Different social and cultural settings have different values and norms which they define as acceptable. A norm may be acceptable in one society while in another society, this norm may be widely abhorred and totally unacceptable in another ...

Introduction

This research paper investigates the subject of Community Policing. Firstly it offers a definition of the term – what it actually means. Further, the paper discusses the theoretical background. More than one theoretical “label” is used in attempting to offer credible theories to support the concept of community policing. As well as describing some early efforts at implementing community policing policies and practices, this paper also provides examples of case studies of community policing, thus providing comparisons of real-life situations with the theory. Finally, there are opinions with regard to the future for community policing.

Community Policing: A Definition

“Community Policing Defined” is the title ...

Introduction

Past research results have indicated diverging views on the same issue. While some studies have found that school drop has no effect on crime and deviant behaviors, others have found out that school dropout has a close relationship with deviant behavior as well criminal activities. Other studies have indicated that students who drop out of school tend to shy away from crime and deviant behavior. Drapela (49) attributes these divergent views and findings to the fact that researchers do not have a common standard upon which they can divide their school drop outs into categories. Different school dropouts’ categorization criteria applied ...

Introduction

Travis Hirschi’s social control theory as postulated in his publication; Causes of Delinquency has remained a forceful paradigm in criminology from its introduction to date. As a matter of fact, only a few theories have been able to sustain as much debate and empirical attention. Scholarly interest on this theory has been ongoing for a while, generating heated arguments while being tested for its veracity. Hirschi has also remained relevant in the field of theoretical criminology for decades ranking high among the most cited criminologists. But what would have been the reason for this? Before his time, there had been a few scholars ...

The following study examines the three main categories of psychological problems in adolescence, namely substance abuse, externalizing and internalizing disorders. It focuses on the above mentioned problems by giving their definition, prevalence and main causes. In addition, the study suggests ways of treatment for the different psychological problems. Furthermore, it explains the co-morbid (co-occurrence) for each of the psychological problems observed in adolescence. - Introduction Regardless of the negative attitude stereotype of the psychological problems in adolescence, many statements are just myths. Some of those myths are connected with the origin and continuation of the psychological problems. ...

Social control theory explains that adapting to socialization builds a self-control that reduces antisocial behaviour. The theory suggests that people’s loyalty, values, beliefs, norms, and relationships persuade them to behave as the law requires them. This therefore explains that, if individuals have moral codes they stick unto them. It has a take to realize the possible ways that can reduce chances that criminality will grow in people (Regoli et al 69). According to Regoli et al (81), conflict theory came up in correspondent to Karl Max works that realised that the community is divided into groups of people who ...

Univariate Data Analysis

For the univariate data analysis, this study is going to use several variables to analyse data. This includes that number of time subjects committed property crime. We will determine the number of times each student in the study has committed property crime. Secondly, the study will establish the percent of male and female. Here, the study will find out the ratio of male and female students involved in property crimes while in high school. Thirdly, the study will assess the age ranges of the property criminal and also calculate the race of the criminal. Fourthly, the percentage of students ...

Comparison and Contrast: Social Control and Social Learning Theories

Introduction People often think that what motivates criminals to commit crimes is brought about by a need to steal money from others, a mental or drug problem that leads to perpetration of rape or heinous crimes, or even masked fear and anger. Some commit crimes due to repeated exposure to situations that support a negative behavior. Some do it due to inferiority complex in childhood, thus, they strive for superiority in adulthood. There are various other reasons for committing crimes and these can be explained by criminological theories. For the purpose of the presentation, the criminological theories that will be the ...

Michael Pichinte, 39, and his nephew Christopher Pichinte, 20, were arrested in San Bernardino County, California on October 31, 2012 and charged with murder, carjacking and robbery. Their victim was Eduardo Martinez III, 40, of Victorville, California, who was found dead along the side of the road. Police gave out no real details about the suspects or their motives and only stated that they had “found evidence linking the two to the murder.” Sabrina Martinez praised her deceased husband as “the most loving, sincere, respectful, honorable and loyal person that I have ever known” and said that “his whole ...

Social Control theorists maintain that most people obey the laws, rules and regulations of mainstream society because they have been trained and socialized to do so, while those who are more likely to become criminals and delinquents have weal social and community bonds. Travis Hirshi wrote the classic work on social control theory, Causes of Delinquency in 1969. Numerous studies of juvenile delinquents over the last forty years have confirmed Hirschi’s views that such youths do feel detached from society and conventional morality, and have a weak attachment to family, friends and school. Poverty, segregation and racism are the ...

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH RESEARCH STUDY

Criminology has various theories that are directly related to the issue of neighborhood watch programs (Siegel, 2011, p. 14). The theories in the discipline can be related to some extend to the factor of neighborhood watch programs. However, in this paper, the social control theory, as a core taught and practiced theory in criminology, and its relevance will be used as a reference to the factor of neighborhood watch programs. It can be stated that the neighborhood watch program, as currently initiated by numerous suburbs, is overly hinged on the provisions of this theory.

The social control theory ideally refers to ...