Lecture 7 Flashcards
What do control theories ask?
“Why don’t people commit crime?”
Early control theories were…
not popular
Early control theories..
laid groundwork for later theorizing
Reiss’s Control Theory
Delinquency was the result of a weak ego and superego control.
Delinquency is the result of not having controls or restraints.
Nye’s 3 Components of Control
Internal, Direct, Indirect
Examples of 3 components of control
Internal: social interaction, direct: jail, indirect: caregivers
Reckless’s Containment Theory
There are predictive factors that push or pull an individual towards delinquency
Matza’s Drift Theory
Individuals offend at certain times in their life
Matza was critical of earlier theories because
they “predicted too much crime”
Soft Determinism is
the grey area between the determnism ideas of the positive school and the notions of free will of the classical school
Social controls are most weakened in the
Teenage years
Matza argued it is the teenage years that social controls are most weakened because
There are few ties and obligations
Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory
We are all animals and thus naturally capable of committing crime
Argues that people can be socialized or bonded to conventional activities
Example: school, community
The stronger the bonds the individual has, the less likely crime is to occur
4 Elements to Hirschi’s Theory
Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, Belief
Most important Element to Hirschi
Attachment
