Michelle PalaroCriminology 81-220-1

Fall 2014

Chapter 7 -Social Process Theories

• Social learning theory – People learn the techniques and attitudes of

crime from close relationships with criminal peers.

• Social control theory – Everyone has the potential to become a criminal,

but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. Crime occurs when the forces that bind people to society are weakened or broken.

• Social reaction (labeling) theory – People become criminals when significant

members of society label them as such and they accept those labels as a personal identity.

Different Social Theories

• Socialization• Process of human development and

enculturation• Family Relations

– Parental efficacy

• Violence and Abuse– Effects of parental discipline– Physical and emotional abuse

Institutions of Socialization

Class Discussion/Activity

Discuss what constitutes good and bad parenting.

•Find some examples from your childhood that you think were examples of good and bad parenting.

•What would you change if you had children?

• Educational Experience– Race and Educational Problems– Dropping out– Getting Bullied

• Peer Relations• Religion and Belief

– Participation and attendance

Institutions of Socialization

Institutions of Socialization

• Differential Association Theory • Principles of Differential Association Theory:

– Criminal behavior is learned– Criminal behavior is learned as a by-product

of interacting with others.– Learning behavior occurs within intimate

personal groups– Learning criminal behavior involves

assimilating the techniques of committing crime, including motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes

Social Learning Theories

• Principles of Differential Association Theory (cont’d)– The specific direction of motives and drives

is learned from perceptions of various aspects of the legal code as favorable or unfavorable

– A person becomes a criminal when he or she perceives more favorable than unfavorable consequences to violating the law

– Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity

Social Learning Theories

• Principles of Differential Association Theory (cont’d)– The process of learning criminal behavior by

association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning process

– Although criminal behavior expresses general needs and values, it is not excused by those general needs and values, because noncriminal behavior expresses the same needs and values

• Testing Differential Association Theory• Analysis of Differential Association Theory

Social Learning Theories

• Neutralization Theory – Gresham Sykes and David Matza– Drift– Observations of neutralization model:

• Criminals sometimes voice guilt over their illegal acts

• Offenders frequently respect and admire honest, law-abiding persons

• Criminals define whom they can victimize• Criminals are not immune to the demands of

conformity

Social Learning Theories

• Neutralization techniques– Denial of responsibility – Denial of injury– Denial of the victim– Condemnation of the condemners – Appeal to higher loyalties

• Testing Neutralization Theory• Evaluating Learning Theories

Social Learning Theories

Social Learning Theories

•Self-Control

•Commitment to Conformity

•Social Bonds

Social Control Theory

• Attachment– Sensitivity to and interest in others

• Commitment– Time, energy, and effort spent in conventional

activities

• Belief – Morals, values, belief in the law

• Involvement– Participation in convention activities

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory

• Testing Social Control Theory: Supportive Research– Attachment– Belief – Commitment– Involvement

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory

• Critiquing Social Control Theory– The influence of friendship– Failure to achieve– Deviant involvement– Deviant parents and peers– Mistaken causal order

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory

• Key Points– Behaviors that are considered

criminal are highly subjective– Crime is defined by those in power– Not only acts are labeled, but also

people– Both positive and negative labels

involve subjective interpretation of behavior

Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory

• Consequences of Labeling– Self-labeling– Joining deviant cliques– Retrospective reading

• Primary and Secondary Deviance• Crime and Labeling

Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory

• Differential Enforcement• Research on Social Reaction

Theory– Targets of labeling– Effects of labeling

• Is Labeling Theory Valid?

Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory

• Social Learning Theory– Highfields Project in New Jersey– Silverlake Program in Los Angeles

• Social Control Theory– Education– Family bonds

Social Process Theory and Public Policy

Social Process Theories