CLJ 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Social Control Theory, Criminology, Fritter
Document Summary
Among the oldest and most popular explanations for the causes of criminality. The basic idea behind the control perspective is that people are fundamentally selfish/ pleasure seekers. Also draws on the work of durkheim, bentham, and freud. Assume the desire to commit crimes is natural to all human being. And what needs to be explained is why people resist criminal temptation. Begin with the view that crime is simply a consequence of rational self-interest, of which everyone is born with. Learning to commit crimes from others is unnecessary. Reiss 1951, was the first criminologist to discuss control theories. Toby 1957, discussed stakes in conformity where individuals resist criminal temptations due to being interested in conforming. Nye 1958, focused on two types of external control. The control theory formulated by hirschi 1969, has taken on the role as the most frequently referenced social control theory. Hirschi"s conceptualization focuses on the individual"s social bonds as means of imposing restraints on behavior.