LS227 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Social Control Theory, Social Disorganization Theory, Law Society
26 Nov 2016
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Early social disorganization theories and their explanations of crime. Belief in the causation of delinquency and crime. Social control theory - people refrain from committing criminal acts because they do not want to jeopardize their bonds to conventional society. We do have the capacity to do wrong. Seeks to explain conformity, rather than deviance. The wrong way may be the easiest and most effective way to achieve a desire. Most of us do not commit crimes because we have social incentives not to. Explained how some types of social structure led to crime/deviance. Disorganized communities were not effective in exerting social control over their members and therefore experienced higher levels of crime. Social bonds - the degree to which an individual has ties to his or her society (attachment, commitment, involvement and belief) Suicide/crime occurs when social bonds are so weak that the individual acts solely on self interest because they are free from social constraints.
