Social Bond Theory
Travis Hirschi created the Social Bond Theory in 1969. Hirschi proposes that people don’t commit deviant acts because of social bonds with others that keep them from committing these crimes. The social bond that Hirschi talks about is made up of four parts. The first part is attachment which is the feeling that one has towards family and friends that make one care what other people think about that person. For example, you don’t want to act nasty to your parents in front of others because others might view one as disrespectful. The second part is commitment where a person will think if the deviant behavior is a respectable way to proceed. Specifically, people that place school, work, and social activities as a center point in their lives would be less likely to engage in crime. The factor of involvement, which is the third point, is a person’s choice to get involved in conventional versus deviant behavior. People that spend more time doing activities like softball practice or field hockey practice don’t have time to commit a crime. As a result, they are productive in other socially acceptable ways. The last part that
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For instance, juvenile gangs provide an environment in which young people learn to become criminals. These gangs glorify violence, retaliation, and crime as a means to achieving social status. Gang members learn to be deviant as they embrace and conform to their gang 's norms. Although this is not always the fault of these gang members’ parents, they should be held accountable for their actions to a certain extent. Not only parents of gang members, but any child that shows the disruptive deviant behavior, both the child and parents should be held accountable. Meanwhile, parent’s need to be involved in their children’s lives by making sure they stay out of trouble. Parents should be held accountable for their children both criminally and
References Egley, A., & Howell, J. C. (2012). Highlights of the 2010 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/237542.pdf Sanders, R., & Moore, S. (n.d.). Mandatory Waiver for Juvenile Gang Members in Tennessee. Retrieved from: http://www.belmont.edu/burs/pdf/Social%20Work-%20Sanders%20and%20Moore.pdf Searles, K. (2017).
People that have gone to a good school and have a family with positive influences are less likely to engage in deviant behavior. External structures like schools, churches, clubs, police departments, keep individuals from deviating, these institutions push individuals into conforming to the norms of society. Travis Hirschi introduced four elements of social bonds: “attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief” (Vierra 2014). Reckless believed that these four components could prevent crime and deviant behaviors because they give the individual a purpose and sense of responsibility. If individuals in many of these lower income neighborhoods do not have a job and no source of steady income, then they are ever more likely to resort to deviant behaviors in order to attain the means of survival.
When one considers the issue of gangs receiving stiffer penalties, one must understand
This theory is also based upon four concepts or elements found with social bonds: attachment, commitment, belief, and involvement, all of which contribute to criminal behavior. Social bonds are the interpersonal relationships we form with family, teachers, friends, employers and even neighbors. Self-control also plays a part in this theory because if a person does not possess self-control, the person is more prone to engaging in criminal activity because they do not want to violate social norms or hurt others. The stronger these elements are; the less likely criminal behavior takes
In the United States, every year there are around 2,000 gang-related homicides and in the realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, it explores the issues of gang violence, and teenagers in gangs. Around 40% of all members in gangs are teenagers, who are getting involved in some dangerous things very early in life. In the novel The Outsiders, the “Greasers” which is a gang of all teenagers, fight other gangs and commit serious crimes such as murder. We as a society need to pinpoint why teenagers join gangs and stop them beforehand. We also need to help people get out of gangs if they are already in one.
African American and Hispanic youth are more likely to join gangs than white youth (Bartollas & Miller, 2017). This is often attributed to a variety of factors such as poverty, lack of opportunities, and social exclusion. In addition, some scholars argue that gang membership may serve as a form of identity and a way to cope with feelings of alienation and marginalization (Freng & Esbensen, 2007). Moreover, it has been found that youth of color are more likely to be arrested and charged with gang-related offenses and may face harsher penalties than white youth for the same offense. This has led to concerns about racial disparities in the juvenile justice system.
Criminology uses many theories to study crime, such as Social bond theory, Control theory social, containment theory etc. Social bond theory includes a various forms of social attachment theories. Attachment is a complicated process starting at birth with a maternal connection. This premature form of joint sets the standard for an individual's future attachments to friends, family members, co-workers and lovers. Control theory suggests a responsibility towards one's behavior.
The Other Wes Moore illustrates the differences in upbringing between two Wes Moores. The differences drastically alter the outcomes of their lives. It is important to analyze the differences between the Wes Moores’ upbringing in order to identify what factors encourage a favorable path. Concepts from the Psychology 1100 Textbook can be used to explain the lives of the two Wes Moores.
United States: Greenhaven Publishing. The book provides various opposing viewpoints regarding the cause of juvenile crime and how the criminal justice system should treat juvenile offenders. Each argument highlights the main risk factors for juvenile crime. For example, gang plays a large part of juvenile violence.
Hirschi presumed that the answer to his question is that individuals who are highly socially integrated, or have a strong bond to society, are less willing than others to exhibit criminal, delinquent or deviant behaviours due to the risk of negative repercussions (Costello, 2010). Among the most influential of these repercussions are the informal punishments, such as the disapproval of those whose opinions are valued, rather than the formal punishments administered by the criminal justice system (Costello, 2010). It is further outlined that there are four elements to social bond. The first element of social bond is known as attachment, referring to the level of sensitivity an individual is seen to exhibit in reference to the opinion of others
We learn from the things we experience, the things we see, and the people with whom we associate. We learn from our surroundings , experiences, acquaintances, friends, and family. Contends that we learn aggression like any other behaviour-by watching others and imitating their behaviour” (2014). This theory explains that people act and do illegal things because that is all they have been taught. Those in gangs who may use violence to resolve conflict and/or establish a respectable name for themselves have been surrounded with those who do the same thing.
Social learning theory and social bonding theory are two theories that may be compared and contrasted because they both overlap and differ. Although these theories have their similarities and differences, one theory may prove to be more convincing in terms of applying the theory to the understanding of crime and delinquency. Social learning theory refers to Akers’ theory of crime and deviance. Akers attempted to specify the mechanism and processes through which criminal learning takes place by explaining crime and deviance; he did this in such a way that the likelihood of conforming or deviant behavior based on the influence of an individual’s history of learning was accounted for. This theory was based off Sutherland’s differential association theory, which had nine propositions outlining the process by which individuals acquire attitudes favorable to criminal or delinquent behavior with the basic idea that people tend to associate with others in which they come into contact.
Deviance has many functions in society. Although deviance violates social norms, without it, we would not have rules, so it helps form, guide, and shape society’s norms and goals. Social norms are different from culture to culture. Norms that may be acceptable in one culture may be frowned upon in another. Emile Durkheim quotes that “deviance and deviant behavior is an integral part of all healthy societies (Adler, 2014, p74).”
It does not consider other factors such as criminal associations, individual traits, and inner strains, which plays a significant role in determining punishment for the individuals in committing crimes. It is observed that this theory endeavours to know that whether the activities of crime as well as the victim’s choice, criminals commit the activities on start from rational decisions. The theory also determines that criminals consider different elements before committing crime. They engage in the exchange of ideas before reaching on any final decision. These elements consist of consequences of their crimes, which include revealing their families to problems or death, chances of being arrested, and others elements, which comprises of placement of surveillance systems (Walsh & Hemmens, 2010; Lichbach,
Juveniles Justice Juveniles who are criminals being sentenced to life without parole can be shocking to some people. I believe if a juvenile is able to commit a crime, then they are able to do the time. The article “Startling finds on Teenage Brains” talks about how the brain can be different from the time you are teens to the time you are an adult. After, considering both sides on juvenile justice it is clear that juveniles should face life without parole because they did the crime so they can do the time. Also I believe the juvenile’s age should not influence the sentence and the punishment give.