If integration with a conventional social group helps prevent suicide and "delinquency" (Hirschi 1969) and motivates people to fight, make sacrifices for a community, or commit deviant acts on behalf of a sub-cultural group, it should affect almost all forms of deviance. The absence of social integration with conventional groups should be influential in psychotic behavior (unless that specific behavior is organically determined and totally uncontrollable); without integration into nonbusiness groups, entrepreneurs, who are highly motivated to turn a profit, should be free to engage in price fixing; and strong social integration with any group should inspire some to excess zeal in fulfilling what they perceive as group expectations (over conformity), which may result in various forms of deviance. Since Hirschi's version, the best-known expression of the social control argument, does not convey this breadth, it must be regarded as shortsighted. Even the proliferation of separate theories of social…...

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Bibliography

Durkheim, Emile. [1897] 1951. Suicide, A Study in Sociology. Translated by John A. Spaulding and George Simpson, edited with an introduction by George Simpson. Reprint, Glencoe, N.Y.: The Free Press.

Gottfredson, Michael R., and Travis Hirschi. 1990. A General Theory of Crime. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Hirschi, Travis. 1983. "Crime and the Family." In Crime and Public Policy, ed. James Q. Wilson, 53-68. San Francisco: ICS Press.

The primary insulator against delinquency is therefore seen as the youth's self-concept itself, while external containment factors serves as reinforcement. On the other hand, excessively negative external factors could also lead to delinquency, despite a positive self-concept in the individual.
Toby, J. (1957). Social Disorganization and stake in Conformity

Toby makes the concept of self and its influence on the likelihood of delinquency even more specific by focusing on the likelihood of the youth to be recruited successfully by gangs. According to Toby, a young person's conventional social connections and commitments is the main element in this likelihood. A lack of such connections, for example, means that the young person does not have much to lose when affiliating with gangs and becoming delinquent. On the other hand, young persons who are connected with conventional social institutions and commitments are less likely to become delinquent gang members. This is what the author…...

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Hirschi, T. (1983) Crime and family policy

In this publication, Hirschi further highlights the social bonds that can act as a buffer against criminal behavior. He also recognizes the effect of family life on the self-control strategies that are internalized in early life. When these are not in place, external factors such as the role of ambition and peers can much more easily encourage delinquency.

These are also factors that can play a role in bullying. While social controls are most likely in place at schools to discourage this type of social abuse, peer groups and, to a degree, ambition can play a role in encouraging it. A young person who bullies another may for example be considered "cool" by his peers, or consider himself as socially much more adept than the target of his bullying.

But what is not clear is the causality. Do criminals seek out safe regions to commit their crimes, or are certain areas inherently destined to house criminal activity? Social control needs individuals acting on their own free will in order to complete the circle of logic in this argument. Both sides are needed to make a coherent and rational understanding of the subject.
Social control theory is useful in explaining criminal theory only up to the point that free will of the individual is absent. The ability that one has to act on his or her own accord is inversely proportional to the amount of control that society has on that individual. This trade off or relationship is the basis on which social control theory can be accepted as causing criminal behavior. For some individuals that have limited imagination and free will, society definitely has the ability to override that…...

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References

Kubrin, C. (nd). Criminal Behavior. Video.

Silver, E. & Miller, L.L. (2004). Sources of informal social control in Chicago neighborhoods. Criminology, 42(3), 551 -- 583. Retrieved from   Id=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQDhttp://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdlink?did=707219431&Fmt=7&client 

Walklate, S. (2003). Perspectives in criminological theory. In Understanding criminology (2nd ed. pp. 15 -- 37). Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

The ultimate form of control that brings the biggest reward is to do something the Don needs. To grant him a "favor." Then, he is in debt, and, by his standards, he must repay that debt. The Don is a master of favors, and so, usually, he is the one granting the favor and expecting repayment. This form of social control ensures he will remain strong and so will his family and that if anything happens to the family, there will be many debtors ready and willing to help the Don in his hour of need. He uses social control brilliantly to ensure his own superiority and rule over his "kingdom."
Most people think of social control as the constraints society places on each other to control crime. For most people, the need for social control of crime increases as crime rates increase. One writer notes, "The crime rate by…...

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References

1994). Handbook of organized crime in the United States (R. J. Kelly, K. Chin, & R. Schatzberg, Ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Jackson, P.I. (1989). Minority group threat, crime, and policing: Social context and social control. New York: Praeger Publishers.

Ruddy, a.S. (Producer), & Coppola, F.F. (Director). (1972). The godfather [Motion picture]. Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures.

Conflict Theory & Social Control Theory: A Comparison
Both conflict theory and social control theory have their similarities and differences. It is important to discuss and address those issues because both theories have been used as a way to talk about the occurrence of crime in contemporary American society. To that end, the effects of positive and negative reinforcement on crime must be considered in both theoretical frameworks. Examples of the issues faced also matter, in order to ensure that each one of the concerns faced by society are handled properly where criminality is concerned. Because criminality is a large part of any society, the ways in which criminals are handled - and the ways in which they develop their criminal behavior - are both very important to consider in an effort to reduce the number of criminals in that society.

Since there are several different theories about how criminality is created…...

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References

Hirschi, T. (2002). Causes of delinquency. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.

Hirschi, T. & Gottfredson, M.R. (2005). Punishment of children from the perspective of control theory. In Michael Donnelly and Murray A. Straus. Corporal punishment of children in theoretical perspective. New Haven, CT; London, UK: Yale University Press.

Stark, R. (2007). Sociology (10th ed.). NY: Thomas Wadsworth

Thio, A. (2008). Sociology: A brief introduction (7th ed.). NY: Pearson

Role theory holds that the way in which people act is a result of the awareness of roles and the duties associated with them. For Joe Henry, the role players in his life perform their duties with such neglect and ambivalence that he is forced to compensate for their shortcomings and juggle multiple roles that he is unsuited for. As a result, he finds himself in over his head and struggles to maintain a balance. He embarks on illegality (thieving) to pay his father’s debts and restore his mother’s records. In the end, he is arrested, which is actually the best thing that could have happened for him as it takes him out of the environment he is in and allows him to resume the role of just being a child. He needs time to develop and mature and grow into the role of adult, and being taken into custody…...

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References

Bao, W. N., Haas, A., Chen, X., & Pi, Y. (2014). Repeated strains, social control, social

learning, and delinquency: Testing an integrated model of general strain theory in China. Youth & Society, 46(3): 402-424.

Koenig, A., Eagly, A. (2014). Evidence for the social role theory of stereotype content:

Observations of groups’ roles shape stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(3), 371-392.

Miller, B., Morris, R. (2014). Virtual peer effects in social learning theory. Crime &

Delinquency, 62(12): 1543-1569.

 

Criminology researchers usually draw on multiple sociological theories for understanding crime and offenders. Certain elements of serial-killing research continue to be a subject of speculation and exploration, on account of the numerous preconceptions and myths surrounding the crime. The significance of establishing a theoretic basis to explain sociological factors proves crucial to distinguishing between fact and fiction (Hickey, 2013).
Social Structure Theory

This class of theories concentrates on the socioeconomic status of a person and suggests that the poor perpetrate more offenses owing to their struggle to achieve social or monetary success. They are, particularly owing to their subcultural, racial, or ethnic status, restricted in several ways from lawfully attaining the great “American Dream\". Thus, they resort to deviant techniques to succeed. Structural theories provide convincing justifications for numerous offenses, with the exception of serial killing. Normally, serial killers lack financial or social motivation, and aren’t members of any specific ethnic/racial minority.…...

The participants should be able to rate their performance both in the experimental situation involving a small audience and in that involving a large audience.
This is also a measure of their self-efficacy prior to exposure to the audiences. The purpose of this act is to see whether the change in their self-evaluation is due to exposure to the audiences. The self-evaluation is done by using a self-administered questionnaire. The second stage is the exposure to the two types of audience. After performing in front of the two types of audiences, the group of gymnasts is asked to rate themselves using the same self-administered questionnaire. Using the subjects' self-evaluation it is possible to identify the changes. And by taking into consideration the changes it would be possible to decide whether the size of the audience had any impact on the performance. However, in such a study it is possible to…...

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References

Presence of others, Retrieved at http://myclassonline.com/pub/content/ad080d01

Lambert, a.J., Payne, B.K., Jacoby, L.L., Shaffer L.M., Chasteen, a. (2003) Stereotypes as Dominant Responses: On the "Social Facilitation" of Prejudice in Anticipated Public Contexts, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 2, 277-295

Social Facilitation, Retrieved at  http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/social_facilitation.htm

Travis Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory
The theorist, Hirschi, asserts that those who exhibit deviant behavior desire to do so and that criminal behavior is seen among people with weak social bonds. In his social bonding model, he delineated four elements which make up social bonds, namely, attachment to partner/spouse, engagement in conforming behaviors, holding conventional beliefs and values, and dedication to conventionality (Wolfzorn, Heckert & Heckert, 2006). The theorist indicates that with increased attachment of a person to fellow human beings, their belief in conformist social values will increase. Furthermore, with increased investment and involvement in conventional activity, their propensity to deviate will decrease (Chriss, 2007).
 

Four Elements of Social Bonding Theory

Social bonding has four elements, namely: attachment, involvement, belief, and commitment.

The first component -- attachment -- denotes individuals' ties to their spouses or partners, and other members of the family. This aspect encompasses the extent of a person's emotional or affectional…...

deviance and criminal behavior can result from people feeling disconnected from their school and home situation. This backs up the control theory, which posits that with less control -- or weak bonds -- behavior can and does become deviant and even criminal later in life.
Control Theory -- Narrative Explanations

In his narratives on delinquency, Travis Hirschi, one of the most prominent theorists when it comes to control theories, said there are four variables that help explain why people either conform to, or deviate from social norms. And this is important because delinquents are often caught up in criminal activities later in life. In the process of deviating from socially respectable behaviors -- and in the extreme, becoming involved in crime -- people are just reacting to four variables, Hirschi explains. The four are: a) attachment (with parents, peers, teachers, and others); b) commitment (this is what a person must consider…...

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Works Cited

Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2008). Review of the Roots of Youth

Violence: Literature Reviews. Retrieved March 29, 2014, from  http://www.children.gov.on.ca .

Welch, K. (1998). Two Major Theories of Travis Hirschi. Florida State University. Retrieved March 29, 2014, from  http://www.criminology.fsu.edu .

Low Self -Control Theory
This theory deviates from the emphasis on informal relational controls and concentrates instead on individual controls. Through effective parenting practices of discipline and monitoring, some kids develop the ability to appropriately react to situations requiring deferred gratification planning. Delinquency is observed more frequently among males than females. One explanation for this is the divergent etiologies of delinquency for females and males. Males might be relatively more susceptible to inadequate parenting and other such factors that place them at risk of developing delinquency. An alternate hypothesis is: delinquency risk factors are identical for females and males, but the latter have relatively greater exposure to these. People with high self-restraint levels are more sensitive to others, have better verbal and cognitive skills, have lesser independence, and are more willing to accept any restrictions on their actions. On the other hand, those with poor self-restraint are characterized by insensitivity, impulsivity,…...

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References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Burfeind, J. W. & Bartusch, D. J. (2006). Juvenile delinquency: An integrated approach. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Demuth, S. & Brown, S.L. (2004). Family Structure, Family Processes, and Adolescent Delinquency: The Significance of Parental Absence vs. Parental Gender. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 41(1):58-81.

Farrington, D. P. (2010). Family influences on delinquency. Juvenile justice and delinquency, 203-222.

Hirschi's Social Bond Theory
Hirschi's social bonding theory argues that those persons who strong and abiding attachments to conventional society are less likely to deviate than persons who have shallow or weak bonds (Smangs, 2010). These bonds come in four interrelated forms, the first of which is attachment. Attachment, refers to the level of psychological affection one has for pro-social others and institutions. Parents and schools are of critical importance in this regard. Youths who form close attachments to their parents1 and schools will, by extension, experience greater levels of social control. The second type of bond is referred to as commitment. Commitment stresses the importance of the social relationships that people value, which they would not want to risk jeopardizing by committing criminal or deviant acts. People are less likely to misbehave when they know that they have something to lose. For juveniles, this could mean not wanting to look…...

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References

"Key idea: Hirschi's social bond/social control theory." (NDI). Sage Publications. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from  http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/36812_5.pdf 

Smangs, M. (2010, December) Delinquency, social skills, and the structure of peer relations: Assessing criminological theories by social network theory. Social Forces, Vol. 89, Issue 2, 609-631. University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from  http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=a9dcb4b0-c42c-4f64-8b67-c1a089b82105%40sessionmgr110&hid=108

Social Control Theory of Juvenile Delinquency
Underlying Assumptions

Travis Hirschi's Social Control theory of deviance assumes that deviant behavior is largely a function of the connectedness of the individual to his or her society; more specifically, Hirschi's assumptions are that juvenile delinquency, and criminal deviance more generally, are inversely related to the following elements of connectedness between the individual and the community: involvement, commitment, attachment, and belief (Akers & Sellers, 2004; Huebner & Betts, 2002).

Structure of Theory

Hirschi used the concept of involvement to describe the manner and extent to which the individuals takes part in the so-called "conventional" activities, such as extracurricular school functions and other organized opportunities for socially productive youth recreation available in the community (Macionis, 2008). Hirschi used the concept of commitment, to describe the basic "acceptance" in the most general senses, of fundamental social and behavioral norms, values, and expectations in the individual's community and society. Hirschi referred…...

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References

Akers, R.L., and Sellers, C.S. (2004). Criminological Theories: Introduction,

Evaluation, and Application. California: Roxbury Publishing Company.

Button, D.M. "Social Disadvantage and Family Violence: Neighborhood Effects on Attitudes about Intimate Partner Violence and Corporal Punishment." American

Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 33 (2008):130 -- 147.

Social issue alcohol drugs consider a social issue interested. It human freedom, sexuality, deviance, crime, social mobility, poverty, education, aging, similar issues. Select a specific social issue investigate assignment.
Social issue: Drug abuse

The social problem of drug addiction is a long-standing one, yet the causes of addiction and the best way to treat addiction still remain difficult questions to answer. One contentious issue pertains to whether addiction is a 'crime' or an 'illness,' although an increasingly large body of medical research indicates long-term abuse fundamentally rewires addicts' brains and changes their perceptions of reward and punishment. Drugs stimulate dopamine receptors. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that generates a sense of positive well-being: "Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain adjusts to the overwhelming surges in dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) by producing less dopamine or by reducing the number of receptors…...

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References

Cratty, Carol. (2011). New rules slashing crack cocaine sentences go into effect. CNN.

Retrieved at:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-01/justice/justice_crack-cocaine-sentencing_1_powder-cocaine-fair-sentencing-act-crack-penalties?_s=PM:JUSTICE

Drugs and the brain. (2012). National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Retrieved at:

This in turn generates a kind of societal morality. As a consequence, social order becomes an incorporated trait of everyday life. According to the theory, what people see as standards are indirect behavioral rules. Infringements of the standard lead to diverse amounts of punishment depending on how common the standard may be. Chastisements can come in the shape of being disqualified from one's social group, critical looks, or imprisonment in the case of harsh infringements like killing or assault (Jeanty, 2010).
As sociologists and historians examine social work, they often see a profession the spirit of which is social control. For them the language of therapy, assisting, or even empowerment masquerades a coercive center. Various recent literature of the vocation, conversely, has confronted the attitude of those researchers who depend on case reports as proof of what social workers in fact do in the field has highlighted empowerment in the…...

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References

Burford, Gale and Adams, Paul. (2010). Restorative justice, responsive regulation and social work. Retrieved March 23, 2011, from Web site:

 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYZ/is_1_31/ai_n6065937/ 

Chapter 4: The role of the social worker. (2006). Retrieved March 23, 2011, from Web site:

 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/02094408/8