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Jeffrey Hirschi's Social Control Theory

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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 …show more content…

According to social control theory, individuals conform to social norms based on their bond with society. Individuals who experience a strong bond with society characteristically display congruence with societal values and norms, while those who experience weak or broken bond with society characteristically deter from these values and norms. Utilizing the four elements of social bond, it is possible to explain the reasoning behind the criminal, deviant and delinquent behaviour exhibited by notorious serial killer and necrophiliac, Jeffrey …show more content…

Involved in the capture, torture and murder of 17 men and teenagers, Dahmer was more well known for his necrophilia, body dismemberment and cannibalistic activities. Utilizing Hirschi’s social control theory, it is possible to explain Dahmer’s criminal, deviant and delinquent activities as a product of his broken bond with society and its members. Lacking the four elements of social bond- attachment, commitment, involvement and belief- Dahmer exhibited behaviours that were incongruent to the morals, values and norms held by society. Thus, through the acknowledgement of his broken bonds with society, it is possible to understand why Jeffrey Dahmer was able to commit such disturbing

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Simpson. First, social control theory is, “a perspective that predicts that when social constrains on antisocial behaviors are weakened or absent, delinquent behaviors emerges” (Schmalleger, 2014). In the case of Simpson, prosecutors may say because of Simpsons’ jealous nature seeing Nicole Brown with Ronald Goldman may have caused Simson to commit the murder and break social norms. Second, self-control theory, “approach sees the root cause of crime as a person’s inability to exercise socially appropriate controls over himself or herself” (Schmalleger, 2014). In the case of Simpson, people may say Simpson had no self-control that his emotions overpowered his

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Within the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.

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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

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Between the mid-late 1970s and the early 1980s, Dennis Nilsen began mass murdering young men in Great Britain that had at least 15 men through strangulation (Crime Investigation, 2014). In analyzing his life, many of contributions throughout his life could have influenced his criminal behaviour when committing his crimes. Many theories such as broken home hypothesis and schema therapy theory use psychological explanations that determine how the individual resulted into committing their crimes. With schema therapy theory, not only does it discuss the justification for criminal behaviour, but suggests how to reduce the relapse of criminal acts by identifying the cause or the trigger of the individual’s criminal behaviour (Vos et al., 2016). In Dennis Nilsen’s life, there are several indications such as the abandonment of his family members, the termination of a past relationship, and the reclusiveness from society that could have resulted

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In the book Social Control by James Chriss, the author argues, "since the public health model views problems in society as a diseases or disease-based, the three prevention-primary, secondary, and tertiary - refer to the stage to which the disease has progressed at diagnosis or discovery. In this sense, tertiary prevention is the lowest level of prevention, in that it represents a state of affairs in which the disease has gone undiagnosed or unnoticed for quite some time" (Chriss 2013). According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair (VA), 476,515 military service members with primary or secondary diagnosis of PTSD received treatment at VA medical centers and clinics in 2011. Also, the secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, states

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For social control theory, the underlying view of human nature includes the conception of free will, thereby giving offenders the capacity of choice, and responsibility for their behavior. As such, social control theory is aligned more with the classical school of criminology than with positivist or determinist

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In criminology, differential association is a theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposing that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior. The differential association theory is the most talked about of the learning theories of deviance. (DAT). (Sutherland) (Sociological Theories of Crime and Their Explanation on Crime , 2007) Theories of criminality are most commonly derived from human behavior.

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Jeffrey Dahmer ~was born in 1960, Jeffrey’s father was not around much because of his job. When Jeffrey was at the age of four he was diagnosed with a double hernia. The operation scared him letting doctors explore his body. His experience is said to have marked his subconscious forever. He became very insular and lacking in self-confidence.

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Eat Your Heart Out Like Jeffrey Dahmer “ ‘He had a little graveyard with animals buried in it. There were skulls placed on top of little crosses. He had quite a collection of skeletons,’ said Eric Tyson, 28, a former neighbor (Dvorchak).” Jeffrey Dahmer had murdered 17 men in just 14 years. Not only had Jeffrey Dahmer murdered his victims, but he would save their body parts as trophies and even consume some. Jeffrey Dahmer had once been a happy child, but he had many situations that had greatly affected him and then he became a killer and an alcoholic, he was tried for all of his murders, convicted, and then murdered by one of the prison inmates.

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Section 1: Description of Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Dahmer, the Milwaukee Cannibal, killed 17 homosexual boys and men. Jeffrey Dahmer’s case helped the study for medical and psychology fields. When he was born he was known as happy child but after getting a surgery to correct a double hernia it changed his personality completely making him more reserved. To cope, Dahmer started to dissect animals, abuse alcohol and developed antisocial tendencies. This case shocked and sickened many individuals due to the violent nature of the murders.

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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.

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There are numerous theories that have evolved over time to explain why crimes are committed. These theories include anomie, strained, social control, and rational choice theory. In this research paper I will be focusing on rational choice theory. Majority of these theories focus on a macro-level, which is the largest, meanwhile some focus on a micro-level, the smaller level, depending on the circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize how rational choice theory is integrate with different crimes.

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