Social Bond Theory

554 Words3 Pages

There are many theories on criminology and the motive as to why people commit crimes, however, one of the most influential social process theory has been presented by Travis Hirschi. The social bonding theory is a control theory that seeks to explain why people engage or refrain from crime. Hirschi based his theory on the assumption that people are inherently tempted to violate the law. Rather than focusing on why people engage in criminal activity, Hirschi devoted his time to dissecting the reasons as to why people refrain from breaking the law. The main proposition of Hirschi’s theory is that delinquency is the result of weak or broken bonds between the individual and society (Kelley, 1996). These social bonds are composed of four highly interconnected elements consisting of attachment, …show more content…

Thus, the more emotionally attached we are to others, the less likely we are to misbehave because we fear disappointing those we care about. The next element of the social bond theory is commitment, in which Hirschi defines as the personal stakes that an individual makes in conformity. Hirschi justifies his idea of commitment by reinstating the reward system - people are reluctant to commit crimes because doing so would threaten their future rewards. The third element of the social bond theory is involvement or the time invested in social activities. Involvement is a significant part of Hirschi’s theory because the more time a person spends in prosocial activities, the less likely they are to commit a crime because there is limited time to do so. The last element of Hirschi’s theory is belief, which refers to the way individuals perceive and accept societal values, norms, and laws. Those who accept and appreciate these societal values, norms, and laws are less likely to deviate from