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CONTROL THEORY.
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Sociological approaches to the study of conformity and deviance.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Sociological approaches to the study of conformity and deviance. Examines a structural-functional theory of conformity and deviance proposed by Travis Hirschi. Four types of social controls. Relation to criminal behavior. Theory of Emile Durkheim's constructs of deviance. His assertion that deviations from norms serve two major functions.
Paper Introduction:
Control Theory: A Comparison of Hirschi and Durkheim
Sociological approaches to the study of conformity and deviance have been influenced by ideas derived from two disparate models of society – the structural-functional model and the conflict model. The structural-functional model emphasizes the role of shared values and norms in maintaining social cohesion and the equilibrium-seeking tendency of society that produces a harmonious balance among its different parts (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1989).
The conflict model asserts that society contains basic inequalities in wealth, power, and prestige. Groups that are more powerful or privileged define what is or is not deviant not on the basis of widely shared values, but on the basis of their power to impose their values on less powerful segments in socie
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From the perspective of Hirschi (1969, 1977), Durkheim's (1938)structural-functional theory of deviance and conformity was clearly astarting point for the development of his own control theory. The conflict perspective on deviance owes much to the belief thatcrime is socially created by defining certain behaviors as inherentlycriminal (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1989). A General Theory of Crime. The structural-functional model emphasizes the role of shared values and norms inmaintaining social cohesion and the equilibrium-seeking tendency of societythat produces a harmonious balance among its different parts (Perrucci &Knudsen, 1989). As Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) argued, individuals who are low inself-control are not necessarily either anti-social or malicious. (1998). (1966). (1989). Later, Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) distinguished self-control fromcriminality and noted that many individuals lower in self-control are notnecessarily drawn to delinquency though they are more likely to behave in adeviant manner than individuals who are higher in self-control.Individuals lower in self-control were characterized by Gottfredson andHirschi (199 ) as exhibiting the following behaviors or attitudes: . Hirschi identified four different types of social controlsthat foster conformity. In sum, Longshore (1998) states that the general theory of crimemakes three claims about self-control: . Durkheim (1938) made the case that there is nothing "abnormal" aboutdeviance and that it performs essential functions needed to maintain theorganic solidarity of society. LikeDurkheim (1938), Hirschi (1969, 1977) argued that society must createmechanisms for ensuring that social control exists. However, most laws defining and sanctioning deviance inthe vast majority of societies, regardless of their political orientation,are sustained through the willingness of society's members to conform. New York: Dell.Durkheim, E. Perrucci and Knudsen (1989), commenting on these functions ofdeviance, suggest that deviance affirms the importance of group norms andreinforces its collective identity. Gibbs, Giever, and Martin (1998) maintain that from thisperspective, the extent to which a person's basic disposition influenceshis or her behavior is linked to the level of self-control and the relevantfeatures of the particular situations that are encountered. Hirschi (1969, 1977)believed that individuals in society both require and benefit from themoral regulation that society provides. Durkheim (1938) alsoasserted that deviation and deviance serve two major functions. St. (1998). Causes and prevention of juvenile delinquency. This inturn helps to move society forward and to encourage positive social change(Perrucci & Knudsen, 1989). Social Problems, 45(1), 1 2-113.Macionis, J.J. Finally, with respect to belief, this theorist held that strongbelief in and the acceptance of conventional morality and respect forauthority figures has the effect of restraining tendencies toward deviance. Deviance istherefore indispensable to the process of generating and sustainingmorality. A preference for physical activity over contemplation or conversation . Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) expanded upon Hirschi's (1969) controltheory to create a General Theory of Crime which identifies low self-control as a critical condition for individual choices associated withcrime and delinquency. It is the purpose of thisreport to examine a structural-functional theory of conformity and devianceproposed by Travis Hirschi (1969) and to compare this theory to constructsof deviance offered by Emile Durkheim (1938). By defining some individuals as deviant, society draws a clearboundary between right and wrong, good and bad, and moral and immoral. According to Macionis (1997), a second primary function of devianceas understood by Durkheim is that it allows groups to demonstrate supportfor and allegiance to the existing moral order and to identify theboundaries of normality. In other words, individuals, regardless of the level of self-control they possess, make a decision to commit deviant acts (Brannigan,1997). This isnot to suggest that societal norms and moral conventions are not created byelites in society. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35(1), 4 -7 .Gottfredson, M.R., & Hirschi, T. The moreinvolved an individual is in school, work, family, and both formal andinformal groups or organizations, the less likely he or she is to becomedeviant. This brief report has considered Hirschi's (1969, 1977) theory ofsocial control and its extension into a General Theory of Crime byGottfredson and Hirschi (199 ). Strong attachments encourage conformity whereas weak relationships inthe family, peer group, and schools make it possible for people to engagein deviant behavior. In other words, if young children areencouraged to develop strong bonds of attachment to significant others, tomake a commitment to benefit from opportunities, to be involved inlegitimate activities, and to acquire strong beliefs in conventionalmorality and respect for authority, the likelihood that the child willbecome delinquent or criminal tends to be minimized (Gibbs, et al, 1998). Societies are confronted at all times with changing environmentalconditions requiring the presence of innovators. (1969). Under certain circumstances crime itself may be aninnovation capable of preparing the way for social change. Thetheory defined deviance as beliefs, values, and/or behaviors that areinconsistent with acceptable social norms and presents harmful consequencesfor the individual and/or the public. Control Theory: A Comparison of Hirschi and Durkheim Sociological approaches to the study of conformity and deviance havebeen influenced by ideas derived from two disparate models of society - thestructural-functional model and the conflict model. These include attachment, commitment, involvement,and belief (Macionis, 1997). Culture involves moral choices and any conceptionof virtue must be accompanied by an imposing notion of vice. Theysought to distinguish their theory from others in which crime is seen asdetermined by the personal characteristics of criminal offenders. They exhibit a low tolerancefor frustration and an inclination to handle conflict throughconfrontation. Groups that are more powerful or privilegeddefine what is or is not deviant not on the basis of widely shared values,but on the basis of their power to impose their values on less powerfulsegments in society (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1998). Unlikethe conflict perspective on deviance, social control theory is lessideologically or politically charged. The conflict model asserts that society contains basic inequalities inwealth, power, and prestige. A tendency to risk-seeking and an attraction to activities that are adventurous and exciting . Fourth Edition.Perrucci, R., & Knudsen, D.D. It has linked these theories to thepropositions of Durkheim (1938) regarding the benefits and functions ofdeviance in society. With regard to involvement, Hirschi proposes that extensiveinvolvement in legitimate activities tends to inhibit deviance. (1938). The deviant's behavior is shown to bedeficient in some moral quality that is accepted by the audience ofdefiners as important to group membership. In extending social control theory to a General Theory of Crime,Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) incorporated four types of social controlsas described above as the elements that help to shape an individual's self-control. Through socialization to thegroup in a child's formative years, cognitive schema that are conformingrather than deviant are developed. Parental management and self-control: An empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory. Theirdefining predisposition is self-centeredness. Sociological Inquiry, 47, 322-341.Longshore, D. These cognitive schemas are reflectedin the individual's affect and behavior. They proposed that the disposition towards low self-control arises from failures in supervision, discipline, and informalcontrol in the family in a child's first eight years of life. All of these explanations of deviance and conformity reject theconflict perspective and its emphasis on political and economicinequalities and the pressures exerted by powerful elites that have amonopoly over the means of coercion (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1989). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Hirschi, T. New York: Macmillan.Gibbs, J.J., Giever, D., & Martin, J.S. Bycontrast, an individual with little confidence of future success will havea low investment in conformity and may drift more toward deviance(Macionis, 1997). However, the tolerancefor innovation based on deviance also permits or produces criminality(Durkheim, 1938). The Causes of Delinquency. (1977). It is not simply a synonym for criminality and can be defined independent of criminal behavior . The linkage between low self-control and devianceestablished by Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) and based on the earliertheory of social control presented by Hirschi (1969) is that some peoplewith low self-control have an enduring propensity to ignore the long-termconsequences of their behavior and these people tend to be impulsive,reckless, self-centered, and so forth. Durkheim (1938) argued that in all societies, if deviations fromnorms are reduced, smaller deviations will be negatively sanctioned withthe vigor previously reserved for larger deviations. Deviationfrom social norms produces sinners and saints, idealists and innovators,conformists and rebels. Self control and criminal opportunity: A prospective test of the general theory of crime. Appropriate parental reactions to children in the formative years oflife tend to produce a child with a general orientation that increases theprobability of a restrained or socially appropriate response throughoutlife to a variety of situations. Gibbs, et al (1998) also contend that self-control includescognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. Sociology. By this he meantthat all societies have socialization processes that affect individualsdifferently and thereby produce deviations from the normative pattern ofsociety. Robert Bierstedt (1966) contends thatDurkheim's theory posits that society has a conscience collective in whichthe solidarity of similarity and the solidarity of difference are equallyimportant. It is not the major explanatory variable in crime or deviance.What the theory offers, says Brannigan (1997), is an explanation of how afailure on the part of an individual to develop social bonds based onattachment, involvement, commitment, and belief can create a propensity forthe lower levels of self-control that are associated with if not causal ofdeviance. A tendency toward impulsivity and immediate gratification . Canadian Journal of Criminology, 39(4), 4 3-431.Bierstedt, R. (1997). Thus, animportant function of deviance from Durkheim's (1938) perspective is tointroduce flexibility into the moral system and thereby enable society tochange and adapt. The denunciation separates thedeviant from other group members who, when applying sanctions to thedeviant, reaffirm their own commitment to the norms that have beenviolated. Paul, MN: West Publishing. With regard to commitment, Hirschi suggests that themore one perceives legitimate opportunities as available, the greater he orshe will perceive the advantages of conformity to apply to themselves. Self-control, social control, and evolutionary psychology: Toward an integrated perspective on crime. A lack of diligence, tenacity, and persistence . Society: The Basics. Intrinsic to Hirschi's (1969, 1977)theory of social control is the assumption that persons will engage indelinquent behavior when their social bond to society is weakened. Hirschi's (1969) general control theory is used to explain individualdifferences in the prevalence and frequency of behaviors including crimeand deviance. Gottfredson and Hirschi (199 ) explicitly challenged othercriminological perspectives where the key explanatory factors were, forexample, strain, subcultural deviance, and social disorganization. It is important to recognize that all crimes take place because theyare chosen. Society therefore tends to institutionalize deviance and itsability to define its norm depends upon the presence of a deviant member. Hirschi's (1969, 1977) social control theory is very much a part ofthe structural-functional perspective on deviance. It therefore provides an excellentframework for a societally specific exploration of the nature, structure,and function of deviance. (1997). 1 2) has stated, "Gottfredson and Hirschi insteadproposed that the link between self-control and crime is conditional oncriminal opportunity, a function of structural or situational circumstancesencountered by the person." In his early work, Hirschi (1969, 1977) focused on the sociologicalforces that prevent people from participating in deviant behavior. When laws are perceived as unfair or unjust or discriminatory,societies often find themselves challenged to change those laws. Rules of the Sociological Method. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Hirschi, T. To the degree that Hirschi's (1969,1977) theory of social control recognizes that there is a potential forconflict in virtually any and all societies, Hirschi does not ignoreconflict theory. At the same time, Hirschi (1969, 1977), like Durkheim(1938) focuses most closely on the ways in which certain functional aspectsof structural interactions in society shape the mechanisms of socialcontrol and reinforce conformity. Emile Durkheim. It is acquired in childhood . Individuals lacking strong belief systems are more vulnerable totemptation (Macionis, 1997). AsLongshore (1998, p. Each ofthe four elements of the theory - attachment, commitment, involvement, andbeliefs - work in conjunction with the other elements identified by Hirschi(1969, 1977) to either strengthen or weaken the social bonds between theindividual and society. Emile Durkheim (1938)maintained that deviance is a persistent social pattern. (199 ). ReferencesBrannigan, A. Social control theory represents an excellent starting point for anextended analysis of deviance, its causes, and its consequences. A tendency toward indifference or insensitivity to the needs of others.
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