CRM 1300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Social Control Theory, Control Theory, Social Disorganization Theory
9 Apr 2019
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Proposed that structure and culture of american city = responsible for deviant behaviour. Disorganized neighbourhoods characterized by weak social institutions. Lack of effective social controls = high rates of crime & other types of deviance. Later theorists focus on way social bonds of individuals help constrain crime and. Ppl born with capacity to do wrong. No special motivation needed to explain deviance. Conformity needs to be explained, not deviance. Processes that bind ppl to social order. Control theory disappeared between 1930s and 1960s. Degree of social control in slum neighbourhoods = not directly measure. Inference that class (socioeconomic status) correlates with criminal behaviour = not necessarily true. Theories of social disorganization: durkheim, thrasher, shaw and mckay. Earliest social control theories explained how some types of social structure led to high rates of crime and deviance. Durkheim emphasized importance of social bonds to understanding deviance. Weak social constraints and person acts in self-interest.
