Social Control Theories and Self Control Theories - Assignment Example

Sociology Discuss and explain the various types of social norms. What role does the dominant culture play in establishing norms? Rules of behaviour that are customary in a society that provide direction to one’s interaction with the other people are called social norms. Social norms manage a wide range of aspects that include contracts, justice, communications, and rights of property. Within any group, norms enforce a uniform behaviour but among the groups, there is a variation (Durlauf et al, 2008). There are two types of norms, namely social norms and moral norms. Social norms have their foundation in the observation of other people and are external sanctions. On the other side, moral norms are internal sanctions and are based on introspection. In his book, Sumner (1906) has classified norms into three categories namely folkways, mores and laws. Folkways are relatively weaker and are only somewhat implemented, for example, correct manners. Mores include important norms in the society. Breaking these might result in sever action. Bigamy is an example of mores. Laws are usually formulated and enforced by a political authority. Violation of laws can include over speeding. In modern times, we observe that societies are composed of various cultures and subcultures. A dominant culture, under such diverse conditions, is able to enforce its language, values and behaviour. This can be done by using political and/or economic power. All of this can be attained by either creating a monopoly over communication media or by suppressing behavioural patterns and set of values (Marshall, 1998). 2. We have discussed the role of time and place in defining crime. How are social norms related to our understanding of crime? Give one example of something that is not a crime in the US today that was at one time considered a crime. What were the social changes that contributed to the changing of the definition in your example? For every crime, there is always a social norm against it. The crime’s intensity is endogenous and largely depends on the population that follows a particular norm (Villa et al., 2005). According to Kawachi, Kennedy and Wilkinson (1999) there are two sets of societal characteristics that encourage levels of crime. These are 1) the extent to which deprivation (income inequality, for example) prevails in society and 2) the extent to which citizens have cohesion in social relations. Hirschi (1969) has argued how society plays an important part in determining an individual’s course of actions. He has also debated how the family plays an essential role in such cases (Hirschi et al., 2002). In 1821, Connecticut dubbed abortion as a criminal act. By 1900, all the states in the US had a legislation regarding abortion (Frankowski et al., 1987). But today, abortion is legal in the US. This has been the case since a 1973 law suit (Roe vs. Wade, 1973). This decision was taken with respect to the right of personal privacy. This occurred at a time when many changes were taking place in the society. Many acts previously seen as unlawful or incorrect were then being reviewed and were slowly becoming acceptable. Hence, the termination of this law was acceptable to many. 3. Define the family. How has our definition of the family changed over time? Based on Cere’s arguments (Human Rights and the Family), is the definition of the family driven by political needs or by the needs of individuals? Eitzen and Zinn (2002), have described family as a safe sanctuary and place of love, affection and trust where a person is able to find refuge from “the competition of dehumanizing forces in modern society”. The concept of nuclear family emerged during the 17th century. With the advent of early capitalism and proto-industrialization, the nuclear family structure became a practical unit financially (Bentley et al., 2008). The past 3 decades has seen the collapse of the family and the disintegration of the nuclear family. The rate of divorce rate has escalated. And there has been a rise in single-parent families (“Anti-nuclear reaction”, 1999). The structure of the family in the past has been superior to the family structure of today because of lower rates of divorce as well as other problems (Zinn et al., 1987). Cere (2005) has argued that modern day family law is heading in “troubling directions”. He states that the concept of marriage and family is severely flawed as it focuses on a close relation between adults, which fails to include children. According to Cere, the family law fails to take into account the fact that marriage is a “pro-child social institution”. 4. What is meant by “fragile families”? Based on your understanding of the reading materials thus far, what is the biggest challenge that families face today when attempting to socialize their children to be upstanding citizens? The term “fragile families” has been applied to unmarried parents and their children. In almost 40 years, there have been drastic changes in our social structure. The image of a family has disintegrated. One child out of three is born outside of marriage in the US (Parke, 2004). Both, the children and the parents suffer in such situations. A stable family life is what lacks in these fragile families. This is perhaps the biggest hurdle for such families (McLanahan et al., 2001). Parents play an important role in the moral development of young children. Socialization researchers have debated that moral internalization results from the parenting practices. On the other hand, structural-developmental theorists suggest that the relationship between children and parents prove to be a limitation to a child’s moral development. This view leads the focus to the role of peers and institutions like schools in the moral development of children. It can be concluded from the above argument that only parents are not responsible for socialization of the child. Supervision of children is critically important in order to monitor delinquent behaviour. He also states that families with a past criminal record are unable to socialize their children despite wanting to discourage them from delinquent behaviour (Hirschi et al., 2002). 5. Discuss the difference between Social Control Theories and Self Control theories. Pick one of the theoretical approaches (either Social Control OR Self Control) and discuss how the parents contribute to the socialization of children. The Social Control and Self Control theories were put forth by Travis Hirschi, a renowned control theorist. According to the Social Control theory the society plays a vital part in governing crime. Hirschi has tried to shed light on the reason behind people’s conformity to society. Furthermore, it has been stated that there is little possibility that responsibility for an action be placed on the criminal entirely. Most of the felonies committed are a direct result of inefficient monitoring by the families of the criminals and the authorities. Much emphasis is placed on bonds and relationships. The theory of self-control proposes that people indulge in criminal acts as it provides instant fulfilment of wants. Quoting a previous research, Hirschi has stated that for half of the criminal convictions, there was less than 5% family involvement (Hirschi et al., 2002) In his self-control theory, Hirchi has proposed that the early years of a child’s life are critically important as this is the period in which self-control develops roots. Family problems are one cause of low self-control (Hirschi et al., 2002). Gluek and Gluek’s study (1950) proved to be the basis for Gottfredson and Hirschi’s claim (1990) that such families had additional problems with discipline and affection and often had a past criminal record as well. Families with a criminal background were unable to socialize their children but they discouraged criminal acts. Moreover, Hirschi and Gottfredson (1990) proposed causes of “defective upbringing”. These included: 1. Parent’s indifference to delinquent behavior. 2. Lack of monitoring and supervision of children’s behavior due to insufficient time energy or time. 3. Parent’s failure to see improper or deviant behavior. 4. The parent’s inability or lack of knowledge to take proper action against the child’s behavior (punishment). To counter this, the following have been proposed: 1. Use of direct and indirect supervision by parents. 2. Ability to differentiate between proper and deviant behavior. 3. Ability to discourage such acts. References Anti-nuclear reaction (1999). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/346995 Bentley, J. H., Ziegler, H. F., & Streets, H. E. (2008).Traditions and encounters: A brief global history. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education. Cere, D., Institute for American Values., Institute for Marriage and Public Policy., & Institute for the Study of Marriage, Law, and Culture. (2005). The future of family law: Law and the marriage crisis in North America. New York: Institute for American Values. Durlauf, S. N., & Blume, L. (2008). The new Palgrave dictionary of economics. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Frankowski, S. J., & Cole, G. F. (1987). Abortion and protection of the human fetus: Legal problems in a cross-cultural perspective. Dordrecht: Nijhoff. Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press. Hirschi, T., & Laub, J. H. (2002). The craft of criminology: Selected papers. New Brunswick, U.S.A: Transaction Publishers. Kawachi, I., Kennedy, B. P., & Wilkinson, R. G. (January 01, 1999). Crime: social disorganization and relative deprivation. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 48, 6, 719-31. Marshall, G. (1998). A dictionary of sociology. New York: Oxford University Press. McLanahan, S., Garfinkle, I., Mincy, R. B., & Brookings Institution. (2001). Fragile families, welfare reform, and marriage. Washington, DC: Welfare Reform & Beyond Initiative, Brookings Institution. Parke, M., & Center for Law and Social Policy. (2004).Who are "fragile families" and what do we know about them?. Washington, D.C: Center for Law and Social Policy. Roe, J., Wade, H., & United States. (1990). Roe v. Wade (1973). Frederick, Md: University Publications of America. Sumner, W. G., & In Keller, A. G. (1906). Folkways: A study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals. Boston: Ginn. Villa, Weibull, J., (2005). Crime, Punishment And Social Norms, SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No 610. Wilson, J. Q., Petersilia, J., & Center for Self-Governance. (1995). Crime. San Francisco, Calif: ICS Press, Institute for Contemporary Studies. Zinn, M. B., & Eitzen, D. S. (2002). Diversity in families. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Zinn, M. B., & Eitzen, D. S. (1987). Diversity in American families. New York: Harper & Row. Read More