Socialization
SocializationSocialization
The claim that criminals are unsocialized, or under socialized individuals is not theoretically sound. Socialization is inevitable, and unless individuals are completely isolated, socialization will occur. The problem is not that individuals who commit criminal acts are "unsocialized", but rather that they are socialized in ways that encourage or support violent, or criminal behavior. Numerous theories attempt to explain this type of socialization, and we will look at these in this paper.
Learning Theory is the theory that I feel best supports this notion of criminal socialization. "Learning refers to habits and knowledge that develop as a result of the experiences of the individual in entering and adjusting to the environment"
(Vold, et al., 1998:180). This involves learning positive and negative behavior. Edwin Sutherland's theory of criminal behavior examined this phenomenon. "The content of what is learned includes specific techniques for committing crimes . . . the process by which the learning takes place involves associations with other people in intimate personal groups"
(Vold, et al., 1998:185). In A Theory of Differential Association, Sutherland and Donald Cressey explain the process that they believe brings a person to engage in criminal behavior. Their theory includes nine points that describe this process, all of which relate to the learning of criminal behavior, which comes from socialization. For instance, some of the points are as follows:
"2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication.
3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.
8. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti- criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning" (Sutherland and Cressey, 1960:1,2).
In Theoretical Criminology, it is stated that "Burgess and Akers maintain, with Sutherland, that ‘the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs in those groups which comprise the individual's major source of reinforcement'" (Vold, et al., 1998:196).
Social control theory, which is best known through Travis Hirschi, states that "individuals who were tightly bonded to social groups such as the family, the school, and peers would be less likely to commit delinquent acts" (Vold, et al., 1998:207). In other words, individuals who are bonded to other groups such as delinquent peers, gangs, or those who are bonded to no one are more likely to be involved in criminal behavior. I suppose that one could say that an individual who is bonded to no one can be under socialized (as stated earlier). The problem with that, though, is that an individual can be socialized and learn behavior without actually having a close bond with the group he or she is learning from.
There are four elements that are part of Hirschi's social control theory: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. "Attachment refers to the affection and respect that...
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