In 1990 a theory by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi called The General Theory of Crime, or as some refer to it as Self-Control theory was created. This theory was based on the latent trait theories created by James Q. Wilson and Richard Hernsteins concepts (Wofsey, 2015, p. 140). Lack of Self-Control and impulsiveness are the two significant characteristics with the General Theory (Wofsey 2015). Those types of personality characteristics describe that they are more physical, act on impulse, display selfishness and are shortsighted (Wofsey 2015). Self-Control in this theory is related to crime because individuals who have different levels of self-control tend to handle the consequences differently. People with high self-control consider
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Delinquents become more aware of the long-term consequences and more aware of their actions. There are some factors to this. Some include sociology, psychology, family background, and economics. The sociology factor has to do with social class and culture whereas the psychology factor has to do with different personality types. The family background factor, on the other hand, has to do with what type of family the person came from. This means that maybe the juveniles have been lacking self-control from such a young age. It also has to do with whether they were given much attention and affection at home. If a child is not given much attention at home, they are more likely to act out and have lack of self-control. Lastly, the economic factor has to do with the person’s employment records. This is just one of the reasons why self-control should be taught at a young age. Self-control should be taught to be embedded in the brain so that a person is more aware of the actions and the consequences that come along with it (Marcus, …show more content…
Some individuals tend to raise themselves. The way the individuals raise themselves is by learning from their mistakes and learning from other people’s mistakes. Individuals tend to figure out what type of consequences there will be if people commit a certain crime. For example, one might learn drug possession is more than likely going to send you to jail if one of the individual’s friend goes through a previous experience in jail. This experience might let the self-taught individual to stay away from drugs and to not hang out with the wrong type of crowd. Gottfredson and Hirschi Theory talks about how good or bad parenting can lead to a child becoming a criminal in the future or even as an adolescent. There are other factors as well that can affect self-control and the need for the gratification of committing a misconduct, for instance Gottfredson and Hirschi do not talk about another important aspect which is influence from peers or environmental factors besides the weather such as the atmosphere; if a person is living in a rural area or the city. Many critiques can be made, but the focus of the theory was mainly due to a person’s lack of self-control, they become less aware of their acts and just act on impulsive behavior (Wofsey, 2015). Which also goes back to how the child was raised and if they carried on the intergenerational
Delinquents become more aware of the long-term consequences and more aware of their actions. There are some factors to this. Some include sociology, psychology, family background, and economics. The sociology factor has to do with social class and culture whereas the psychology factor has to do with different personality types. The family background factor, on the other hand, has to do with what type of family the person came from. This means that maybe the juveniles have been lacking self-control from such a young age. It also has to do with whether they were given much attention and affection at home. If a child is not given much attention at home, they are more likely to act out and have lack of self-control. Lastly, the economic factor has to do with the person’s employment records. This is just one of the reasons why self-control should be taught at a young age. Self-control should be taught to be embedded in the brain so that a person is more aware of the actions and the consequences that come along with it (Marcus, …show more content…
Some individuals tend to raise themselves. The way the individuals raise themselves is by learning from their mistakes and learning from other people’s mistakes. Individuals tend to figure out what type of consequences there will be if people commit a certain crime. For example, one might learn drug possession is more than likely going to send you to jail if one of the individual’s friend goes through a previous experience in jail. This experience might let the self-taught individual to stay away from drugs and to not hang out with the wrong type of crowd. Gottfredson and Hirschi Theory talks about how good or bad parenting can lead to a child becoming a criminal in the future or even as an adolescent. There are other factors as well that can affect self-control and the need for the gratification of committing a misconduct, for instance Gottfredson and Hirschi do not talk about another important aspect which is influence from peers or environmental factors besides the weather such as the atmosphere; if a person is living in a rural area or the city. Many critiques can be made, but the focus of the theory was mainly due to a person’s lack of self-control, they become less aware of their acts and just act on impulsive behavior (Wofsey, 2015). Which also goes back to how the child was raised and if they carried on the intergenerational