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Low Self-Control and Criminal Behavior

This document discusses self-control theory and how low self-control can result in criminal behavior. It explains that individuals with low self-control are more likely to commit crimes because it satisfies their immediate desires. Those with low self-control also tend to lack diligence, tenacity, and persistence. Classical criminology theories assumed criminals and non-criminals both sought to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, but differed in their social circumstances or understanding of sanctions.

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102 views2 pages

Low Self-Control and Criminal Behavior

This document discusses self-control theory and how low self-control can result in criminal behavior. It explains that individuals with low self-control are more likely to commit crimes because it satisfies their immediate desires. Those with low self-control also tend to lack diligence, tenacity, and persistence. Classical criminology theories assumed criminals and non-criminals both sought to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, but differed in their social circumstances or understanding of sanctions.

Uploaded by

riojhan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The problem of this study is Self-control theory: how the lack of individual self-

control results in criminal behavior. Accordingly, individuals with low self-control


are likely to commit crimes because such acts amount to the immediate
gratification of one’s desires. Similarly, those with low self-control tend to lack
diligence, tenacity, and persistence. Classical theories of crime did not assume
that some individuals were more predisposed to criminal conduct than others;
instead, such theories assumed that it was one’s location in the social system, or
whether one understood the nature of sanctions, that determined whether one
was a criminal. Criminals and non-criminals alike had one purpose in mind: to
enhance their exposure to pleasure and to reduce their exposure to pain.
Therefore, classical criminologists sought to combat crime by increasing painful
sanctions through the legal and moral systems of the time. Gottfredson and
Hirschi (1990, p. 85) therefore referred to classical theories as theories of social
control. To illustrate, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990, pp. 89–90) sifted through a
number of attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics of individuals with low self-
control and demonstrated how each relates to crime. First, low self-control is
associated with having a present orientation, as opposed to being able to defer
gratification. Accordingly, individuals with low self-control are likely to commit
crimes because such acts amount to the immediate gratification of one’s desires.
Similarly, those with low self-control tend to lack diligence, tenacity, and
persistence. Again, crime events are easy and represent a simple means of
gratifying one’s appetites while not requiring pesky or inconvenient long-term
planning or commitment. Low self-control is also associated with adventurous,
physical activities, making such individuals especially prone to crime. Individuals
with low self-control generally have shaky marriages, unstable friendships, and
spotty job histories. This demonstrates an inability on their part to form long-term
plans, which is equally amenable to the short-term nature of crime and
analogous conduct. Similarly, the fact that individuals with low self-control are
more likely to engage in such analogous behavior indicates a preference for
immediate pleasure and an inability to defer gratification. Finally, low self-control
is associated with minimal tolerance thresholds and a self-centered, indifferent
attitude, which allows criminals to remove themselves from the harm they do to
their victims and gives them the justifications for committing crimes (i.e., in an
effort to remove frustrations and pains).
The problem of this study is Self-control theory: how the lack of individual self-
control results in criminal behavior. Accordingly, individuals with low self-control
are likely to commit crimes because such acts amount to the immediate
gratification of one’s desires. Similarly, those with low self-control tend to lack
diligence, tenacity, and persistence.

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