Analysis Of Gottfredson And Hirschi's Self-Control Theory

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory is often referred to as the “general theory of crime”. With this bold statement, it is implied that this theory can predict the progress of crime throughout the world. This study will address many issues brought into question in regards to the validity of the “general theory of crime” through the use of many criminal justice journals, texts, and studies. This paper will analyze how the self-control theory came to be as well as the accuracy in its ability to predict crime on both a national global scale.

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory

In 1990, Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi presented a theory that claimed to explain all types of crime and delinquency. The main concept in the theory was low self-control. The self-control theory not only attempts to explain why individuals engage in criminal acts, but rather why individuals choose to conform to conventional norms. It is not a theory of crime causation, but rather a theory of pro-social behavior used so often by sociologists and criminologists to better explain deviance and criminality (Bernard, Snipes, and Gerould, 2010).

Before delving deeper into the self-control theory’s origins, Hirschi had already made great strides when studying delinquent behavior long before partnering with Gottfredson. In 1969, the control theory of delinquency is a more sociological theory, unlike the theories of Hirschi's contemporaries, which were much more psychological in nature (Lilly et al., 1995). Hirschi presented four social bonds which promote socialization and conformity. He claimed that these bonds, “explained that weak social bonds may set an individual free to weigh the benefits of crime” (Welch, 1998). The first...

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... have high self-control and self-image; it made complete sense to me as to how a child could become delinquent. Without these important social bonds to society and to the people that we first build relationships with (parents), it is understandable how a person could choose to find structure in a peer group that consists of people with the same low self-control and self-image. With empirical studies that support the self-control theory as an accurate way to predict crime on both a national and international level, the self-control theory has proven to be a great tool as well as worthy of the title the “general theory of crime”. While there is little research to help take the theory further by proving its validity across all contexts of crime, from a sociological view, Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory is a great theory to help explain criminal behavior.