Summary PROCESS THEORIES

THEME 4

SOCIAL POSITIVISM: PROCESS THEORIES

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

 Structure theories (which consist of two branches, namely ‘‘strain’’ and ‘‘disorganisation’’)
assume that it is the social structure that pressurises members of the lower or
disadvantaged class into delinquency and crime.
 Social process theories, on the other hand, attempt to explain how individuals become
criminals.
 The emphasis is on social interactions or processes with groups such as the family and
peer groups that the individual finds meaningful.
 Every individual learns law-abiding or law-breaking values via these social processes.
 Social process theories, therefore, examine the social mechanisms by which criminal
behaviours are said to develop
 Two branches of process theories can be identified: learning theory and control theory.

KEY CONCEPTS

ATTACHMENT

 Is one of the four social bonds in social bonding theory. The emotional component of
conformity refers to one’s attachment to others and to social institutions.

BELIEF

 in social control theory, is one of the four social bonds. It refers to the ready acceptance of
the correctness of pro-social values and attitudes (Walsh & Hemmens, 2008:561).

COMMITMENT

 is one of the four social bonds in social bonding theory.
 Commitment refers to the rational component of conformity, and refers to a lifestyle in which
one has invested considerable time and energy in the pursuit of a lawful career.

DEFINITIONS

 is a term used by Edwin Sutherland to refer to the meanings that our experiences have for
us, our attitudes, values, and habitual ways of viewing the world

DEVIANCE



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,  refers to actions committed by individuals that society condemns, but which are not actually
illegal.
 Those who engage in such activities may well encounter hostility from their fellow citizens
 Define deviance as any social behaviour or social characteristic that departs from the
conventional norms and standards of a community or society and for which the deviant is
sanctioned.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION

 is a theory that attempts to explain both the process by which a person learns to engage in
crime and the content of what is learned.
 According to Sutherland, differential association refers to the principle that criminal acts are
related to an individual’s frequent or constant exposure to antisocial attitudes and values.

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT

 refers to behaviour that is reinforced by being either rewarded or punished in one’s
interactions with others. This is also called ‘‘direct conditioning’’ (Siegel, 2004:475).

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT THEORY

 is an attempt to explain crime as a type of learned behaviour.
 First proposed by Ronard Akers in collaboration with Robert Burgess in 1966, it is a version
of the social learning view that employs both differential association concepts and elements
of psychological learning theory(Siegel, 2004:475).

INVOLVEMENT

 in social control theory,is one of the four social bonds.
 It refers to a pattern of involvement in conventional activities that prevents one from
becoming involved in criminal activities (Walsh & Hemmens, 2008:566).

LEARNING

 is a change in pre-existing behaviour or mental processes that occurs as a result of
experience (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007:293).

REINFORCEMENT

 is a key concept in social learning theory, which states that crime is largely a response to
reinforcing stimuli.
 If individuals are rewarded for committing crimes, they are more likely to commit them again

SOCIAL BOND
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,  is the tie that a person has to the institutions and processes of society.
 According to Hirschi, elements of the social bond include commitment, attachment,
involvement, and belief (Siegel, 2004:482).

SOCIAL BONDING THEORY

 is a social control theory focusing on a person’s bonds to others

SOCIAL CONTROL

 refers to any action on the part of others, deliberate or not, that facilitates conformity to
social rules (Walsh & Hemmens, 2008:571).

SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY

 is the view that people commit crime when the forces that bind them to society are
weakened or broken (Siegel, 2004:482; Bartollas, 2006:543).
 Theorists maintain that human beings must be held in check or somehow be controlled if
delinquent tendencies are to be repressed (Bartollas, 2006:537).

SOCIAL LEARNING

 refers to learning by watching other people, called models, and vicariously experiencing the
consequences of their behaviour (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007:295).

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

 is the theory that holds that social behaviour is a cognitive process in which personality and
social environment are involved in a continuous process of reciprocal interaction.
 Human behaviour is modelled by the individual observing human social interactions, either
directly (from contact with social intimates) or indirectly (from the media).
 People copy interactions that are rewarded and avoid those that result in punishment

SOCIAL PROCESS THEORY

 holds the view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with various
organisations, institutions, and social processes (Siegel, 2004:482).
 Theorists examine the interactions between individuals and the environments that
encourage these individuals to become involved in delinquent behaviour.




STUDY UNIT 4.1

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