Mertons Theory Ivan Knoetze Introduction Theories of social control all rely on social factors to explain how people are restrained from acting in ways that harm others (Williams R McShane 2004:195). Social control theories specifically attribute delinquency and crime to social variables such as family structure, education and peer groups. Strain and differential association presuppose that the environment within which a person develops creates both the motivation and the opportunity to commit crime. Social control theory rejects this assumption and regards crime as a morally neutral concept. It assumes that people are, by nature, inclined to break the law. The motivation for crime forms part of human nature, and all individuals will commit crime if left to their own devices. For this reason, people need to be controlled and the restraining forces of society need to be examined. Although there are differences regarding the way in which social control theories explain criminal behaviour, they all share the following basic thinking Assumptions of Hirschi's social bonding theory (1967) Travis Hirschi is the theorist most closely identified with
social control theory, or bonding theory. Hirschi (Bartollas 2006:147) ascribes delinquent behaviour to the quality of the bond an individual has with society; Hirschi states that "delinquent acts result when an individual's bond to society is weak or broken". Williams and McShane (2004:202) identify the following as the main assumptions of Hirschi's theory: . Self-preservationand reward are the major concerns of human nature, which means that human behaviour tends to be self-centred. explain the assumptions of Hirschi's theoryexplain the elements of the social bond by using examples evaluate the contribution of Hirschi's theory to criminology. Delinquency and crime are unavoidable. Hirschi (Jones 2001:288), who was a major proponent of control theory, did not view crime as the expression of free will, but simply as normal behaviour. This argument is a reflection of Durkheim's influence, who regarded crime as a normal phenomenon in any society.It is necessary to explain why people obey rules (and not why they break them). The essential component of all social control theories is, in short, their attempts to identify those factors that prevent people from engaging in delinquency and crime.
Given the above argument, human behaviour has to be controlled and regulated for the benefit of everybody. Society's rules and regulations constitute the moral order. A person bonds with the moral order of society initially by way of socialisation (as a child) and later by means of social institutions. The bond formed with the moral order consists of elements that maintain and reinforce conformity (obedience to the law). The elements of the bond are identified as attachment to significant others (eg parents and peers) and institutions (eg church and school) commitment to or investment in conventional society (eg respect for and obedience to the rules and laws of society)involvement in conventional activities (eg participation in sport )belief in society's values (ability to distinguish between right and wrong). Hirschi (in Siegel 8t Senna 2000:178) did not see the individual as either