Gottfredson and Hirschi

The Generality of Deviance

Criminologists complain that they don’t control their own dependent variable

What is the D.V. in criminology? Is this unique to criminology?

– What about other fields?– SO WHAT?

“Classical Tradition” Vs. “Positivistic” Tradition

Classical School of Crime– All human behavior driven by a “hedonistic calculus”

– Therefore, how do you prevent undesirable behaviors?

Positive School of Crime– Human behavior is “determined” by social, biological,

or psychological forces (radical empiricism)

– Search for unique causes to specific behaviors

Classical School Revisited

Individuals’ behaviors are controlled through sanctions.– The “mistake” of current criminology is to

focus only on “political sanctions”– But others were articulated

• Moral

• Religious

• Physical

HERE IS THE HOOK

The sanctioning system is only useful for describing a behavior.– i.e., assault is “illegal,” or alcohol abuse is

“deviant”– it has no bearing on what factors might cause

the particular act– the theory of sin IS the theory of crime,

deviance and imprudence

Where the Positivists Failed

Made the assumption that each type of behavior required a different type of explanation– “Property crime” different from “drug use” or

“violent crime”– Tried to create a web of cause and effect with

different forms of deviance and crime (drug and alcohol use causes violence)

The “Big Picture” that they missed Crime, deviance, sin, and recklessness are

not separate, or distinct “types” of behavior– Crime: a behavior sanction by the state– Deviance: a behavior sanction by society– Recklessness: natural sanctions

According to G&H, a better question is, “what do these behaviors have in common?”

The Generality of Deviance

All of these acts are pleasurable (but so are non-criminal acts)…– They have immediate consequences– They are physically and mentally easy– They are risky

G&H’s Definition of Crime

The use of force or fraud in pursuit of self-interest– Does this cover all crime?

Behaviors “analogous to crime”– Car accidents, adultery, alcohol and drug use

What is the Main Point?

Don’t get caught up in “deviance” versus “crime” or “recklessness.” – Those labels simply describe societies reaction

to behaviors– Look instead at the commonality

The recognition that “deviance is constructed” has little bearing on theories designed to predict crime or deviance