Neutralization theory. Neutralization Theory in Criminology and Juvenile Crime Essay Example 2023-01-01
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Neutralization theory is a sociological theory that explains how individuals justify and neutralize their deviant behavior. The theory was developed by sociologists Gresham Sykes and David Matza in the 1950s, and it has since been applied to a wide range of social behaviors, including drug abuse, stealing, and other forms of criminal behavior.
According to neutralization theory, individuals engage in deviant behavior because they feel a pressure or temptation to do so. However, they also recognize that this behavior is socially unacceptable and may be punished. To reconcile these competing desires, individuals use a series of techniques, known as neutralizations, to justify their behavior and reduce the moral guilt associated with it.
There are five main types of neutralization techniques that individuals may use: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties.
Denial of responsibility involves denying that one's actions caused harm or that one had any control over the outcome. For example, an individual who engages in drug abuse might claim that they were simply experimenting or that they were under the influence of the drug at the time of the offense.
Denial of injury involves minimizing the harm caused by one's actions. An individual who engages in theft might claim that the victim was wealthy and wouldn't miss the stolen item, or that the victim deserved to have it taken.
Denial of the victim involves dehumanizing the victim or denying their suffering. For example, an individual who engages in physical violence might claim that the victim was "asking for it" or that they deserved to be hurt.
Condemnation of the condemners involves attacking the moral authority of those who criticize the deviant behavior. An individual might claim that the authorities or society as a whole is hypocritical or that they have no right to judge the individual's actions.
Appeal to higher loyalties involves claiming that one's deviant behavior was motivated by loyalty to a higher cause or to a particular group. For example, an individual might claim that they were stealing in order to provide for their family or to support a political cause.
Neutralization theory has been widely studied and has been found to be a useful tool for understanding how individuals justify and rationalize their deviant behavior. However, it is important to note that the theory does not condone or excuse deviant behavior, but rather seeks to understand the psychological processes involved in such behavior.
What is theory of neutralization?
Terms in this set 5 denial of responsibility. On non-school days juvenile crimes are most likely to occur between the hours of eight and ten at night. The New York Times. Furthermore, the limitations mentioned will be specifically addressed by this paper, which will attempt to show that they actually support the assessment that white-collar crime is a product of techniques of neutralization. The denial of injury is the argument that the deviant did not hurt anyone, and thus the deviance is not morally wrong, due to the fundamental belief that the action caused no harm to other individuals or to the society.
It takes away the pressure that society enforces on maintaining in complete sincerity. However, the neutralization theory is applicable in that most guilty people tend to neutralize and justify their actions in search of sympathy and freedom against their acts; however, the techniques are not fully applicable in all deviant cases and situations as the applicability are highly dependent on the deviant individual. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act CFAA , 18 U. Future studies should therefore provide a smaller lens on how ideology may or may not play a role in offending. For example, a teenager who gets caught selling illegal copies of music might say, 'No one got hurt, so I don't see why I am in trouble. .
What is Neutralisation theory? – Find what come to your mind
According to labeling theory, official efforts to control crime often have the effect of increasing crime. Certain aspects of the findings of Benson 1985 and Cohn et al. Second, delinquents often admire and respect those who adhere to the dominant, conventional culture, rather than regarding them as immoral or morally inscrutable 1957, p. Degrees of deviance: Student accounts of their deviant behavior. In the past, classical theory framed their research on how crime rates are influence by the alternative outcome outside of the criminal justice system, such as biological, psychological, and social factors, which at a similar point positivism assumed the close evidence but differentiation in punishment certainty and severity of criminal behaviour could not deter the variables of the positivist theory. Critics of labeling theory argue that it ignores factors—such as differences in socialization, attitudes, and opportunities—that lead to deviant acts.
Neutralization Theory in Criminology: Definition & Challenges
There are a number of theories surrounding this. Denial of the victim also came into play as many hackers viewed Microsoft as the enemy and one who deserved to be attacked. Here too, it can be observed among participants in Anonymous operations. Which is the neutralization reaction? Lesson Summary Techniques of neutralization are methods that we use to justify our behaviors that violate our values and morals. The message contained in the video was as follows: Over the years, we have been watching you. To rationalize and divert attention from websites attending to child exploitation would typically appeal to higher loyalties by acting as a social movement, rather than linking pedophilia and bringing attention to the support of exploitation Gottschalk and Smith, Media Crime Psychology 704 Words 3 Pages Most crime is violent, interpersonal, pathological.
Greenfield and Juvonen, 1999 The understanding of the neutralization theory by professionals in criminology and psychology may be what is needed to be used in the prevention of juvenile crime. These hidden norms permeate many facets of human interaction. In: American Sociological Review, 22, S. This is true even if most people immediately surrounding them are law-breakers. Thus, to the delinquent, morality was not something they could rely on at the time.
Wikipedia, 2006 According to Sykes and Matza, delinquents hold values, beliefs, and attitudes very similar to those of law-abiding citizens. For Anonymous, hacktivism peaked with operations from Chanology through the hack of Strafor in December 2011. In the cases of video sources, the audio content was transcribed and placed into the same document file. Then, the document file was split in half and each of the researchers coded all of the passages independently. Condemnation of the Condemners Condemnation of the condemners occurs when an individual places the blame on the individual condemning their behavior.
Techniques of neutralization: How to rationalize dviant behavior
The list of such operations is substantial and may continue exponentially into the future. For example, parents and school psychologists could encourage their children to share feelings with adults and to befriend other children who are morally strong. For one, the issue of teasing out the hacker from the hacktivist is not an easy task. Latent coding marked the third phase of the study Neuendorf, 2017 using a document file where all passages were assigned alpha and numerical identifiers. Neutralization Theory: Learning Rationlizations as Motives. The media has a profound influence on the general public understanding of crime.
“I Did What I Believe Is Right”: A Study of Neutralizations among Anonymous Operation Participants · 2019
The techniques of neutralization therefore do not represent an actual theory of crime, but rather describe the rationalizing behaviour of the offender after the crime has been committed. New York, NY: The Free Press. Similar to the conclusion brought on by Cromwell and Thurman 2003 , this study may not definitively provide any answers as to what causes hacking or hacktivism, but in turn, it sheds light on the process of how a person frees themselves from constraint and a damaged self-concept. David Matza and Gresham Sykes worked together to create neutralization theory. This was true for Moore and McMullan 2009 , who also noted that among college students who shared files via peer to peer networks, the most commonly used neutralizations were denial of injury and denial of the victim.
After all, these individuals are often able to escape identification and, as reiterated by Coleman 2012 , no one can really calculate the number of participants for any given operation. Sykes and Matza further argue that U. I realize that I released personal information of innocent people who had nothing to do with the operations of the institutions I targeted. They are derived from the portion of the neural plate just anterior to Hensen? Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell … You cannot hide; we are everywhere. The individual often views their deviant acts as being harmless, rather than being criminal. What is anomie theory? With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us.
The statement ''they deserved it'' is common in this technique. Instead, temporary value neutralization seems to be the culprit for banking malfeasance, once again supporting neutralization theory as an explanation for this subset of white-collar crime. Attempts have been made to rationalize the crime committed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at Columbine High in 1999. Finally, government agencies and officials at both the federal and state levels — for instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and state Attorneys General — devote resources to investigating and prosecuting white-collar crime White-collar crime. Demographic information such as age, gender, and state or country of residence, was obtained if available.
