UNIT 16

► Ex. /. Scan through the text Restore the word order in the questions that follow and answer them.

Sociological theories. [Sociology is the scientific study of societies and the behaviour of people in groups.] Sociologists have proposed a variety of theories that explain criminal behaviour. One such theory, known as differential association, proposed that criminal behaviour is learned behaviour, that is, the more the individual is exposed to contact with persons whose own behaviour is unlawful, the more likely he is to learn and adopt their values as the basis for his own behaviour. The theory of anomie (normlessness) suggested that criminality is a result of the offender's inability to attain by socially acceptable means the goals that society expects of him. Anomy, in societies or individuals, is a condition of instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals. When a social system is in a state of anomie, common values and common meanings are no longer understood or accepted, and new values and meanings have not developed. Such a society produces, in many of its members, psychological states characterized by a sense of futility, lack of purpose, and emotional emptiness and despair. Striving is considered useless, because there is no accepted definition of what is desirable. Control theory emphasizes the links between the offender and his social group—the individual's bond to society. According to this theory, the ability of the individual to resist the inclination to commit crime—which may be an easy way to satisfy a particular desire—depends on the strength of his attachment to parents and his commitment to orthodox moral values that prohibit the conduct in question. Labeling theory, by contrast, portrays criminality as a product of the reaction of society to the individual, rather than of his own inclinations and personality. It assumes that the criminal is not substantially different from any other individual, except that he has become involved in the processes of the criminal justice system and has acquired a "criminal" identity. Through a process of rejection by law-abiding persons and acceptance by other delinquents, the offender becomes more and more socialized into criminal behaviour patterns and estranged from law-abiding behaviour. Eventually he comes to see himself cast by society into the role of a criminal.