Self-Control Theory

Overview of Self-Control Theory

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, crime is defined as an act of “force or fraud under the pursuit of self-interest,” which does not limit crime to acts that are defined as illegal under federal and state jurisdictions. This definition allows the application of their theory to span across societies and different points in time. The theory also purports to explain behaviors that are in certain respects analogous to crime, including drinking, smoking, and gambling, among others. These behaviors are performed in the pursuit of perceived self-interest, and they provide immediate gratification for an individual with low self-control.

Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that there are six components of low self-control: (1) the inability to delay gratification, (2) preference for engaging in risky behavior, (3) preference for simple tasks, (4) more self-centered/do not consider the long term, (5), short tempered, and (6) preference for physical activity. The theorists claim that low self-control is the cause of an individual's tendency to commit crime, and once the variable “self-control” is controlled for, no other variable should be important for explaining crime. While research paints a slightly different picture, this is the main theoretical idea.

Although a central theoretical proposition of self-control theory is that crime and analogous behaviors are a result of low self-control, Gottfredson and Hirschi identify factors that will influence the development of low-self control. They claim that self-control is malleable in the first decade of life and then becomes relatively stable from this point forward. Gottfredson and Hirschi identify parenting as a major source for the development of self-control during childhood. For parenting to affect a child's self-control, three minimum conditions must occur. First, the behavior of the child must be monitored. Second, if/when deviant behavior occurs, it must be recognized. Third, the behavior must be punished when it is recognized. These are all more likely to occur if parents have strong attachments to their children.

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