List and discuss three criticisms brought forward about the general theory of crime presented in your text

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

? Circular reasoning. Some critics argue that the theory involves circular reasoning. How do we know when people are impulsive? Is it when they commit crime? Are all criminals impulsive? Of course, or else they would not have broken the law!
? Personality disorder. It is possible that a lack of self-control is merely a symptom of some broader, underlying personality disorder, such as an antisocial personality, that produces delinquency.
? Racial and gender differences. Although distinct gender differences in the delinquency rate exist, there is little evidence that males are more impulsive than females. Similarly, Gottfredson and Hirschi explain racial differences in the delinquency rate as a failure of childrearing practices in the African American community. In so doing, they overlook issues of institutional racism, poverty, and relative deprivation, which have been shown to have a significant impact on delinquency rate differentials.
? People change and so does their level of self-control. The general theory of crime assumes that delinquent propensity does not change; opportunities change. However, social scientists recognize that behavior-shaping factors that are dominant in early adolescence, such as peer groups, may fade in adulthood and be replaced by others, such as the nuclear family.
? Gottfredson and Hirschi discount the influence of environmental factors: low self-control produces delinquency notwithstanding the characteristics of the adolescent's social world. This issue has become a center of some contention. Some research indicates that an adolescent's social world does mediate the influence of self-control on crime.