Relate the story of Michael Danton to the theories discussed in this chapter. How would each theory make sense of Danton's behavior?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Possible answer: All control theories would suggest that Danton did not have any or much restraint from planning his agent's murder for hire. The source of restraint varies across the control theories. For early control theories, Danton most likely felt like he did not have anything to lose if he put the hit out on his agent. Or, self-control theory would suggest that Danton lacked self-control (an inner lack of restraint), meaning that he would engage in selfish behavior that would yield instant gratification. According to social control theory, Danton would lack ties (or "social bonds") to prosocial society, placing him at risk to deviate from social norms. Sampson and Laub's life course theory takes a look at the different sources of social bonding across our lives and focuses on important turning points that can alter our offending (or non-offending) trajectories. For Danton, that means that a significant change in his life occurred shortly before this tragic event (perhaps a divorce) that caused him to stray off-course. We do not have enough information to go on to access the applicability of this theory, but it is very plausible.