techniques of neutralization and self-esteem: a critical test of social control and neutralization theory

Sykes and Matza argued that delinquents use techniques of neutralization to enable themselves to engage in behavior they believe is wrong under most circumstances. One function of using these techniques is that the individual is able to protect his or her self-concept while committing delinquent acts. This implies that delinquent youth who use these techniques should have higher levels of self-esteem than delinquents who do not use them. Because Sykes and Matza hold that neutralization is necessary because of the delinquents ties to conventional society, this effect should be stronger among delinquent youth who are more strongly attached to their parents. In contrast, Hirschis social control theory predicts that delinquents who are able to maintain a bond to conventional society should be less likely to neutralize, but if they do neutralize, they should be unable to sufficiently convince themselves of the validity of the neutralizations to protect self-esteem. These hypotheses are tested using data from the Richmond Youth Survey. The results differed depending on whether general neutralizations or neutralizations regarding the police were analyzed. Children who are attached to their parents are less likely to use police-related neutralizations, but delinquents who use these neutralizations have higher self-esteem, consistent with neutralization theory. Delinquents who are more strongly attached to their parents are also less likely to use general neutralizations, but these neutralization techniques do not lead to higher levels of self-esteem, consistent with control theory.     

“It’s Just Paint”: Street Taggers’ Use of Neutralization Techniques

Neutralization theory posits that individuals use various linguistic techniques to free themselves from guilt associated with offending and/or to maintain a non-criminal self-image. Drawing on interviews with 25 active juvenile street taggers in a large metropolitan area of Texas, this study explores their use of Sykes and Matza’s five techniques of neutralizations and the reasons they give for drifting in and out of offending. Results suggest that offenders have several common stressors that lead them to engage in tagging and that they make extensive use of neutralization techniques to justify their actions.     

A Model of Neutralization Techniques

ABSTRACT

Neutralizations are important explanations for the rise and persistence of deviant behavior. We can find many different and overlapping techniques of neutralizations in the literature, which may be a reason for inconsistent research findings on the use and influence of neutralization techniques. Therefore, by following both a deductive and an inductive approach, this article develops a model that covers these techniques in a logical way. This is a novel approach in studying neutralization techniques. We distinguish four categories of neutralizations: distorting the facts, negating the norm, blaming the circumstances, and hiding behind oneself. Based on a broad inventory of neutralizations that are identified in the literature – something that has not been done before – we operationalized each of the four categories into three techniques, each of which consists of five subtechniques. The resulting model aims to reduce the risk of arbitrariness in the selection of techniques for empirical research and thereby facilitates more consistent future research findings. The model also aims to help better understand how neutralizations work.     

Of Monsters and Men: Exploring Serial Murderers’ Discourses of Neutralization

Techniques of neutralization are used by petty and serious criminals to verbally account for their behavior, mitigate responsibility, and socially construct identity. Since serial killers often appear “normal” while simultaneously killing, neutralizations may provide the process by which serial killers “drift” between conventional societal attachments and murder. These neutralizations may also function as a form of stigma management, as it does for other offenders, assisting in the maintenance of a positive presentation of self. To explore these propositions, a content analysis of narratives and case histories was used to examine serial murderers’ accounts to determine if neutralizations were offered, and if so, the implications of this theory as a general (or universal) theory of crime.     

Communities of Denial: The Co-Construction of Gendered Adolescent Violence

Neutralization theorists argue that techniques of neutralization bridge the gap between deviant behaviors and mainstream norms. While acknowledging this fundamental outcome, this article examines the role of broader communities in upholding neutralizations, specifically those that foster violence. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 adolescents and their mothers (N = 50), I find that neutralizations are developed around rigid gender ideologies, are differentially employed across genders, and reify gender differences in violent behavior. Techniques of neutralization are co-constructed within communities and built on mainstream norms, values, and expectations. This study demonstrates how neutralizations can perpetuate and escalate violence among adolescents.     

Neutralizations in Retail Banking: A Qualitative Analysis

This study seeks to examine neutralization theory’s generalizability to other white collar crime contexts and also seeks to address the question of whether certain techniques of neutralization are more likely with certain kinds of white collar crime or offenders. These objectives are achieved through a case study of active members of the retail banking industry. Results indicate that neutralization theory does generalize to the retail banking context. Results also show that neutralization techniques identified in this sample relate more to corporate rather than occupational crime. Findings have implications for theoretical development and also for methods to combat white collar deviance.     

Honor Crimes in the United States and Offenders’ Neutralization Techniques

Honor crimes are violent acts that are experienced among different religions and ethnicities. This type of offense can be justified, either before or after the crime, by the offender’s perceived need to protect honor-based values. This study used Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory to explain the offender’s justification of honor crimes. We used data from the United States Extremist Crime Database, which has incident, victim, and perpetrator level indicators for the population of honor crimes in the United States (N = 16). Using open source search files for the cases, neutralizations and justifications provided by the offenders are presented.     

The Road to Hell: Neutralization of Killing in War

We explore how societies convince citizens to “go to hell,” where they kill strangers and risk their own lives. Our premise is that killing is difficult for most, regardless of context and widely considered a form of extreme deviance. Using Sykes and Matza’s techniques of neutralization, we show how this aversion to killing is neutralized by placing individuals in organized—both macro-level bureaucratic and micro-level small primary groups—to justify killing. Consequently, the neutralization of mass killing illustrates the role of power in defining deviance, and the failure of neutralizations may sometimes explain Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.     

Presumed Guilty: Constructing Deviance and Deviants through Techniques of Neutralization

Techniques of neutralization have become one of the most ubiquitous concepts in the study of deviance. This article examines the way in which analysts who use neutralization theory construct the nature of deviance and those who engage in it. The author argues that by invoking the concept of neutralizations, analysts endorse the deviant label being applied to those they study and engage in the practice of “motive mongering.” In many cases, assumptions about the behavior and disposition of those who engage in deviant behavior have been accepted without empirical justification. The implications of this practice for objectivist and subjectivist approaches to defining deviance are examined.     

The family relations,peer relations,and criminal activities of Caucasian and Hispanic-American gang members

Juvenile gang members present serious problems to society, yet few empirical studies have examined their criminal activity, family relations, and peer relations in comparison with other highly antisocial youths. In a 2 (Gang Membership) × 2 (Ethnicity: Hispanic-American vs. Caucasian) design, 131 incarcerated male juvenile offenders were administered a battery assessing criminal activity, family relations, and peer relations. Results demonstrated (a) higher rates of criminal behavior (i.e., general delinquency, index offenses, school delinquency) among gang members than among offenders who did not belong to gangs, (b) higher rates of general delinquency and home delinquency among Caucasian offenders than among Hispanic-American offenders, and (c) greater aggression and less social maturity in the peer relations of gang members than in the peer relations of offenders who did not belong to gangs. In addition, gang membership mediated sociocultural differences in hard drug use. Findings are integrated with the extant literature.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance and advice of Dr. Michael Schumacher, the Honorable C. Robert Jameson, Gwen Kurz, Don Hallstrom, Jane Carmichael, and Drs. Malcolm Klein, Rae Newton, and James Madero.     

Is neutralization necessary for criminal behavior?

Criminological theories currently place much emphasis on neutralization of norms, i.e., extension or distortion of norms to allow guilt‐free infraction, as a key element in criminal behavior. This paper examines the major assumptions underlying the neutralization thesis and a critical alternative thesis, which argues that criminal beliefs rather than neutralizations permit criminal actions. Analysis of data from a sample of college students calls into question the neutralization theory assumption of homogeneity of moral values in this society. The alternative thesis is supported by the finding of variation in moral values and its link to differential criminal involvement. It is argued that this evidence precludes the need for a concept such as neutralization to account for criminal behavior.     

How Do Unethical Salespeople Sleep at Night? The Role of Neutralizations in the Justification of Unethical Sales Intentions

The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model illustrating the direct effects of five techniques of neutralizations (denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, appeal to higher loyalties, and condemning the condemner) on the ethical intentions of salespeople. A sample consisting of 157 salespeople responded to an ethical case scenario survey to reveal that two neutralizations were predominant in influencing ethical intentions: denial of injury and appeal to higher loyalties. These relationships were tested in three sales behavioral settings: sales promoting, customer relationship building and maintenance, and sales organization. A post hoc test of moderation effects were included to shed additional light onhow some of the neutralizations interact with ethical judgment to impact salesperson ethical intentions. Implicationsfor research and practice are discussed as well as directions for further research.     

Offending Patterns,Control Balance,and Affective Rewards among Convicted Sex Offenders

We present results from a survey of 125 incarcerated sex offenders enrolled in a residential sex offender treatment program that reveal their offending behaviors, reasons for offending, and the affective states they say they experienced while committing their crimes. We supplement this survey information with qualitative data from audio-taped focus groups with these same offenders. Results provide a unique glimpse of the self-reported offending patterns of these offenders, as well as characteristics of their victims and the relationship of the offenders to their victims. Employing concepts from locus of control and control balance perspectives, we argue that many sex offenders, particularly high-volume and high-frequency offenders, are motivated to commit crimes due to an externalized locus of control (a control deficit), which reflects a perceived lack of control over events in their own lives. Their crimes can be viewed as a strategy or device that allows them to experience positive affect and sensations of power and control—even if only temporarily. Findings with regard to offending patterns, motivations, and affective rewards common to these offenders lend qualified support to control balance theory and the locus of control concept and help us understand what drives people to commit sex offenses.     

“They Say That You Are a Danger But You Are Not”: Representations and Construction of the Moral Self in Narratives of “Dangerous Individuals” 1

This article is based on an analysis of narratives of 26 offenders with mental health problems living in the United Kingdom. It explores the impact of an ascribed dangerous status and the construction of the self as moral and responsible in response to this label with reference to the literature on denial, deviance disavowal and other “techniques of neutralization” and Goffman's presentation of self. Two dominant strands are identified in relation to the construction of moral self-hood: “Not my fault” and “Good at heart” narratives. “Techniques of neutralization” are widely drawn on, particularly denial of responsibility in the “Not my fault” narratives that seek to explain anti-social behavior with reference to external forces such as a hostile environment inhibiting their ability to control their lives. In contrast, “Good at heart” narratives draw on the essentially good and moral nature of the inner-self. Both are used as evidence of sharing and adhering to moral norms in order to present an acceptable and credible self.     

The Effects of Alcohol Use and Offender Remorsefulness on Sentencing Decisions1

Presentence reports on 628 offenders were content analyzed. Regression analysis found that remorseful offenders received less severe sentences than non-remorseful offenders. Offenders convicted of minor offenses received more lenient sentences if they had used alcohol in conjunction with their crimes than if they did not use alcohol. The opposite was the case for offenders commiting serious crimes. Remorseful offenders with few prior alcohol-related convictions received less severe sanctioning than non-remorseful offenders with similar conviction records. In contrast, recidivists who were remorseful were dealt with more harshly than their non-remorseful counterparts.     

Offending Patterns of Serial Sex Offenders: Escalation,De‐escalation,and Consistency of Sexually Intrusive and Violent Behaviours

A series of stranger sexual assaults poses considerable obstacles for law enforcement officials. One such preoccupation is concerned with whether or not the offender will escalate in the severity of his behaviours with subsequent victims. The current study uses transition matrices to address whether or not the offending patterns of 72 serial stranger sex offenders change from one victim to the next as it pertains to their sexual acts and level of physical force used during the crime. Findings indicate that stability, specifically the offender's intrusive sexual acts and use of physical force, and versatility are present in this sample's offending patterns. To explain changes in offending patterns between victims, multinomial regression analyses indicate that situational factors and modus operandi strategies are important considerations. Implications for investigations are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parent-child relations in offenders who commit violent sexual crimes against children

One hundred eighty-one men were compared on parent–child relations, using the Clarke Parent–Child Relations Questionnaire. The sample included 66 heterosexual pedophiles, 29 homosexual pedophiles, 36 incest offenders and 50 controls. The offender groups were further divided into those who used force (20%) versus those who did not; into those sexually victimized as children themselves (53.2%) versus those not victimized; and into those physically abused as children (47.5%) versus those not abused. Results showed that the offender groups had more disturbances than controls in father–son relations, contrary to earlier findings showing disturbances in mother–son relations among individuals who interact sexually with minors. The offenders who used force in their offenses differed only in being more aggressive to their fathers as children, but otherwise did not differ from offenders who did not use force in their offenses. Offenders both sexually and physically abused as children showed more disturbances in father relationships than offenders who were not abused during their childhoods. Disturbed parent-child relations undoubtedly leave residual difficulties in sex offenders in later life, but in the present sample, they did not play the expected critical role in explaining the use of force by perpetrators who coerce children into sex.     

Techniques of Neutralization and Animal Rights Activists

Neutralization theory posits that criminals assuage feelings of guilt they feel as a consequence of their actions by developing thoughts that justify their deviant behavior. The process is believed to occur prior to the act, and is seen as enabling the deviant behavior. A large body of research has been conducted demonstrating that neutralization “techniques” are used by many criminals. The present work seeks to determine if members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) use techniques of neutralization. The method used was a content analysis of anonymous communiqués written by the ALF. The results indicate that ALF members do indeed use various techniques of neutralization to justify their actions, including what may be a newly identified technique, “appeal to a higher moral principle.” Moreover, as the ALF is motivated by a particular ideology, it seems reasonable to conclude that these techniques were developed in the minds of the communiqué authors prior to the criminal actions they perpetrated.     

The role of gender in claiming partial or complete homicide-related amnesia

The current study examined offence and offender characteristics in female and male offenders claiming no, partial or complete homicide-related amnesia. Pre-trial file information consisting of forensic examination reports and crime reports of all female (n = 79) and male (n = 577) offenders subject to forensic psychiatric examination in 1995–2004 and convicted of homicide were retrospectively analysed. The Psychopathy Check List Revised (PCL-R) was used for scoring psychopathy. Claiming homicide-related amnesia was significantly more frequent in female (60.7%) than male (42.1%) offenders. Findings indicate that in males the use of sharp instrument, intoxication, staying at the scene and feeling regret for the killing accompany claims of crime-related amnesia. In females, personality disorder and criminal history were significantly more frequent in offenders claiming crime-related amnesia. Analysis of intelligence, psychopathology or psychopathy indicated no significant relationship with claims of amnesia in either gender groups.