When Being Good Is Bad: An Expansion of Neutralization Theory

• NCJ Number: 211132
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2005 Pages: 797-836
• Author(s): Volkan Topalli
• Date Published: August 2005
• Length: 40 pages
• Grant Number(s): 98-1SDRP; YR3-SDRF-1
• Sponsoring Agency: Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation; National Consortium on Violence Research (NCOVR)
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study analyzed street-offender decisionmaking and behavior in an effort to expand on the neutralization theory of Sykes and Matza, which holds that offenders are aware of conventional values, perceive that their offending is morally wrong, and use psychological defense mechanisms to mitigate the shame and guilt associated with their violation of societal norms.

Abstract

Study participants were recruited from the streets of St. Louis, MO, where the inner city is plagued by extreme poverty related to high unemployment, widespread drug and alcohol abuse, open prostitution, weak family structure, street violence, and sparse city services. Overall, it is an environment far-removed from the middle-class socioeconomic conditions that perpetuate mainstream cultural and behavioral values. All study participants were African-Americans recruited from predominantly African-American neighborhoods. The sample was an accurate representation of serious violent offenders, discounting race, albeit not an accurate representation of the total population of active criminals in St. Louis. The sample interviewed was considered to consist of hardcore, active drug dealers, street robbers, and carjackers. The findings indicate that these offenders give high priority to developing and protecting a self-image that conforms with the "code of the streets" rather than a mainstream value system. This means that behaving according to mainstream behavioral expectations is "bad" according to the subculture of street criminals. The author argues, however, that neutralization theory can still be used to explain paradoxical behaviors of serious street criminals, in that they may drift into more conventional behaviors, such as becoming employed in a legitimate job and acting as a good husband or father, while using psychological mechanisms to maintain a self-image that complies with the code of the streets. 86 references