Social in the broad sense means the society while psychology denotes the scientific study of an individual’s mental behavior and functions. Social psychology therefore involves the study people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. It underlies the spectrum assumption of how human action is the product of free will or determinism, nurture or nature (Cartwright 20). In essence, it defines the way the environment influences the character and socialization of an individual. In an ideal environment where the individuals adhere to the norms of the society, the degree of deviation is minimal whereas, where an individual attachment to a society is weak then such person tends to deviate from the norm and break the law.
Travis Hirschi in his book discusses the variation of delinquencies in the society. In his study he argues that, delinquency behavior among the youth can be explained by variations in dimensions of the social bond (Hirsch 22). Where a youth is attached to other commitments such as conventional goals, moral standards or beliefs of a particular society, the chances of engaging in delinquent behavior are lower (Hirschi 143). Hirschi went further and conducted a study examining juveniles in Chicago who were sent to Court. He found out that, crime tended to concentrate in low socio economic areas. These are areas that immigrants tended to settle thus weakening the social control due to it being heterogeneous. Hirschi noticed that areas of affluence that maintained strong cultural beliefs were less affected by juvenile delinquency. He concluded that, in the low socio- economic areas, conventional institution of social control such as churches and schools were weak thus unable to regulate the neighborhood youths while those in affluence areas had a strong social control tie hence the less criminal activities. His study showed that crime is a function of the environment that one tends to find himself in rather than function of an individual within the neighborhood.
Travis theory is expounded more by Kenneth Gergen who states that whereas environment influences the behavior of an individual in the society, there are other undermining factors that may influence behavior (Gergen 80). He identifies social pressure and cultural values as the major factors that inhibit societal values shared in a dominant culture. Gergen study has introduced a contemporary theory known as social comparison. The proponent Corcoran states that, whenever an individual is confronted with information about how others are and what others can or cannot do such an individual tends to identify himself to this information (Corcoran 5). Similarly, if such an individual knows what he can or cannot do, he tends to make comparisons of his strength and weaknesses to others. Therefore, whereas the individual may come from a society that conforms to the law and cultural values, the same individual may start deviating from the expected norm due to societal pressure.
In a recent article in New York daily News, the newspaper carried an article on a popular Canadian pop singer Justine Bieber whom on 2/5/2014 on board of his private jet, smoked marijuana together with his father. The Pop star’s father together with Bieber’s entourage became abusive towards the flight attendants. The article captioned Bieber’s photo as follows, ‘‘Bieber’s reign of terror continues: details about the pop star’s behavior and alleged drug use on an airplane have emerged in a report filed by officials after his Teterboro Airport interview.” The article goes forth to make reference to other incidences that Bieber has been involved in a run on with the authority on January 23rd 2014.
During the questioning at the airport, Bieber admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. He however stated that he did not have any additional marijuana. According to a report filed by officials, no smoked marijuana was found during the search. Drug sniffing dogs did however point to smelly baggage. Justine Bieber was set free to go, after his private jet was thoroughly searched by DEA and US customs on suspicion of pot last week, but the pop star apparently masked any trace of drug use.
This scenario is a classic example of the social psychological theory under social comparison. Justine Bieber being a pop star or celebrity, there is social pressure and cultural influence that is forcing him to deviate from the expected norm. Pressure from remaining relevant in the ever changing music industry and the expectation of the society might push one to try to conform to the lifestyle of show business.
The behavior depicted of aggression by Justine Bieber may be attributed by the role that a parent plays in the life of a juvenile (Siegel 66). Parental monitoring impacts on aggression related incidences to a juvenile. The extent of supervision and care giving influenced the life of a juvenile in his later stage in life. Teenage tendencies of aggression are characterized by poor parental influence to the juvenile. Intervention from a parent through different forms of parenting stage can play a critical role in preventing teenage violence in later stage in life.
Justine Bieber’s father’s involvement in the use of drugs with his son deviates from the moral norms expected of a father to foster social control. As a parent the society expects him to mould Justine Bieber’s life to conform to the expectations of the society through attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. Attachment as stated by Hirschi involves internalization of an individual of what is expected of him in the society; commitment involves ensuring that the laws that have been set down are followed to the letter while belief includes knowing that any breaking of the law will involve punitive measures.
In cases where these norms as explained by Hirschi are not adhered to, there is a strong likelihood that an individual may fall into deviant behavior (Hirschi 23). Therefore, Justine Bieber’s father’s failure to instill social control and his willingness to indulge in pervasive behavior with his son due to loosening the moral strands, has led to Justine Bieber deviating from the societal norms. Therefore, a neighborhood characterized by social organization deters crime and delinquency through strong behavioral control mechanisms and through cultural transmissions of moral values passed in the society.
Works Cited
Cartwright, Dorwin. Contemporary Social Psychological in Historical perspective. Web. Retrieved on 6th February 2014. http://www.radford.edu/~jaspelme/443/spring2007/Articles/Cartwright_1979.pdf
Corcoran, Katja. Social Comparison: Motives, Standards, and Mechanisms. Web, Retrieved on 6th February 2014. http://socialcognition.unikoeln.de/scc4/documents/Social_comparison.pdf
Gergen, Kenneth. An invitation to Social Construction. New York: Sage Publication Limited. 2009
Hirschi, Travis. A General Theory of Crime. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1990.
Siegel. Larry. Criminology in Canada: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (3rd ed.). Toronto: Thompson. 2006
