Cross-Cultural Dispositions to Crime: An Investigation of Macro-Environmental Influences on Neutralization

• In Event: Causes of Crime and Deviance from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The neutralization theory of Sykes and Matza posits that delinquent individuals attempt to continually reintegrate with society by mentally asserting that their deviant behavior is actually normative, via an excuse, or technique. The purpose of this research is to determine whether nationalities and associated cultural characteristics have an influence on the assessment of specific neutralization techniques in specific deviant or criminal contexts. More broadly: Do nationalities and associated cultural characteristics influence the acts individuals assert that they are capable of, the neutralizations they apply to the hypothetical behaviors, or the criminal or deviant acts they report that they have committed? Using a factorial vignette survey design with a multinational sample of college students from the Ghana (n=331), Poland (n=419), and the United States (n=414), we find general and specific differences in neutralization technique usage across cultures.

Authors

• Malgorzata Justyna Zuber, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Edward Greenberg, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Linda Williams, University of Massachusetts, Lowell