Matza

Matza's work criticised the work of Merton on the idea of strain. He thought that strain theory over predicted delinquency, arguing that there was not the amount of young delinquency that strain theory assumes or suggests. Matza argued that the majority of the time individuals will conform to society and they will only occassionaly drift away from these rules. Through delinquent values or subterranean values delinquents can briefly distance themselves from dominant values. They then justify there actions through what is known as techniques of neutralisation.

Matza's theory suggests that if delinquents dirft in and out of delinquency then most of the time deviance is unpredictable or could be seen as accidental. There is no pattern to crime or delinquency therefore. The delinquent values dominant society values over delinquent ones, and will therefore only drift into delinquency.

Delinquent values or subterranean values were the values that were used to drift away from the dominant values of society. Some of these values are; excitement, maschismo, toughness and…