Determines the degree to which a person is vulnerable to temptations. People with low levels of self-control are impulsive and seek immediate gratification. Those with higher levels of self-control are more inclined to deter gratification in favor of long-term gains.

People who were given negative labels by authority figures accept those labels as a personal identity, setting up a self fulfilling prophecy controlled through close association with institutions and individuals.

Humans need to be able to remember details of the behavior in order to learn and later reproduce the behavior. The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process.

An individual describes the desired behavior in detail.

Edwin H. Sutherland introduced this theory in the late 1930’s.

By denying the wrongful acts, criminals are able to neutralize illegal behavior. Ex. stealing is viewed as borrowing; vandalism is considered mischief that has gotten out of hand.

This includes personal factors as restlessness, discontent, hostility, rebellion, mental conflict, anxieties, and need for immediate gratification.

These are represented by deviant companions, membership in criminal subcultures or other deviant groups.

He links the onset of criminality to the weakening of the ties that bind people to society. He further assumes that all individuals are potential law violators, but they are kept under control because they fear that illegal behavior will damage their relationship with friends, parents, neighbors, teachers and employees.