Techniques of Neutralization: Sykes and Matza's Theory
This paper critically analyzes Gresham M. Sykes and David Matza's landmark 1957 article, "Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency," published in the American Sociological Review. The paper summarizes and evaluates the authors' critique of earlier subculture-based explanations of juvenile delinquency and their introduction of five neutralization techniques — the internal rationalizations delinquents use to justify criminal acts. The review assesses the strengths and limitations of the theory, notes areas requiring further psychological research, and concludes that Sykes and Matza's framework represents a significant advance in understanding why juvenile delinquency persists by shifting focus from social environment to individual cognition and moral reasoning.
- Introduction to the Theory and Prior Literature: Overview of prior juvenile delinquency research and context
- Shortcomings of Earlier Delinquency Theories: Critiques of subculture and environmental delinquency explanations
- The Concept of Neutralization Techniques: Introduction to neutralization as a new theoretical lens
- The Five Techniques of Neutralization: Enumeration of Sykes and Matza's five core techniques
- Critical Evaluation and Conclusion: Overall assessment of the theory's contribution and limits
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper moves logically from summarizing existing literature to identifying its weaknesses, then to explaining the new theoretical contribution — a clear and well-organized critical review structure.
- The author does not simply describe the theory but also evaluates its claims, noting, for example, that the emotional-remorse argument is "solid" but "insufficient" without further psychological research.
- The use of a direct quotation from Sykes and Matza grounds the analysis in the primary source and effectively highlights the article's central claim.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates critical annotation: the writer summarizes a theoretical article, identifies the gaps it addresses in prior scholarship, presents the theory's core components (the five neutralization techniques), and then assesses both the strengths and remaining limitations of the argument. This balancing of summary with evaluation is the hallmark of a strong academic book or article review.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by contextualizing Sykes and Matza within the existing delinquency literature, then critiques the shortcomings of earlier subculture-based approaches. It introduces the concept of neutralization as the article's theoretical innovation, enumerates the five techniques in a clear list, and closes with an overall evaluative conclusion. The structure mirrors the original article's own argumentative progression, making it easy to follow the theoretical development.
Introduction to the Theory and Prior Literature
Gresham M. Sykes and David Matza commenced their discussion of delinquency by briefly restating the previous findings and conclusions of the specialized literature. Particularly, they revealed how juvenile delinquency is a learned behavior revolving around two primary components. On one hand, there is the process of learning the techniques by which to commit and cover up crimes; on the other, there is the environment that favors the occurrence of crimes. The two authors, as well as the previous works they cite, do not address the genetic component of criminal behavior — namely, the predisposition toward criminal behavior in children of criminal parents. While this element is worthwhile studying in the future, the focus of the assessed article and its cited sources falls on the environmental and personal aspects of juvenile delinquency.
Sykes and Matza built upon earlier findings showing that delinquency flourished in environments in which crime was perceived as the norm and the "right" thing to do — that is, in a system guided by rules different from those followed by law-abiding citizens. There is nonetheless a somewhat positive dimension to juvenile delinquency within this framework, in that it helps young people survive in high-crime environments, such as low-income neighborhoods.
Shortcomings of Earlier Delinquency Theories
The two university professors argued that this approach to juvenile delinquency has numerous shortcomings. They argued, for instance, that if delinquents were committing crimes out of a distorted sense of right, they would feel some sense of pride — yet in many cases they exhibited remorse and guilt upon having committed a crime. This argument is a solid point, but it is insufficient on its own to draw a significant conclusion. The emotional consequences experienced by delinquents should be further assessed by psychologists and researchers.
The authors also argued that the values of the subculture of criminality in lower-class neighborhoods were open to interpretation and did not constitute sufficient rationale to support juvenile delinquency as a way of life. Furthermore, they noted that delinquents had rules of their own by which they judged which crimes were acceptable within their code and which were not — stealing from friends or from a church, for instance, could be considered unacceptable behavior. Finally, Sykes and Matza proposed that even when delinquents operated under their own set of rules, they could not be entirely unaware of the norms regulating the broader society. These arguments collectively reveal how the earlier theories of juvenile delinquency are insufficient to explain the phenomenon fully.
The Concept of Neutralization Techniques
Beyond pointing out the shortcomings of existing literature, Gresham M. Sykes and David Matza sought to explain juvenile delinquency through a new lens: the techniques of neutralization. In short, these represent subjective interpretations, rationalizations, and excuses for delinquent behavior. For instance, under normal circumstances, stealing from a grocery store would be considered unacceptable. However, when a family is poor and suffering from hunger, the act of stealing a loaf of bread may be viewed as more acceptable, understandable, and excusable by the community.
The major contribution of this article is the identification of these neutralization techniques and the demonstration that they form the underlying basis for continued delinquent behavior. Crimes perpetuate when criminals are able to construct their own excuses and justifications for their acts — a more compelling explanation than simply attributing juvenile delinquency to learned subcultural norms:
"It is by learning these techniques that the juvenile becomes delinquent, rather than by learning moral imperatives, values or attitudes standing in direct contradiction to those of the dominant society" (Sykes and Matza, 1957).
References
Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957, December). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22(6), 664–670.
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