A study integrating theories from criminology and psychology has provided an in-depth explanation for the link between self-control and why people get into crime.
Dr. Mei Williams, who graduated at Massey’s Auckland school recently with a PhD in psychology, says the relationship between self-control and criminal activity has been little understood in psychological terms. Findings from her study suggest possibilities for the treatment and prevention of criminal behavior, reported Physorg.com

Criminals need to learn pro-social values, such as how to achieve their goals without hurting other people.

“While criminologists have found low self-control to be one of the strongest risk factors for crime, its lack of explanatory power has been a major concern,“ she says.
In her study, she compared the level of self-control, motivation, and criminal intentions between students and prison inmates. Both groups were asked about their criminal activity over the previous12 months, the opportunities that would encourage or prevent criminal involvement, attitudes towards crime, the expectations of important others, and the person’s confidence and control over their behavior should they wish to commit a crime.
Low self-control featured more strongly as an explanation for intentions to commit crime for prison inmates than it did for students. While self-control was an important aspect, of even greater significance for both groups was the role of significant others. This was especially related to the expectations of significant others, and the willingness of the individual to comply with those expectations. This factor appeared to be crucial as to whether a person with low self-control got involved in crime or not.
Rehabilitation programs that help inmates develop better self-control through self-management techniques and by ensuring there are “important others“ who are positive role models would have a powerful way of countering not only crime but other detrimental behaviors, such as aggression and general delinquency, she says.
Dr. Williams teaches forensic psychology at Massey’s School of Psychology in Auckland and has worked with the Corrections Department’s psychological services in developing treatment plans for prison inmates. She believes being in prison is often a time when criminals are at a crossroads in their lives and had the opportunity to reevaluate themselves and their attitudes.
“That’s when we need to focus on self-management and finding out what things they value,“ she said.
She says inmates are no different to law-abiding citizens in that they shared the same goal of getting money and wanting to look after their family, but they had different values and behavioral patterns when it came to achieving these goals.
“They need to learn pro-social values, such as how to achieve their goals without hurting other people.“

Wikipedia, the upstart Internet encyclopedia that most universities forbid students to use, has suddenly become a teaching tool for professors.
Recently, university teachers have swapped student term papers for assignments to write entries for the free online encyclopedia.
Wikipedia is an “open-source“ website, which means that entries can be started or edited by anyone in the world with an Internet connection, AFP reported. Writing for Wikipedia “seems like a much larger stage, more of a challenge,“ than a term paper, said professor Jon Beasley-Murray, who teaches Latin American literature at the University of British Columbia in this western Canadian city, AFP said.
“The vast majority of Wikipedia entries aren’t very good,“ said Beasley-Murray, but said the site aims to be academically sound.
To reach its goal of academic standards, said Wikipedia’s website, it set up an assessment scale on its English-language site.
The best encyclopedia entries are ranked as “Featured Articles,“ and run each day on the homepage at www.wikipedia.com.
To be ranked as a “Featured Article,“ Wikipedia said an entry must “provide thorough, well-written coverage of their topic, supported by many references to peer-reviewed publications.“
Of more than 10 million articles in 253 languages, only about 2,000 have reached “Featured Article“ status, it said.
Typically, thousands or millions of people visit a Wikipedia entry, and each visitor is able to edit entries, or even flag an article considered unworthy to have it removed.