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TECHNIQUES of NEUTRALIZATION
Reducing seriousness of a crime
Training Handout
We use them for failures and mistakes, as well as for misdemeanors
Symbolic Interactionists identified “Techniques of Neutralization†after devising the Labelling Theory
to explain crime and deviance. Labels are names given to those who
break social norms, and are intended to be negative sanctions aimed at
encouraging or forcing deviants to conform to norms. Techniques of neutralization
are devised by perpetrators to reduce the effect of such
labels.
In order to reject labels, those who break norms use five techniques of neutralization identified by Sykes
and Matza (1988).
1. “I am not responsible.†This is where the person breaking the norm claims that someone else is
responsible for breaking the norm, or that it was an accident. Often
that person sees herself or himself as a victim rather than as a perpetrator.
2. “No one got hurt.†Although the perpetrator might acknowledge that the action was illegal, they claim
that there was no victim, or that they were just having a little fun.
3. “He or she deserved it.†Here the perpetrator sees herself of himself as an avenger, righting the wrongs
they claim that the victim had earlier committed. They are merely
“evening the score.â€
4. “You have no right to judge me.†Here they claim their accusers are hypocrites, and have done the same or
worse themselves.
5. “I am loyal to a higher purpose.†Here the perpetrator may have been “just helping a friend,†or loyal
to his or her gang.
What we now see is that these are used every day by all of us to minimize our deviance, and not reserved
only to those accused of a crime. Instructors hear them a lot when
students do not do their assignments, disrupt a class, or cheat on an essay
or exam.
Reference Cited: Sykes, Gresham and David Matza, “Techniques of neutralization,â€
in J.M. Henslin (ed) Down to Earth Sociology, Introductory Readings,
Free Press. New York.
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