The Motives of Children Who Yield in Temptation to Steal Situations
| Published date | 01 December 1970 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587000300405 |
| Author | M. S. Jackson |
| Date | 01 December 1970 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (Dec., 1970): 3, 4
The Motives
01
Children Who Yield
In
Temptation to Steal Situations
M. S. JACKSON*
231
THERE is growing
concern
in
many
quarters
that
crime
and
delinquency
rates
in every
community
are
increasing
at
a
disturbing
rate.
There
is also
evidence
that
most, if
not
all,
"law
abiding
citizens"
have
at
some
time
or
other
during
their
lifetime
committed
an
offence
to
justify
agaol
sentence
(Geddes
and
Curie, 1948)
(Short
and
Nye, 1966).
When
we view
the
prepara-
tion
that
is given to
children
to live
in
our
community,
we
notice
that
each
child
is
subjected
to a fairly
clear
cut
program
in
reading
and
language.
skills,
in
mathematics,
in social studies,
in
science, in
art,
in
physical
education
and
the
like. We observe also
that
children
spend
some
six
hours
every
day
being
subject
to
this
conscious
and
deliberate
instruction
in
the
desciplines
just
mentioned,
which
are
considered
essential
for
survival
in
the
society in
which
we live.
If
one
examines
this
program
of
educational
development
for
children,
it
is
strikingly
obvious
that
for
what
constitutes
one
of
the
major
concerns
of life,
namely
the
development of
moral
values,
there
is
scant
educational
provision.
Since
the
decline of
formal
religion
and
its
attempt
to
produce
goodness,
by
means
of
the
doctrine
of
fear
of
eternal
retribution,
education
for
moral
values
has
lapsed
into
"no
man's"
land.
We
presently
see a
generation
of
youth,
many
of
whom
have
had
no
formal
confrontation
with
principles
of
morality, who
have
never
had
to
think
about
moral
issues
or
discuss
them
with
anyone,
and
yet
who will
shortly
become
parents,
who
in
turn
will
not
have
the
skills or
insight
to dtscuss
moral
issues
with
their
children.
The
outcome of
such
adecline in
the
consideration
of
fundamental
values
can
have
nothing
short
of
alarming
consequences.
The
only
education
that
many
children
gain
in
this
area
is
when
they
are
caught
engaging
in some
misdemeanour
such
as
cheating,
lying,
or
stealing,
and
are
caught
by somebody
in
authority.
They
have
had
no
history
of
preparation
for
considering
the
lawful
strategies
for
meeting
such
temptations,
nor
have
there
been
any
explanations
for
the
very
sound
rea-
sons
that
underpin
the
prohibitions
themselves.
The
result
is a
behavioural
response
which
is governed by
external
controls
and
consideration
but
has
little
to do
with
morality
as such.
The
morality
referred
to
here
has
been
defined
as
that
which
results
when
an
individual
makes
adecision to
be-
have
in
a
particular
manner
after
due
consideratton
of
the
consequences
of
his
behaviour
and
of
the
rights
of
others.
The
person's
thinking
is likely
to
have
been
governed
pretty
much
by
what
Baier
(1958)
has
termed
the
law
of reversibility.
The
law is simply
the
negative
statement
of
the
so-
'It M.A., B.Ed., M.A.Ps.S.,
Faculty
of Education, Monash University, Melbourne.
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