- Rationalize their actions by saying other circumstances have caused their action
- Ex. Abused as a child

Ohio State University, Columbus

- Gresham Sykes and David Matza created the Techniques of neutralization which is that criminals understand their actions are wrong but they rationalize it with the below techniques:
   - Denying Responsibility
   - Denying Injury
   - Denying the Victim
   - Condemning the Condemners
   - Appealing to higher loyalities 

Techniques of Neutralization

Schmalleger, F. (2014). Criminology (The Justice Series). Criminology (2nd ed.). Pearson. https://archive.org/details/criminology0000schm. 

Criminology (The Justice Series)

Denying Responsibility

- Rationalize it by saying they can afford it or everyone does it
- Ex. Defrauding people because they have enought money to survive

Denying Injury

- Rationalize that the victim was at fault
- Ex. Break someones nose because they skuffed their shoes

Denying the Victim

- Rationalize but saying the issue is with society not with the person
- Ex."They are worse than us"

Condemning the Condemnors

- Rationalize it because they are defending a bigger system
- Ex. Sister has a child without getting married so the brother and father go to the boyfriend to beat him up for dishonoring their family

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