Travis Warner Hirschi (April 15, 1935 – January 2, 2017) was an American sociologist and an emeritus professor of sociology at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. He helped to develop the modern version of the

social control theory In criminology, social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial. It derived from functionalist theo ...

of crime and later the self-control theory of crime.

Biography

Hirschi was born in Rockville, Utah. He attended the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

in the 1950s, where he obtained undergraduate and master's degrees. In 1955, Hirschi married Anna Yergensen. He spent two years as a U.S. Army data analyst. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1968. In his 1969 work ''Causes of Delinquency'', Hirschi posited his version of

. He wrote that social bonds encouraged conforming behavior and prevented most people from committing crimes. In 1977, he and Michael Hindelang published a study which showed that IQ and social class were equally predictive of crime; IQ had been previously discounted as a correlate of criminal behavior. A 1983 paper in the ''

American Journal of Sociology The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...

'' by Hirschi and Michael R. Gottfredson showed that younger age was associated with increased criminal activity independent of any other known factor. In 1990, Hirschi and Gottfredson wrote that lack of self-control, which was tied to parenting issues, was the cause of crime. Hirschi held faculty appointments at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...

and the

. He was a fellow and past president of the

American Society of Criminology The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization based on the campus of Ohio State University whose members focus on the study of crime and delinquency. It aims to grow and disseminate scholarly research, with members wo ...

. The organization also honored him with its highest distinction, the Edwin H. Sutherland Award. In 2016 Hirschi won the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. He died in January 2017 at the age of 81.2017 OBITUARIES - TRAVIS W. HIRSCHI
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References

External links

Biography
at Encyclopedia Britannica Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschi, Travis 1935 births 2017 deaths American criminologists Educators from Utah University of Arizona faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Winners of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology People from Washington County, Utah