Tautology in Criminological Theory

Abstract

Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory has been characterized as tautological.” We analyze this claim and use the theory to discuss logical falsifiability and empirical identifiability in criminological theory. The Gottfredson-Hirschi theory is not tautological. Identifiability, an empirical analog of falsifiability, is a difficult problem. If self-control is defined as a fixed-point trait, its identifiability is difficult to demonstrate. If self-control is defined as a range of values around a fixed-point, however, it can be manipulated. We propose manipulability as an identifiability criterion. Manipulability may not be a useful criterion for all criminological theories. For the Gottfredson-Hirschi theory, it demonstrates that the controversial causal mechanism is not problematic.