Tag Archives: window

I came across a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj9WsGbaNAY  explaining the broken windows theory and I just wanted to give my opinion on it. I have to agree to an extent that when your walking in a neighborhood that has been vandalized and corrupt, we do tend to join in with them and maybe throw garbage on the floor instead of in a trash can as we normally would. There is one difference though. I think the broken window theory applies only to young children and teenagers.

Being an adult, I cant imagine that an adult would change the way in which they were raised and are going to quickly adapt to acting like a criminal or not for the lonesome fact that crime is all around us or isnt present at all. Adults have a more conceptual mind and we have certain attributes and learned behavior that is instilled in us from childhood that carry on into our adulthood. I think children and teenagers adapt much more quickly to certain environments than an adult would. If an adult sees another adult get into a street fight, we would automatically call the cops and usually dont like to be involved. A child or teenager would add fuel to the fire and get excited seeing a fight. They would run to the scene and possibly join in even though they normally wouldnt do that.

Therefore, even though we try to change the environment of a bad neighborhood, I dont think criminals would care if the neighborhood was cleaned up and looked pleasant to walk through; its the way people think in their minds and a criminal will still act like a criminal if he or she wants to regardless of their surroundings.