The Argumentation on Cognitive Restructuring Experience to Prevent Deviant Behavior

There are numerous examples of scenarios that would fall under the purview of the strain theory, but for the purposes of this discussion I’ve chosen a specific on to use in this case. I have decided to go with a young, ambitious graduate student who didn’t get into the grad school they had always wanted to go to. Their entire life, they’ve been dreaming of attending this school. Therefore, not getting accepted to go there would be detrimental to their mental health and their behavior. Not getting into the school of their dreams can be a major source of strain in one’s life. The noxious stimuli in that individual’s life happens to be their parents, who were once their biggest supporter. But they now put too much pressure on the young student. The removal of the positively valued stimuli is found both in not getting into the school they wanted, and the once supportive parents turning into disappointed and ashamed parents.

At first, this person would turn away from any proposed criminal behavior. But after these stressors were introduced, they would be more prone to criminal or deviant behavior. These stressors being introduced into their own life makes them more open to committing acts of criminal behaviors. They would be infinitely more likely to want to or actually commit these acts of previously unacceptable behavior. Before, they would have been completely put off from this kind of behavior, but now they’re very much open to it. They would now actually consider committing these acts of criminality, whereas they never would have even pondered the idea before.

Cognitive restructuring could be absolutely imperative in order to prevent future deviant behavior. Psychologists would need to reframe how the person thinks in order to stop them from committing these kinds of behavior. Reshaping how they think would almost eliminate these stressors form their life, they wouldn’t be as big of a deal in the mind of the individual. They’d be almost trivial matters, in which case they would no longer lead them to a life of criminal behavior. It would be one of the only ways to prevent this individual from commuting any deviant acts of behavior in the future. Without the use of cognitive restructuring this individual may turn into an avid criminal. It could protect our society from dangerous and deviant acts that this person has the potential to possibly commit.