ABSTRACT
This fifth category of situational techniques recognises that offenders make moral judgments about their behaviour and that they often rationalise their conduct to 'neutralise' what would otherwise be incapacitating feelings of guilt or shame. They make such excuses as: 'He deserved it,' 'I was just borrowing it' and 'I only slapped her'. These excuses may be especially important for ordinary people responding to everyday temptations to evade taxes, drive when drunk, sexually harass junior employees and steal employers' property.
