Social Learning Theories

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Social Learning Theories

• Edwin H. Sutherlands Differential Association
  Theory
• 2. Ronald Akers Differential Reinforcement
  Theory

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http//answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid200809
16224128AAQ8Y2j

• I have a court date for shoplifting and need
  help? I'm 16 and shoplifted in El Paso, Texas ok
  so I know I made a mistake and I wont do this
  ever again. Don't reply if your going to say I'm
  stupid, cuz yea I already know I am. I got caught
  shoplifting in Claire's with 3 of my friends. I
  started the shoplifting idea, but I told them not
  to do it. They started stealing a lot of stuff,
  from Sears and Zumies and places like that but I
  was always scared I would get caught so I never
  stole. I just told them what I liked and they got
  it for me

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Generic Assumptions

• All behaviors are learned (not genetically
  programmed)
• Including techniques, attitudes, drives, and
  rationalizations

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How to paint with oil?
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Learning

• People learn to engage in crime, primarily
  through their association with others

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Differential Association

• Edwin H. Sutherland (1939)
• Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you
  who you are..

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Two things to look at

• Self-similarity principle we tend to choose
  people who resemble us in terms of experience,
  training, worldview, and so on.
• Proximity principle- people with similar
  background, experience, etc tend to live in the
  same neighborhood, go to the same school, work at
  the same department, etc.

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Edwin H. Sutherland (1939)Differential
Association Theory

• Criminal behavior is learned.
• It is learned in interaction with other persons
  in a process of communication.
• Learning of criminal behavior occurs within
  intimate personal groups.

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Differential Association Theory

• The learning includes
• Techniques of committing the crime, which are
  sometimes very complicated, sometimes very
  simple
• The specific direction of motives, drives,
  rationalizations, and attitudes.

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Differential Association Theory

• Motives and drives are learned from definitions
  of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable.
• A person becomes delinquent because of an excess
  of definitions favorable to violation of law over
  definitions unfavorable to violations of law.

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Differential Association Theory

• Differential associations may vary in
• Frequency
• Duration
• Priority
• Intensity

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Differential Association Theory

• 8. The process of learning criminal behavior
  involves all of the mechanisms that are involved
  in any other learning.

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Ronald Akers Central concepts of Differential
Reinforcement Theory

• Differential association (groups provide major
  social context for learning)
• Definitions (attitudes/meanings)
• Differential reinforcement (anticipated/actual
  rewards and punishments)
• Imitation

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Main Concepts

• Differential association refers to direct
  association and interaction with others who
  engage in certain kinds of behavior or express
  norms, values, and attitudes supportive of such
  behavior, as well as the indirect association and
  identification with more distant reference groups
  .

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Inner city
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Suburb
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Main Concepts

• Definitions are ones own orientations,
  rationalizations, justifications, excuses, and
  other attitudes that define the commission of an
  act as relatively more right or wrong, good or
  bad, desirable or undesirable, justified or
  unjustified, appropriate or inappropriate.

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Definitions

• General Definitions - include religious, moral,
  and other conventional values and norms that are
  favorable to conforming behavior
• Specific Definitions orient the person to
  particular acts. Thus, one may believe that
  stealing is bad, but stealing from bad
  people/drug dealers is O.K.

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• A person becomes delinquent because of an excess
  of definitions favorable to violation of law over
  definitions unfavorable to violation of the law
• If DFC/DUC gt 1.0,
• DFC weighted definitions
• favorable to crime
• DUC weighted definitions
• unfavorable to crime

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Definitions Unfavorable to Crime

• Crime doesnt pay.
• Marijuana causes brain damage and leads to
  cocaine and heroin.
• Turn the other cheek when insulted.
• Always be a law abiding citizen and youll be
  respected.
• Dont drink and drive you can hurt someone.
• Dont throw your life away by breaking the law!
• Sinners will be damned for eternity.
• Never rat on a fellow criminal or hold out on
  them.

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Definitions Favorable to Crime

• The Justice Department should be going after
  real criminals, not me!
• Its technically not sex if there isnt
  penetration and if you dont touch her!
• I can drive after five beers, no problem.
• If someone questions your manhood, you have to
• stand up for yourself.

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Main concepts

• Differential Reinforcement refers to the balance
  of anticipated or actual rewards and punishments
  that follow

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Main concepts

• Imitation refers to the engagement in behavior
  after the direct or indirect (e.g. in media
  depictions) observation of similar behavior by
  others

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White-collar crime

• Introduced by Edwin H. Sutherland during his
  presidential address at the American Sociological
  Society Meeting in 1939

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Occupational Crime

• Occupational crime occurs when crimes are
  committed to promote personal interests
• Crimes that fall into this category include
  altering books by accountants and overcharging or
  cheating clients by lawyers

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Sutherlands explanation

• College graduate without history of criminal
  behavior
• High level aspirations/ambitions
• Aren't in deviant peers groups, and aren't poor
• They live well-ordered lives for the most part
• They are well respected at work and in community
• Cheating clients by lawyers
• New attitudes, drives, and rationalizations

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Sutherlands explanation

• Many major corporations require their employees
  to lie, cheat, steal and betray customers,
  competitors, inspectors and other employees
• If the company steals from customers if the
  company violates pollution laws if the company
  converts pension plans to corporate purpose, the
  moral base is lost
•  Follow the group/ leave/outlier

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Crime Rates Predicted by Differential
SocialOrganization
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Distribution of Definitions of Crime
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Question to think.

• Where did the first criminal come from?