Testing Social Learning Theory

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Testing Social Learning Theory

• Delinquent Peer Associations (Stimulant Survey)

What proportion of your closest friends
Cheated on exams or papers
Sold marijuana
Sold drug other than marijuana
Pirated things off the Internet
Bought something they thought might be stolen
Stole something worth less than 50
Stole something worth more than 50
Purposely damaged property without the owners permission
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Survey Says

• Delinquent Peer correlates moderately with
• Illicit stimulant use ever (.25) and in the past
  year (.15)
• Marijuana use in past year (.35)
• Academic fraud (.38)
• Deviance/Crime (.49)
• Binge drinking (.29)

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Testing Social Learning Theory

• Moral Beliefs (Definitions)

How wrong is it to
Cheat on exams or papers
Sell marijuana
Sell drug other than marijuana
Pirate things off the Internet
Buy something they thought might be stolen
Steal something worth less than 50
Steal something worth more than 50
Purposely damage property without the owners permission
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Survey Says

• Moral beliefs correlates moderately with
• Illicit stimulant use ever (.27) and in the past
  year (.22)
• Marijuana use in past year (.39)
• Academic fraud (.21)
• Deviance/Crime (.44)
• Binge drinking (.29)

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Subcultural Theories

• ? Several Theories emerged from late 1950s
  through the 1960s
• ? Attempt to explain the formation and activity
  of delinquent subcultures
• ? Subculture defined as a group (such as a street
  gang) that holds different norms and values than
  mainstream society
• Combined ideas from both strain theory (Merton)
  and differential association (Sutherland) gt
  mixed models

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Specific Subcultural Theories

• 1. Status frustration (Cohen)
• 2. Differential opportunity theory (Cloward and
  Ohlin)
• 3. Focal concerns of the lower class (Miller)
• In the interests of time and student sanity,
  well just discuss Cloward and Ohlin as one
  example. This will be the only one to appear on
  the exam.

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Differential Opportunity Theory

• ? Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin
• ? From Merton Lack of legitimate opportunities
  for success causes strain
• ? Blocked economic aspirations lead to poor
  self-image
• ? Frustration leads to delinquency
• From Sutherland much delinquency requires access
  to illegitimate means for success
• Delinquents learn criminal trades within
  neighborhood

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Differential Opportunity Theory (2 of 2)

• ? Delinquent subcultures
• ? Criminal subculture
• ? Where illegitimate opportunities exist,
  delinquents seek economic gain, view crime as a
  career
• ? Conflict subculture
• ? Where no illegitimate opportunities exist,
  gangs fight over turf and place high value on
  violence
• ? Retreatist subculture
• ? Double losers Emphasizes drug abuse or other
  forms of escape

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Subcultural Theory Criticism

• ? Narrow scope
• ? Focus on lower-class boys
• ? Does not account for white-collar crime,
  middle-class crime, or female offending
• ? Are gangs are truly subcultures?
• ? Assumes almost perfect socialization to gang

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Control Theories

• Control shorthand for informal social control
• Theories covered
• Hirschi (social bonds)
• Gottfredson and Hirschi (low self-control)
• Sampson and Laub (age graded social control)

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Assumptions about Motivation towards crime

• Strain theory motivation from some sort of
  strain (e.g. blocked opportunity)
• Learning theory motivation from delinquent peers
  or other learning experience
• Critique if all crime is learned, where does
  it originate?
• Control theory there is enough natural
  motivation towards crime
• No need to build in extra motivation
• Real question? Why arent we all criminal?

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Types of Control

• Direct Control
• Direct punishments, rewards from parents, friends
• Indirect Control
• Refrain from deviance because you dont want to
  risk friends, job, etc.
• Internal Control
• Good self-concept, self-control, conscience

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Walter Reckless Containment Theory as precursor
to control theories
Inner (Good self
concept) Containment

• Outer Containment
• parents/school
• supervision

• Pushes and Pulls
• poverty, anger,delinquent
• subculture

DELINQUENCY OUT HERE !!!!!!
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ENTER TRAVIS HIRSCHI

• Causes of Delinquency (1969)
• Was an attack on other theories as much as a
  statement of his theory
• ORGANIZED theory into strain/anomie, learning,
  and control
• Criticism/attack on the other traditions and
  support for control
• Self-report data (CA high schools)
• Measures from competing theories
• This book was the first of its kind!

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Social Bond Theory

• Bond indicates Indirect Control
• Direct controls (punishment, reinforcement) less
  important because delinquency occurs when out of
  parents reach (adolescence).
• Attachment
• Commitment (Elements of the social bond
• Involvement are all related to each other)
• Belief

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Or, Put Another Way
The Social Bond Attachment Commitment Involvement
Belief
Crime Fun, thrilling, quick and easy
satisfaction of desires
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Hirschis Evidence in Favor of Bonds

• Attachment
• Attachment to parents (wish to emulate, identify
  with)
• Commitment
• Grades, educational aspirations
• Belief
• Techniques of Neutralizations

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Criticisms of Hirschis Theory

1. Delinquents do form relationships (not cold and
   brittle).
2. Attachment to delinquent peers or parents
   increases, rather than decreases delinquency
3. Which comes first, bonds or delinquency?
4. Bonds more salient for females, and early in
   adolescence. Not strongly related to crime.

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Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990)

• A General Theory of Crime
• Same control theory assumptions
• If we are all inclined to be deviant, why
  conform?
• Because most of us develop self-control
• Internal control
• Developed by age 8, as the result of direct
  control from parents

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Nature of Crime, Nature of Low Self-Control
People with low self-control are
therefore Impulsive Risk-taking Physical (as
opposed to mental) Low verbal ability
Short-sighted Insensitive
Criminal Acts Provide immediate gratification
of desires Are risky/thrilling Are
easy/simple Require little skill/planning Provide
few/meager long term benefits Result in
pain/discomfort to a victim
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The implications of low self-control

• Explains stability of criminal behavior
• But, how does it explain aging out?
• Explains all crime and analogous behaviors
• Analogous same nature as criminal acts

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Empirical Support

• Moderate relationship between low self-control
  and both crime and analogous behaviors
• Holds for both males and females
• BUT
• Not the sole cause of crime
• May not explain white collar crime at all

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Stimulant Survey and LSC
How much do you agree wit h the following.
I am good at resisting temptationg
I have a hard time breaking bad habits
I am lazy
I say inappropriate things
I do certain things that are bad for me if they are fun
I refuse things that are bad for meg
I wish I had more self-discipline
People would say that I have iron self-disciplineg
Pleasure and fun sometimes keep me from getting work done
I have trouble concentrating
I am able to work effectively toward long-term goalsg
Sometimes I cant stop myself from doing something, even if I know it is wrong
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Survey Says

• Low Self-Control predicted (fairly well)
• Illicit stimulant use ever (.25) and in the past
  year (.19)
• Marijuana use in past year (.33)
• Academic fraud (.22)
• Deviance/Crime (.41)
• Binge drinking (.33)

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Age Graded Theory of Informal Social Control

• Sampson and Laub
• We will cover this again in the lifecourse
  theory section
• Takes Hirschis (1969) theory and made it age
  graded
• The specific elements of the social bond change
  over the life-course
• Also includes elements of direct control
• Also throws in some other stuff (integrated
  theory)

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Sampson and Laub
Childhood Adolescence Adulthood

• Parenting
• Supervision
• Discipline
• Social Bonds
• Family
• School
• Delinquent Peers

Context
Delinquency
Adult Crime
Individual Differences

• Social Bonds
• Marriage
• Good Job

Length of Incarceration
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Policy Implications

• Hirschis Social Bond Theory
• Target attachment, commitment, belief
• Gottfredson and Hirschis General Theory
• Must focus on early childhood prevention
• Train parents?
• Sampson and Laub
• Different targets for different ages
• Importance of adult bonds (job, marriage)