Download Social Learning Theories - Washington State University

Social Learning Theories
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Differential Association
Theory
Social Learning Theory
Games
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Pick any game you like
Teach your classmates how to play
Teacher: write down the techniques that help
you in the process of teaching
Students: write down things that helped you
to learn a game
Learning Process
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Teacher’s expertise and
knowledge
Willingness to explain
Enthusiasm
Patience with students
DIFFERENTIAL
ASSOCIATION
Learning Process
Explained the rules of a game
 Provided instruction
 Warned about negative
outcomes of wrong actions
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DEFINITIONS
Learning Process
Teacher has shown what to do
 Corrected when you were wrong
 Offered a better way of
doing things
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IMITATION
Learning Process
Teacher was supportive
 Encouraged you by words
 Was happy when you won
 Offered you a reward
in form of warm greeting
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DIFFERENTIAL
REINFORCEMENT
Ronald Akers: Central concepts of
Differential Reinforcement Theory
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Differential association (groups provide major
social context for learning)
Definitions (attitudes/meanings)
Differential reinforcement (anticipated/actual
rewards and punishments)
Imitation
Four conceptual categories for
rewards and punishments:
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Positive reward, which increases the frequency of
approved behavior by adding something desirable to the
situation
Negative reward, which increases the frequency of
approved behavior by removing something distressful
from the situation
Positive punishment, which decrease the frequency of
unwanted behavior by adding something undesirable to
the situation
Negative punishment, which decreases the frequency of
unwanted behavior by removing something desirable
form the situation
Sutherland's Differential Association
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In 1939 Edwin H. Sutherland proposed his
theory of Differential Association in his
Principles of Criminology textbook
He formulated his theory with an attempt to
explain not only individual criminal behavior
but also those of societal groups
“Differential group organization should
explain the crime rate, while differential
association should explain the criminal
behavior of a person” (Sutherland, 1973)
Edwin Sutherland
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Dissatisfied with multiple factor theories
Correlation does not imply causation
Wanted to explain why some factors were related to
crime
Asked: “What do males, young adults, blacks, and
inner city residents have in common that causes
them to commit crimes?”
What is in the black box explaining these
correlations? What is the intervening mechanism?
Specifying the Causal Mechanism by which
Multiple Factors Affect Crime
Social Structure and Learning
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Where individuals are situated in the social structure
in indicated by age, sex, class, and race
These characteristics relate to the groups of which
persons are likely to be members, with whom they
interacts
These variable affect which behavioral models and
definitions people are exposed
Question: Is it possible to be a gang member in
Pullman?
Social Structure and Social Learning
Social Structure
Society
Age
Family
Community
Sex
Peers
Race School
Class Others
Social Learning
Differential
Association
Definitions
Imitation
Other Learning
Variables
Criminal Behavior
Conforming Behavior
Individual
Behavior
Differential association
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Interactional dimension is the direct
association and interaction with others who
engage in certain kinds of behaviors as well
indirect association and identification with
more distant reference group
Normative dimension is the different pattern
of values to which an individual is exposed
through this association
Differential Association is based
upon these nine postulates:
1. Criminal behavior is learned
2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others
persons in a process of communication
3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs
within intimate personal groups
4. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes
techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes
very complicated, sometimes simple and the specific
direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes
5. The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from
definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable to
committing deviant acts
Differential Association is based
upon these nine postulates:
6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of
definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable
to violation of the law
7. Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration,
priority, and intensity.
 Priority - the age of children when first understand criminal
behavior
 Intensity - the level of prestige associated with a person or
group
 Frequency - number of contacts a person has with groups that
condone criminal behavior
 Duration - the length of time the relationship will last and so its
influence over the persons behavior
Differential Association is based upon
these nine postulates:
8. The process of learning criminal behavior by
association with criminal and anticriminal patterns
involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in
any other learning
9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general
needs and values, it is not explained by those
general needs and values, since non criminal
behavior is an expression of the same needs and
values
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions
for Crime
Person has learned an excess of weighted definitions
favorable to crime
 Person has learned the necessary skills and techniques.
 The opportunity to commit the crime is present
If you can find one person who refrains from crime
when these conditions are present, the theory is wrong
If you can find one person who commits a crime
when these conditions are not all present, the theory is
wrong
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Definitions
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Definitions are one’s own attitudes or meanings that
one attaches to given behavior
They are orientations, rationalizations, definitions of
the situation, moral attitudes
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.
Definitions Unfavorable to Crime
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“Crime doesn’t pay.”
“Marijuana causes brain damage and leads to cocaine
and heroin.”
“Turn the other cheek when insulted.”
“Always be a law abiding citizen and you’ll be
respected.”
“Don’t drink and drive – you can hurt someone.”
“Don’t 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.”
Definitions Favorable to Crime
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“The Justice Department should be going after real
criminals, not me!”
“It’s technically not sex if there isn’t penetration and if
you don’t touch her!”
“I can drive after five beers, no problem.”
“If someone questions your manhood, you have to
stand up for yourself.”
“Everyone cheats on their income taxes – it’s not really
a crime.”
“I was planning to give them money back after I solved
my financial problem.”
“It’s not a crime if no one gets hurt.”
“A sucker is born every minute.”
“The Professional Thief”(1937)
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Chin Conwell (criminal carrier for more than
25 years)
Definition: thief is one who makes a regular
business of stealing. The professional thief
has technical skills and methods which are
different from those of other professional
criminals. Manual skill is important, but the
most important thing is the ability to
manipulate people (mostly talking ability)
“The Professional Thief”(1937)
The principal rackets of the
professional thief are…
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Cannon (picking pockets)
Heel (sneak-thieving from stores, banks, offices)
Boost (Shoplifting)
Penny-weighting (stealing from jewelry store by
substitution)
Hotel Prowling (stealing from hotel rooms)
Laying paper (passing illegal checks. Money orders)
Shake (shakedown of, or extortion from, persons
engaged in illegal acts)
Recruitment
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No policy of recruitment for the profession
It is easy to find a partner from among the
thieves who already are professionals
A person can become a professional thief
only if he/she is selected and trained by
professionals
The mob
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The working group of professional thieves
Meet together for a season or for a trip or two
Code of ethics, code of rules
All gains in all rackets is to be even
One member of the mob should not cut in on
another member
Each member is given his part to do and is
expected to handle that part
Code of ethics
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No thief may squawk (inform) on another thief
(even he/she has been beat by the other)
If one mob comes into a place and finds
another mob already at work, then it will
leave at once
The fix
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The professional thief usually has a long record of
arrests
Most of the cases are “dismissed” or “no disposition”
Thief’s ability to fix cases (sometimes employees a
fixer)
In every large city, there is a regular fixer for
professional thieves
Police and court officials often will accept a fix
The social life of the thief
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Not much different from that in conventional
society
Movies, theaters, restaurants…
One personal characteristic - extreme
suspicion