Week 7 - Social Learning Theory Flashcards
Who is Sutherland?
His theory can be viewed as the tendency of Chicago school
He used ideas of cultural conflict
He claimed that areas create crime for example environments in which they live in
Factors Influencing Sutherland’s ideas about crime - Social Context
Prohibition - Crime was a product of law, not different behaviour
UCR - New official statistics available
Organized crimes are the ones that benefited (speakeasy)
Great Depression - “new” criminals
What are the dimensions of Sutherland’s Theory?
Differential Association has 3 components:
Ecological/Cultural Transmission (social disorganization) theories (crime id going from one generation to another, they get this from adults thinking the behaviour is ok)
Symbolic interactions theory
Culture conflict theory
What are the three ideas from the Chicago school, and what does he talk about to build on the theory?
Criminal and non-criminal behaviour are essentially the same
Values affect behaviour
Certain locations/people are more crime-prone
What are the basic principles of Differential Association theory?
- Crime is learned in the same manner as any other behaviour (the first interaction is family)
- Crime is learned in interaction with other people (parents’ voice now becomes less “important” as you have your peers)
- Learning crime occurs within intimate personal groups
- Learning crime included techniques and learning supporting missives, rationalizations, and attitudes
- people have different views on whether to obey the law (parents say it’s wrong, but your friends are telling you it’s right) This conflict of social attitudes is the basis for the concept of differential association
- A criminal Perceives more benefits than unfavourable consequences for violating the law when
- Aquatences have definitions that are favourable toward criminality and
- They are isolated from counteracting forces - Differential associations vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity (how much time you spend with your peer groups)
- Learning definitions favourable to criminals produces illegal behaviour
What is the meaning of Differential Association?
not a product of who you know
content of patterns of associating with others
How are differential associations established?
Situations that have a cultural conflict
Social disorganizations within those situations
What is Sutherland’s relationship to Conflict?
Sutherland saw that a society with social disorganization would lead to a diversity of values among groups
This diversity of values inevitably creates conflict
The patterns of association for individuals tend to depend on their group “memberships”
What is the classification of differential association theory
Positivist (Focuses on criminals and their behaviour)
Micro Theory
Conflict theory
Theory of processes
What are the two major approaches to Social Learning theory?
C Ray Jeffery
- Differential Reinforcement theory. This used operant learning with more emphasis on material and biological sources of learning
Ronal L Akers
- Social learning Theory - Used newer social learning and more closely followed differential association
What is the social context of social learning theory?
Mental health treatment
Education
Corrections & Juvenile
All applied Behavioural modications
What is the intellectual context of social learning theory?
Symbolic interactions was Chicago school “learning” theory used by Sutherland & replaced by modern learning theories of both Jeffery & Akers
Chicago’s culture diversity approach suggests social settings have different discriminate stimuli and behavioural consequences associated with them
Behaviouristic Psychology is the most obvious intelectual source
What are the learning theories basics?
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Positive punishment
Negative punishment
Discriminative stimuli
Schedule of consequences
What is reinforcement
Increases frequency of behaviour
Positive reinforcement - reward given for behaviour
Negative reinforcement - punishment is taken away for behaviour
What is punishment
Decreases frequency of behaviour
Positive punishment - punishment given for behaviour
Negative punishment - reinforcer removed for behaviour
What are discriminative stimuli?
- Not for current or past behaviour only future behaviour
- Allows for planning of behaviour
Schedule of consequences
frequency of consequences for behaviour
Probability of consequences for behaviour
Length of time to consequences
What are essentials to Differential Reinforcement?
Argued that non-social stimuli are more important than social stimuli in learning
Physical needs can motivate behaviour
What are concepts of differential reinforcemnt
Satiation - Reinforcement/punishment has occurred too often and now has little effect on the individual
Deprivation - Reinforcemnt/punishment has occurred very infrequently and now has greater effect on individual
How does Differential Reinforcement affect Crime
irregular consequences for criminal acts
irregular consequences are enough to reinforce or punish each time
What is Jeffery’s later approach to learning
neurobiological explanations
Brain-Based reinforcment
What ismost important about Akers’s social learning theory?
The social environment was the most important
Definitions for behaviours is key concept to Aker’s theory
What did Akers say about social learning as an individual process?
People learn both deviant behaviour and the definitions
Learning can be both direct or indirect
How is Social learning theory today
One of today’s most dominant theories
Often used to explain drug and alcohol use
