Transcript Social Learning Theories - Washington State University

Social Learning Theories
1. Differential Association Theory
2. Akers’ Social Learning Theory
Differential Association Theory
Edwin H. Sutherland (1939)
Sutherland's theory departs from the
psychological perspective and biological
perspective by attributing the cause of crime
to the social context of individuals
Differential association
Differential association
“Tell me who your friends are and I will
tell you who you are.. “
Diagnose Your Network
You can map the connections you have with
other people to determine the network you
currently have
Write down the names of the most
important contacts in your network—people
you rely on for the exchange of private
information, specialized expertise, advice,
and inspiration/emotional support
Diagnose Your Network
After you identify your key contacts, think
about how you first meet them (make sure
to write down the names of someone who
introduced you to this contact) + who they
are and where they are from.
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 neighborhood, go to the same school,
work at the same department, etc.
Differential Association Theory
1. Criminal behavior is learned.
2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction
with other persons in a process of
communication.
3. The principal part of the learning of
criminal behavior occurs within intimate
personal groups.
Differential Association Theory
4. When criminal behavior is learned, the
learning includes
– (a) techniques of committing the crime, which
are sometimes very complicated, sometimes
very simple;
– (b) the specific direction of motives, drives,
rationalizations, and attitudes.
Differential Association Theory
5. The specific direction of motives and drives
is learned from definitions of the legal
codes as favorable or unfavorable.
6. A person becomes delinquent because of an
excess of definitions favorable to violation
of law over definitions unfavorable to
violations of law.
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 > 1.0,
DFC = weighted definitions
favorable to crime
DUC = weighted definitions
unfavorable to crime
Differential Association Theory
7.Differential associations may vary in
–
–
–
–
frequency,
duration,
priority,
intensity.
Differential Association Theory
8. The process of learning criminal behavior
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 noncriminal behavior is an
expression of the same needs and values.
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
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 .
Inner city
Suburb
Main Concepts
Definitions are one’s 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.
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.
Definitions Unfavorable to Crime
“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
“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.”
Main concepts
Differential Reinforcement refers to the
balance of anticipated or actual rewards and
punishments that follow
Whether individuals will refrain from or
commit a crime at any given time depends
on the balance of past, present, and
anticipated future rewards and punishments
for their actions.
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
Whether or not the behavior modeled by others
will be imitated is affected by the characteristics
of the models, the behavior observed, and the
observed consequences of the behavior
White-collar crime
Introduced by Edwin H. Sutherland during
his presidential address at the American
Sociological Society Meeting in 1939
White-collar crime “may be defined
approximately as a crime committed by a
person of respectability and high social
status in the course of his occupation” (p. 9)
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
Sutherland’s 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
Sutherland’s 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 and, being lost, renders the
company fair game to the dis-enchanted employee
Follow the group/ leave/outlier
Crime Rates Predicted by Differential Social
Organization
Distribution of Definitions of Crime
Question to think….
Where did the first criminal come from?