Differential Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is removing an unpleasant consequence when a behavior is exhibited in order to encourage said behavior. This was shown when

There is also the argument between behaviourists to whether behaviour is learnt better through positive or negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is when someone does something correctly and we reward them with a sweet or chocolate. A strength of this is that the individual will repeat the action again, but a limitation is that the individual will expect the reward every time.

According to Kail and Cavanaugh the theory established by Skinner known as operant conditioning is a “learning paradigm in which the consequences of a behavior determine whether a behavior is repeated in the future” (p. 13). This theory to an extent, parallels the previous theory of operant conditioning but is also important in trying to understand why one makes the decisions they do as well as how often they partake in certain behaviors. Through his theory Skinner displayed that there are two types of consequences, reinforcement and punishment, in which one increases the chances of repeated behavior and the other vice versa. Reinforcement is the component that increases the likeliness of repeated behavior and includes two divisions, negative and positive. Negative reinforcement is that in which a person’s

Differential reinforcements refers to the balance of anticipated or actual rewards and punishment that follow or are consequences of behavior. Whether individuals will refrain from or commit a crime "depends on the balance of past, present, and anticipated future rewards and punishments for their actions" (Akers and Jensen, 2006 p. 39-40). The probability that an act will be committed or repeated is increased by rewards that are higher in value and/or greater in number- positive reinforcement. Reinforces can be nonsocial as well, for example, the direct physical effects of drugs and alcohol (Akers et al. 1979). However, whether or not these effects are experienced positively or negatively is based upon previous learned expectations.

Operant Conditioning Theory by B.F. Skinner is a psychological manipulation using rewards and punishments to enforce positive behavior. It uses an individual person’s response to events or stimulus. When a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is rewarded, the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning is related to previous forms of behaviorism. The Operant Conditioning theory comprises of neutral operants, positive/negative reinforcers, and positive/negative punishers. Through these factors, we get the desired behavior of our subject because they do not want to be punished for under performing so they do what they’re told to or do more of what they were assigned to to receive positive stimulus

Operate Conditioning-: People learn and are influenced by the results of what they do. It’s also when people’s behaviour is affected by consequences, reinforcements and learning based on exploration of the environment. Skinner divided the consequences of actions into these three groups...

The differential association theory touts deviance as something that is learned. It is learned through the inter-personal relationships and influences that an individual has with those close to them. Furthermore, the theory declares that learning deviance is similar to, if not identical to, learning anything else. With the differential association theory, the individual is taking a

As stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 375 workers killed in shootings while on the job in 2012 alone. Robbers made up 33 percent of the workplace homicides that involved shootings in 2012, the coworkers made up 13 percent of that (“Workplace Homicides,” 2013). Another statistic to mention is that there were 140 government officials that were shot and killed by coworkers on the job from 1992 until 2012. So obviously over the years this number continues to grow and with time comes a lot of press and news releases to go with these murders. There are a couple that will be mentioned because of how popular and violent they are and also how these could have been prevented if someone had of intervened before it ever happened. In 1986

Akers and Sellers (2013) has stated that social learning theory is an expanded theory of differential association processes and improves it with differential reinforcement and other principles of the behavior theory. They added classical conditioning (the sharpening of involuntary reflex behavior); discriminative stimuli (internal stimuli that lead to signals for behavior); schedules of reinforcement (rewards and punishment ratio following behavioral feedback); and other theories of behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2013).

Operant conditioning focuses on a system of reinforcement and punishers where actions will have a consequence (Skinner, 2016). In operant conditioning, behaviour that is reinforced will be strengthened while behaviour that is not reinforced will weaken with time (Skinner, 2016). There are three types of operants. The neutral operants that will neither increase nor decrease the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). The reinforcers will increase the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). The punishers will decrease the chances of repeating a behaviour (Skinner, 2016). Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour as an individual gains rewards through it (Skinner, 2016). Negative reinforcement strengthens the behaviour by removing an unpleasant consequence

Negative and positive reinforcements and extinction strengthen certain kinds of behavior of individuals. Punishment is a big form of operant conditioning used all over the world. When people are punished, it is to decrease that certain behavior produced by the individual. Therefore, behavioral theory refers to conditioning which leads to different behavioral pattern of juvenile offenders.

The Differential Association Theory, established by Edwin Sutherland in 1947, explicit the deviance of an individual's behavior and how it is learned through interaction with others or associations. There are several components that play a role in this theory that determines the main causes of delinquency. One of the components of this theory is, a person do not inherently become a criminal, it is a learned behavior. A person cannot decide one day he wants to commit a crime if he is not influence or challenge by others. When someone engages in criminal acts, they are most likely influence in some way that motivates them to commit the crime.

One of the subcategories of Social Learning Theory is the Differential Association Theory first developed by Edwin H. Sutherland in 1939 in a text call Principles of criminology. The basic steps to this theory are. (Sutherland, 1939)

Differential association theory enables the prediction crime and an understand the cause of criminal behaviour. The Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh in Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning defines it as “a process by which individuals come to have differential access to criminal values through interaction with other people” In summary it suggests that delinquent behaviour is learned thought interaction with other pro-criminal people. Initially DAT was presented by Sutherland in 1939, however in 1947 it was revised, consisting of nine outlining principles. These include: criminal behaviour is learned, criminal behaviour is learned in interactions with other people, criminal behaviour occurs in an intimate group, criminal learnings include techniques and motives, motives are learned from definitions of legal codes as favourable or unfavourable, a person is a criminal because of excess of of definitions favourable to the violation of law over definitions unfavourable to the violation of law, differential association varies, the processes of learning criminal behaviour is the same mechanism as learning any other processes and both criminal and noncriminal behaviours are expression of the same needs and value. These outlining principles form the bases of the theory. DAT has remained one of the most influential theories in understanding the impact of group behaviour and the formation of criminal behaviour.

Skinner was a behaviorist who wanted to provide a method for understanding human behavior, thoughts, and emotions. Skinner believed that classical conditioning was to simplistic to be a complete explanation of the complex human behavior. Skinner believed the best way to understand any behavior is to look directly at the causes of an action and its consequences. He defined this approach as operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is defined as “ the idea that behavior is determined by its consequences, be they reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur again” (B. F. Skinner, 2011). The behavioral model observes human behavior as a practical and useful response. This model acknowledges that every behavior has a purpose and has advanced from the earlier stages of a person's understanding. Skinner created a way to allow individuals the ability to avoid negative behaviors. His theory uses positive and negative reinforcements while covering affective punishments to make sure a student's bad behavior does not turn into a pattern. According to our textbook, “one defining characteristic of the behavioral model is that it views behavior from a functional perspective in terms that are both measurable and observable (Wheeler, 2014,p.17).”