Essay on Social Control Theory vs. Social Learning Theory

Chapter four deals with peers and problems. It gives answers as to why some kids become delinquents and we find out that it stems simply from a pause of laugh response to the behavior of the kid. Mostly this chapter talks about deviance, its pathway, its source and ways to prevent it. Early adolescents are particularly susceptible to deviancy if left unmonitored and or not offered multiple opportunities for prosocial activities.

The research done in this paper provides a better understanding of deviance and social control. There are various factors to research on the topic to develop a complete understanding of the two ideas. Specifically, the goal is to identify factors that directly impact deviance and social control and if one can exist without the other. These topics provide a better understanding of the human behavior and actions because of social control and societal norms. The focus of this discussion is to provide a detailed analysis of societal norms, deviance, and social control. I have used supporting research and my own personal ideas to develop the findings in this paper. It has become evident that without societal norms there would be no social

Social control/bond theory was developed by Travis Hirschi in1969. The social control approach is one of the three major sociological perspectives in understanding crime in our contemporary criminology. The theory holds that individuals will break the law as a result of the breakdown of the social bonds (Akers & Sellers, 2004, p. 16). Control theorists believe that an individual conformity to societal social values and rules produced by socialization and maintained through social ties to the people and institutions. The social bond may include family attachment, an individual commitment to social norms or institutions like school, employment, churches and mosques. The key elements of the social bonds theory are an attachment to other individuals in the society and the desire to remain committed to following rules. In addition, an individual involvement in typical social behaviours as well as one 's belief or the value systems a person ascribes. According to the theory, crime and delinquency will result when a person bond to society is weak or lose (Demuth & Brown, 2004, p.65). Moreover, as social bonds increase in strength, individual costs of crime increases as well and this ultimately act as a barrier for committing a crime.

Social control assumes that people act on the basis of free will, similar to that of Classical theory (which is a version of social control); this was an idea that popularized with the rise of the Enlightenment. There are many variations of this theory, as there are many variations of reasoning people come up with to explain criminal activity. Durkheim theorized that individuals had desires that needed to be regulated by society, Reiss believed that a failure of self control along with the failure of a group to enforce social norms were the two main causes of delinquent activity (Crutchfield, 2008). Travis Hirschi was someone who developed social control theory even further, pointing out flaws in other theories while simultaneously introducing the idea of social bonds. These bonds consist of four basic elements: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Attachment is the bond between an individual and someone they respect or want to be valued by. Commitment is the bond between and individual and an institution, object, etc. Involvement consists of the opportunities someone has to commit and delinquency, and belief involves an individual’s moral beliefs (Hirschi,

The social control theory asserts that an individual, who is involved with a community and has strong family relations, will be less likely to engage in illegal activity than those who do not. If an individual is capable of establishing a positive link with community members, becomes involved and participates in community programs, such as youth, elderly, religious-spiritual, and anti-crime, the individual will most likely refrain from engaging in criminal activity. He or she will consider the consequences of a criminal act prior to committing the act (Psychological Glossary, 2010).

Social Learning theory is a criminology theory established by Ronald Akers. Akers wrote “Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach” to explain what he believed drove individuals to participate in deviant behavior. Social learning theory describes deviance as a learned behavior. When individuals witness others whom they have a close relationship with, such as friends and family, partake in deviant behavior they are likely to engage in the same activities. They begin to believe this behavior is normal and appropriate. These individuals will develop the same definitions for certain actions and adopt the habits of those within their primary group. When they participate in these actions, they may have more positive reactions than negative,

There are a couple of theories that could connect with coercive control and could explain how people start to use it. Social learning theory is one that could be found with a strong connection to coercive control. Social learning theory is when people learn things from others by observing the actions of other people. So, if someone’s parents had previously used coercive control on them or if they had a past relationship where it had happened, then they are more likely to be in an abusive relationship themselves. In some relationships people learn to deal with the abuse in order to prevent more abuse later on. When refusal is followed by more abuse in consequence then that behavior is less likely to happen in future similar situations (Hamberger

Social learning theory is a general theory which takes into account cultural, social, and non-social factors to explain crime and deviance. There has been much support for this theory including cross-culturally, smoking among teens in Iowa stud, Akers test with Drinking of the elderly, cheating with college students, adolescent and drug/alcohol abuse with Boys Town study, and more. Social learning theory states that it social learning shapes a person self-control, so growing up a person that learns from non-deviant peers and family members will learn to have high self-control. This theory focuses on four different concepts to explain crime and deviance.

Unlike the cultural deviance theory, the control theory assumes the existence of a common value system within the society or group whose norms are being (Cullen). If the deviant behavior is committed to a valve system different from that of conventional society, there is, within the context of the theory, nothing to explain (Cullen). Many questions are asked in regard of individual breaking laws that they used obey them. According to Hirschi, the underlying concept he was tapping into was that there is an important link between attitudes and behavior—not in the sense that attitudes motivate people to commit crime, but rather that prosocial attitudes constrain people from committing the crimes they otherwise would have in the absence of such social bonds (i.e.,

Strain theories, as we noted, study the question of why some people violate norms—for example, by committing crimes. Social control theorists are interested in learning why people conform to norms. Control theorists take it for granted that drugs can tempt even the youngest schoolchildren; that truancy can lure otherwise good children onto a path of academic failure and lifetime unemployment; that petty fighting, petty theft, and recreational drinking are attractive features of adolescence. They ask why people conform in the face of so much temptation and peer pressure. The answer, according to social control theory, is that juveniles and adults conform to the law in response to certain controlling forces in their lives. They become criminals

The social learning theory states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction or indirect instruction. In crime social learning theory is mainly learned in the environment around you. It basically says that if you grow up in and with people who commit crimes and it is more socially acceptable for you to also take part in crime that you are more likely to learn to commit crime. If you grew up in a house where crime is not ok and nobody does it then you are more likely to learn to not commit crime. It isn’t like this in all cases but this is just what the theory says. If you are to see your parents or siblings or friends doing crime you may feel more pressure to fit in and the way you see to do that is to partake in committing a crime. Or maybe watching those around you do it has lead you to believe that it isn’t a bad thing to commit crime and that that’s just the way it is. You and “your kind” are bad and are made to commit crimes and that’s just how it has been and always will be and you also have to continue on this trend. Social learning is also learned through punishment and praise. So if you do something bad and all the other guy are like “Hey man, good job.” Or “man, that was tight!” You are more likely to repeat this behavior because you were given praise for it and that makes you feel good and

The proponents of the control theory state that people engage in deviant behavior because they do not have a bond or connection with our social institutions (Goode, 2014). In this case, Goode (2014) remarks

To explain this some theorist state the “rebellious”, deviant behavior comes from frustration, blocked occupational opportunities and or reaction-formation and creates a counter-culture with their own social norm. Culture Conflict Theories suggest just that, the norm of the sub-culture or community and individual belongs to over-ride the norms of the larger societal whole. Social Control or Bond theories are broken down into two sub-categories: external social control and internal social control. (p. 116) The research by Eve focuses on the internal social control theory suggested by Hirschi, which states that the social ties to the collective norm have been broken and therefore the person is free to deviate from conventional social order.

The Age-Graded theory underpins the significance of establishing social capital as a means of reducing delinquency. There are critical events that take place in a delinquent’s life that can either assist the teen to dodge further acts of crime or promote their delinquent career. As professional serving young impressionable adolescents, I would employ diverse strategies to help them acquire social capital. Social capital is important in limiting delinquency. If the juvenile is of age, I would advise that s/he find a part time job that will generate a descent life. Moreover, I would recommend taking part in afterschool activities, local support group or intramural sports. Our community has a safe place for children to play and I would select

Education is an important structure in society that shapes the most important years of your life, and therefore many theorists have ideas about what is wrong with education, what is right, and what needs to change or develop. Education is confined a lot by social control and social reproduction. Social control is a concept that refers to how social systems control the way we feel, think, behave, and even how we should present ourselves. These can appear openly, shown as rules and laws, or they could be not openly acknowledged and just appear as the “common” thing to do. Social reproduction is the reproduction of inequalities throughout generation-to-generation, one way education does this is how it supplies “wealthy” schools more and “poor” schools less. Michael Apple and Maxine Greene both define Social reproductions and Social Control. Throughout this text, I will explain the theories of Greene and Apple, as well as comparing and contrasting them against one another while applying some of my own experiences of education.