Social Learning Theory: The Reasoning Of An Underground Subculture

Being a teenager is a memorable experience, for anyone. Some things about it haven’t changed, and probably never will. Awkward love triangles, embarrassing school photos, these things seem to stay with us throughout the decades. However, the fads of dieting, use of language, and human interactions certainly have changed between when my mother was a teenage in the 1970s, and now, in the 2010s

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).

Although high school experiences are of value and contribute social skills to the lifestyles of teenagers, Leon Botstein’s critique of the American high school sufficiently addressed the concerns with the high school educational system. Botstein articulates his opinion at the beginning of paragraph three with the clear statement that “the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of life” which teenagers are expeditiously learning. Students are not being properly prepared for the trials they will encounter in their adult lives after they graduate from high school and into this true barbarous world. This generation of graduates will be innovating society and reaching new heights. Schools should be shaping creative and problem solving individuals that can be easily integrated into society. The president of Bard College and the author of Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture, Leon Botstein, outlines the issues that are affecting high school education in his 1999 writing of Let Teenagers Try Adulthood.

Every public school lunch room is filled with many tables, every day these tables are the perfect place for a student to find where they “belong”. Like Beverly Daniel Tatum states in “Why Are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, part of the social groups forming in high schools goes to thank adolescents. Tatum writes, “As children enter adolescence, they begin to explore the question of identity, asking ‘Who am I?’ ‘Who can I be?’”(375). At this point in their life everyone begins to see their own interests and hobbies that makes them a little different than others. Because students are starting to realize their differences, in modern day high schools there are many social groups that students can identify with and feel the most comfortable being themselves.

The “Coming of Age” has changed since 1967 even though the same challenges remain there are many more new challenges that teens face today. The lifestyle that typical teens grow up in is nothing like Ben’s, however, we still go through emotional mental and physical struggles. There’s are new challenges in college majors, relationships that make things harder to work out today then they were before.

Social learning theory determines that an individual learn as they move along their cognitive process(Bandura,1963). Such person studied the context of social structure, interaction, and situation produces when committing a crime. Similarly as rational choice theory, they weight the cost and reward before conducting the crime, yet there has been a long period of time of learning for the individual with social learning theory. He or she is more likely to be exposed to a person or symbolically to justify the act of crime, and define it as a desirable or a right behavior(Akers, 1998). There is a high likelihood that the individual 's close family members or friends are involved with criminal activities, or is motivated to commit crime by media violence, including movies, television, Internet, literature, and radio. The person has already got a a criminal nature before they actually committed the crime,. If a person, as a child, has been traveled in car with his parents, it is very likely for him to learn how to drive a car when he reaches adulthood(Jeffery, 1965). Similarly, if the person learn the skill and knowledge from their family member, he or she could execute them well later in their crimes.

In secondary or ‘high school’, it has been proven that societies without the concept of “teenage” do not experience what

Socioeconomics, the study of social and economic factors and how the combination of both influences something, plays a major role in shaping the American youth. Today, society as a whole can notice that our younger generation is focused on popular culture, which defines what one should look like through television, movies, music, etc. The media bombards the American youth with its’ advertising on the popular culture. All these images are engraved in adolescents’ minds, consciously and subconsciously. Based on the statistical data from this impact, the American youth is regressing concerning the topics of education and common sense when compared to other countries.

The teen years for many adolescents have been proven to be a time of relationship identity, growth and struggle. Such is the case in the abovementioned movie. The adolescents in this movie, tackle issues that are synonymous with being a developing teenager. For instance, peer pressure, academic challenges and parent-teen conflicts were easily visible throughout the movie. Many of the adolescents had a strong tendency to mesh with other adolescents whose character roles and goals aligned with their own. These adolescents are at a pivotal point in their developmental stage (identity versus identity diffusion) where they are trying to develop a sense of self and personal identity. This is essential for their development into adulthood. In addition,

Today’s youth are creating a new path to social acceptance. By having numerous examples of how people live their lives and the acceptance that such programming has brought. This has made people aware of the many possibilities in life. The technology of today and the openness that pop culture allows has had a huge impact in our world. Our teens have seen the “American Dream” come and go. Some have learned throughout this process, that although pleasurable and comforting, material things are not what makes the world turn. It has become apparent that life is a matter of

My topic for my workshop is focused on young men ages 18-25 years old mandated by the court due to physically abusing their partner. These young men need some short of intervention. My workshop will serve as a last result before they are sentenced to prison for abuse. Not every man who abuses his partner gets a chance to receive assistance for his problem. They need skills in order to challenge their anger and identify the cause of so much aggression. I have decided to use Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory as my family based theory. Social learning theory is the view that people learn by observing others while learning new values, behaviors, and attitudes. I choose Bandura’s Social Learning Theory due to it relating the best to my topic. I chose content area number five and it deals

Today it is normal to see a child throw a tantrum; disobey an adult, such as their parents or a teacher. It is agreed that society and peers have a high impact on how these children learn what they know. Albert Bandura is known for Social Learning Theory, the theory states that people learn new things and develop new behavior by observing other people (Explorable.com). Bandura is known for one of his most famous experiment which was the 1961 Bobo doll study. In the experiment, he made a film in where a woman was shown beating a Bobo doll and shouting words. The film after was shown to a group of children. After the film, the children were put in a room to play, that had a Bobo doll. The children immediately began to beat the doll, imitating what they had seen previously in the film (Cherry, About.com). Child deviance can explain by applying social learning theory fundamental elements. These elements are people learn

According to bandura (1963) “It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.” Bandura (1971) explained “Social learning theory as a theory of learning and social behavior which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others.” Renzetti et. al, (2012) say that “In addition to the observation of behavior, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as vicarious reinforcement. When a particular behavior is rewarded regularly, it will most likely persist; conversely, if a particular behavior is constantly punished, it will most likely desist.” According to Muro & Jeffrey (2008) “Social learning theory is increasingly cited as an essential component of sustainable natural resource management and the promotion of desirable behavioural change.” (Bandura, 1977) “People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those

Some have said that adolescence is the most striking yet dramatic period of life. Today’s youth plays a major role in molding the future of our country, yet they could make or break the reputation of our nation. Being the youth of America, we are at the center of absolute power. We are expected by adults to uphold, to carry on, and to remember the traditions and ways of the past but it is also expected that young people will learn, adapt, and embrace the ways of the future. Youth Teen tends to get misguided by the unfitting morals and values. I feel as if the standards of learning had declined, and teens are not as educated as they should be. Education is one of the fundamental factors of life and for the youth, and it is important because it trains your mind to be rational and to think more sensibly.

Teens are expected early on to do “everything right” and to have their lives planned out. Today, teens are expected to know what they want to do after high school- where they want to work. For an example, in the breakfast club, Brian is pressured to have the best grades and to already have his life together. When he was on his way into detention his mother said, “well mister you figure out a way to study” (Hughes, 1985) even though he couldn’t. At school there is a scope of scholastic weights teens feel, from requirement for flawless grades. Teens must do well because it is assumed that all teens will/must go to the best college if they want to “succeed” and that puts on a ton of pressure on them. Most teens that go to school suffer from panic attacks and anxiety due to all the pressures they must succeed. For an example, in the breakfast club, Brian suffers from depression and brings a gun to school after getting a failing grade in a shop project. He joins the ranks of