The Social Learning Theory

High crime rates are an ongoing issue through the United States, however the motivation and the cause of crime has yet to be entirely identified. Ronald Akers would say that criminality is a behavior that is learned based on what an individual sees and observes others doing. When an individual commits a crime, he or she is acting on impulse based on actions that they have seen others engage in. Initially during childhood, individuals learn actions and behavior by watching and listening to others, and out of impulse they mimic the behavior that is observed. Theorist Ronald Akers extended Sutherland’s differential association theory with a modern viewpoint known as the social learning theory. The social learning theory states that

There are many theories that contribute to what may cause Juvenile Delinquency, one of which is called Social Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory states that behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through intimate contact with others or indirectly through media. Social learning theorist Albert Bandura, Walter Mischel, and Richard Walters indicate that children model their behavior according to the reactions they receive from others, the behavior of their parents, and the behavior they view through media.

as a general concept, social learning theory has been applied to the many different fields of social science to explain why certain individuals develop motivation to commit (or abstain from) crime and develop the skills to commit crime through the people they associate with. Social Learning Theory (SLT) is one of the most frequently looked at theories in the criminology field. This theory was introduced by Ronald L. Akers as a reformulation of Edwin H. Sutherland 's (1947) differential association theory of crime meld with principles of behavior psychology (Bradshaw, 2011). Akers retained the concepts of differential association and definitions from Sutherland 's theory, but conceptualized them in more behavioral terms and

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

Qualitative descriptions suggest that, for many, gang membership represents 104 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / May 2005an opportunity to enhance social capital as a means to cope with a multitude of problems. Although on balance gang life appears to be neither very rewarding nor satisfying (Hagedorn, 1988), identification with the gang is solidified in response to conflict—often with other gangs—as members pursue their individual and collective interests.

In this case joining a gang will qualify as the guidance within peers and themselves. However, there are many different types of gangs, but most gangs lead to destructive paths which includes negative impacts and influences. The term gang can be defined as a group of people with mutual interests who gather together for social reasons. Most people in a gang are of youth and adolescent age. Seeing how some youth can be emotionally unstable may feel the need of comfort with others who are just as the same. Negative unstable behavior with others can create destructive outcomes which will lead probably to a road of crime.

The Social Learning Theory is similar to the Differential Association Theory in the respect that they both depend on the approval of others. It says that "...crime is something learned by normal people as they adapt to other people and the conditions of their environment" (Bohm, 2001: 82). People learn by reinforcement weather it is positive or negative. Growing up Kody began to feel more and more that his mom no longer expressed any love or care for him, but that she only nagged him. After returning home from juvenile hall the greeting that Kody got from his mother wasn't exactly what he wanted. "I knew she meant well, but I wasn't up to it tonight. I wanted to be loved, to be missed, to be wanted, not scolded" (Scott, 1993: 173). The

Aker wants people to develop motivation to commit crime, and the skills to commit crime through the people they associate with. The social learning is that when people learn bad behavior by watching others and learning from the social factors in their daily lives. They also see with differential association and imitation can be either positive or negative. On the positive side we see when people are rewarded for their action we began to see more crime occur. Though on the negative side we see can still see a lot of crime occur, but when they know what the consequences are for the crime they are less likely to do it again, or even commit a crime. Though the social learning theory gives us four central concepts. They are differential association,

Social learning theory, developed by Bandura, discusses how people learn from one another through observation, modeling, and imitation bridging an individual’s attention, memory and motivation. Social learning theory identifies the importance of cognition, observable behavior, individual self-efficacy, and the extent of how the events surrounding an individual affect them; their locus of control. Social learning theory also looks at individual problem behavior being influenced by positive or negative reinforcement (Ashford & LeCroy, 2012).

Social learning theory refers to Akers’ theory of crime and deviance. Akers attempted to specify the mechanism and processes through which criminal learning takes place by explaining crime and deviance; he did this in such a way that the likelihood of conforming or deviant behavior based on the influence of an individual’s history of learning was accounted for. This theory was based off Sutherland’s differential association

Why do criminals commit crime? How to we learn to commit crime? These questions can be answered using social learning theory. "Social learning approach is the assumption that all human behavior is socially learned" (Thompson, Bynum 2013 115). The theory of differential association was developed by Edwin Sutherland to try and explain the development of criminal behavior. Essentially what this theory says is that deviant group behavior results from normative conflict. Normative conflict arises when multiple probable rules exist, specifying how one ought to behave in a given situation. Conflicts among norms affect deviant people of a variety of social groups. An individual is part of many social groups including friends, family, and school. Every group has its own set of social norms. Sometimes the norms between these groups can conflict with each other resulting in the possibility of deviant behavior

Trying to understand why crime happens if a very important concept. Throughout history, criminologist have debated on which theory of crime is most accurate. Currently, social bond and social learning theory are two of the leading theories in the criminological world. Between these two theories there are a variety of differences and similarities. In addition to these theories Gottfredson and Hirschi have published a book where they use the concept of self control to describe crime. Analyzing these three theories can be important to understanding the current criminological world.

Based on Ronald Akers ideology of social learning theory, many people commit crimes based on the observations they encounter. These observations can come from a number of sources such as, media, family, and peers. Family and friends as well as the social norms of a neighborhood can be influential to an individual because of acceptance. This theory also says that based on positive or negative reinforcements an individual’s behavior will be based on the rewards or punishments that are given. If given an opportunity to change the violence that occurs among neighborhoods there are many who choose to do so (Akers, 1990).

Akers’ social learning theory’s basic premise is that deviant behavior is learned. The theory has four components. First is definitions, where a person considers his behavior is normal. Definitions can be general or specific.

Firstly, different association theory can be applied to explain more types of crimes since the theory argues that individuals can learn to commit crimes. Sutherland and Cressey (1974) state that criminal behavior is not inherited, it is the result of a learning process. In the debates of nature vs. nurture, Sutherland and Cressey lean towards the nurture side as they argue that people have blank slate and all behaviors are learnt, including criminal ones. A number of recent researches have supported the ideas of learnt behavior as Thornberry (2009) claims that criminal behavior can be learnt from deviant parents. From a different perspective, academics suggest that criminal behavior can also be passed over through the interaction with delinquent friends (Hochstetler, Copes & DeLisi, 2002) and romantic partners (Haynie, Giordano, Manning & Longmore, 2005).