Social Learning Theory

OTHER THEORIES
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
This theory mentioned that people gain the desire and skills to commit crimes from
their associates (Steven Briggs, 2009). Criminal behaviour is learned; it's not inherited, and a
person who is not trained in crime doesn't invent criminal behaviour. Criminal activity is
taught through the mechanism of verbal communication for demonstrates through interaction
with other persons. Criminal behaviour is taught through close social communities. The
learning of crime involves the techniques of crimes and their motives, drives, rationalizations
and attitudes. An abundance of personal reactions encouraging the violation of the law makes
an individual delinquent.
This was the foundation for Akers's (1968, 1973; Akers, Krohn, Lanza-Kaduce, &
Radosevich, 1979) further development of the theory, which he came more often to refer to
as social learning theory. Sutherland's differential association theory is contained in nine
propositions:
 Criminal behaviour is learned.

 Criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with other persons in the process of
communication.
 The principal part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal
groups.
 When criminal behaviour is learned, the learning includes (a) techniques of committing
the crime, which is sometimes very complicated, sometimes very simple, and (b) the
specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.
 The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal
codes as favourable or unfavourable.
 A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favourable to

violation of law over definitions unfavourable to violation of the law.
 The process of learning criminal behaviour by association with criminal and anti-
criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning.
 Although criminal behaviour is an expression of general needs and values, it is not

explained by those general needs and values, because noncriminal behaviour is an
expression of the same needs and values.
 Differential association varies in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. The most
frequent, longest-running, earliest and closest influences will be most efficacious or
determinant of learned behaviour.
To describe their revised version in terms of its modifications and derivations from the
original theory (as exemplified in Sutherland's [1947] nine principles), Burgess and Akers
(1966) offered the following seven principles that illustrate the process wherein learning
takes place:
 Criminal behaviour is learned according to the principles of operant conditioning (a

reformulation of Sutherland's Principles 1 and 8).
 Criminal behaviour is learned both in nonsocial situations that are reinforcing or
discriminative and through that social interaction in which the behaviour of other
persons is reinforcing or discriminative for criminal behaviour (a reformulation of
Sutherland's Principle 2).
 The principal part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs in those groups which
comprise the individual's major source of reinforcements (a reformulation of
Sutherland's Principle 3).
 The learning of criminal behaviour, including specific techniques, attitudes, and

avoidance procedures, is a function of the effective and available reinforcers, and the
existing reinforcement contingencies (reformulation of Sutherland's Principle 4).
 The specific class of behaviours which are learned and their frequency of occurrence
are a function of the reinforcers which are effective and available, and the rules or
norms by which these reinforcers are applied (a reformulation of Sutherland's Principle
5).
 Criminal behaviour is a function of norms which are discriminative for criminal
behaviour, the learning of which takes place when such behaviour is more highly
reinforced than noncriminal behaviour (reformulation of Sutherland's Principle 6).
 The strength of criminal behaviour is a direct function of the amount, frequency, and
probability of its reinforcement (reformulation of Sutherland's Principle 7)
Burgess and Akers (1966)
Originally considered the imitation element of the behavioral learning process (or modeling)
to be subsumed under the broad umbrella of operant conditioning; that is, imitation was itself
seen as simply one kind of behavior that could be shaped through successive approximations
and not a separate behavioral mechanism. However, Akers later began to accept the
uniqueness of the learning mechanism of imitation from operant or instrumental learning and
to discuss it in terms of observational learning or vicarious reinforcement. Burgess and Akers
also recognized the importance of additional behavioral components and principles of
learning theory, such as classical conditioning, discriminative stimuli, schedules of
reinforcement, and other mechanisms.
Considering the brief overview of social learning theory as described earlier, the central
assumption and proposition of social learning theory can be best summarized in the two
following statements:
The basic assumption in social learning theory is that the same learning process in a context
of social structure, interaction, and situation, produces both conforming and deviant behavior.
The difference lies in the direction . . . [of] the balance of influences on behavior.
The probability that persons will engage in criminal and deviant behavior is increased and the
probability of their conforming to the norm is decreased when they differentially associate
with others who commit criminal behavior and espouse definitions favorable to it, are
relatively more exposed in-person or symbolically to salient criminal/deviant models, define
it as desirable or justified in a situation discriminative for the behavior, and have received in
the past and anticipate in the current or future situation relatively greater reward than
punishment for the behavior. (Akers, 1998, p. 50)
It is worth emphasizing that social learning theory is a general theory in that it offers an
explanation for why individuals first participate in crime and deviance, why they continue to
offend, why they escalate/deescalate, why they specialize/generalize, and why they choose to
desist from criminal/deviant involvement. Social learning theory also explains why
individuals do not become involved in crime/deviance, instead opting to participate only in
conforming behaviors. Thus, considering the generality of the theory as an explanation for an
individual's participation in (or lack thereof) prosocial and pro-criminal behaviors, more
attention is devoted in the following paragraphs to fleshing out the four central concepts of
Akers's social learning theory that have received considerable (yet varying) amounts of
attention and empirical support in the criminological literature: differential association,
definitions, differential reinforcement, and imitation (Akers, 1985, 1998; Akers et al., 1979).
STRENGTHS
 Change in Environment, Change in the individual - aspect of social learning

theory says that individual learn in a social context. This reinforces the idea that when
there is a change in the environment, the behaviour may change.
 Different Ways of Learning - there are multiple modes of learning. Individuals can
learn through direct experiences or observation.
 Accurate and easy to understand
WEAKNESSES
 Does not take into account physical and mental changes

 Doesn't explain behavioral differences
 Doesn't take into account that what one person views as punishment, another person
may view as a reward
There are many ways in which human beings learn. One of the most effective ways is by
watching, observing, and modeling others, and this is known as a social learning theory.
The Bobo Doll Experiment

Human beings have the ability to learn in a number of ways. In the field of psychology, many
different theories have been developed that have focused on learning and how learning can
allow a person to develop new skills and behaviors. A psychologist named Albert Bandura
developed one of the most widely accepted theories, called Bandura's social learning theory.
In the early 1960s, Albert Bandura conducted a famous experiment called the Bobo doll
experiment. In the experiment, he had children observe a video of an adult aggressively
playing with toys, including a Bobo doll. A Bobo doll is basically a large blow-up doll that
looks like a clown. The adult hit the Bobo doll, knocked it down, and even jumped on it
while yelling words like 'pow!' and 'kick him!' The children were then allowed to play with a
variety of toys, including the Bobo doll, and results indicated that more than half of the
children modeled the adult and engaged in the same aggressive behaviors with the Bobo doll.
This modeling was called Bandura's social learning theory.
Processes Involved in Social Learning Theory

In order for social learning theory to be most effective, four processes need to occur. The four
processes are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
Attention is an essential primary step in observational learning and is our ability to take
notice or to take an interest in something. In order for an individual to observe and learn, he
or she must be able to hold attention to the model. There are several variables that can impact
an observer's ability to maintain attention, as well. These include how attractive the model is,
how similar the model is to the observer, and the liveliness of the model. For example, it's not
hard to imagine one's desire to observe and then model an attractive athlete on a workout
video or a pretty chef on the Food Network. We want to be like them, and they easily hold
our attention.
Retention is the second process that is necessary for successful observational learning. It
refers to retaining the information that is observed. In order for a person to be able to use the
information that is observed, he or she must be able to retain the information for later
reference.
Reproduction is the next step necessary for observational learning. In order for an individual
to model the behavior of others, it is essential to actually possess the ability to perform the
behavior. The behavior must be something that is realistic. For example, not everyone has the
skill and ability to be an Olympic athlete, no matter how many models we observe.
The final process necessary for observational learning is motivation. In order for an
individual to model and repeat a specific behavior, he or she needs to maintain some form of
motivation, or reason to perform the behavior. If we do not have the desire to learn, the
observation may not influence learning.
Lesson Summary
Through his research and theories, Albert Bandura has significantly contributed to the
understanding of human learning and behavior. He developed one of the most widely
accepted theories, called Bandura's social learning theory. It is understood that observational
learning requires numerous processes in order for it to be effective. These four processes are
attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Successful completion of these processes
allows an individual to learn new behaviors through the observation and modeling of others.

Social Learning Theory

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OTHER THEORIES

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

 Criminal behaviour is learned.

 A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favourable to

 Although criminal behaviour is an expression of general needs and values, it is not

 Criminal behaviour is learned according to the principles of operant conditioning (a

 The learning of criminal behaviour, including specific techniques, attitudes, and

Burgess and Akers (1966)

 Change in Environment, Change in the individual - aspect of social learning

 Accurate and easy to understand

 Does not take into account physical and mental changes

The Bobo Doll Experiment

Processes Involved in Social Learning Theory

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