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Akers social learning theory
The development of social learning theory can be traced back to the work of Robert L. Burgess and Ronald L. Akers in 1966
Social learning theory
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In the 2006 hit movie Alpha Dog Emile Hirsch plays the role of a young marijuana dealer named Johnny Truelove. Supplied by his father Sonny, Johnny distributed marijuana to buyers with the help of his closest friends . This act of deviancy gave him power and authority over the people In his life. Even so much authority that he could have someone killed by just a simple request. Throughout the film there were many characters that played a critical role in the kidnapping and murder of Zack Mazursky. However Johnny 's character stands out the most to me mainly because even though his criminal behavior prevailed he portrayed both delinquent and charismatic acts throughout the film. What was even more intriguing to me was how his character continued …show more content…
These four variables help better understand Johnny 's criminal behavior throughout the film. First we look at the theory of Differential Association. Right away the word association stands out to me. To me being associated with someone means to be apart of one another 's lives enough to make an impact. I would also say that being associated with someone would require a significant amount of time spent together on a level greater than strangers. Unfortunately in Johnny 's case everyone in his life was a negative influence.His group of close friends along with himself were nothing more than pot smoking privileged white guys attempting to live a gangster life. The differential aspect is important to the behavior someone portrays. In the Social Learning Theory Aker 's puts great emphasis on who a person associated with. Almost as if a person is a product of their environment. "This element of Aker 's Social Learning Theory might suggest that crime results from those who 's role models are criminals and thus who associate with people whole behaviors different or abnormal." (Miller, et al., 2015 p. …show more content…
Sure Johnny 's behavior was prolonged by his willingness of his friends to commit the same crime as he was committing but according to Aker 's the overall behavior had to start someone. This brings me to the idea of Imitation. Which is essentially the art of mimicking someone yet being unware of the consequences a particular action may bring. (Miller, Schreck, Tewksbury, & Barnes, 2015) I can 't help but think that at the root of Johnny 's behavioral problems lye 's his own father. With poor parenting being portrayed at multiple times throughout the movie it was clear to see that his biggest inspirations were his father and grand-father. In particular I 'd like to point out the lack of structure he had as a young man. His father in particular acted as if he were Johnny 's boss when referring to marijuana sales. Taking request and specific amount orders he gave Johnny no reason to deter from his actions only approval of them. He was never taught differently therefore he is living the life he deems normal to him based on what he 's witnesses and been taught throughout his
Differential Association Theory The film “Blow” covers many different topics of differential association theories. The attitudes, the values, and the motives for criminal behavior as learned behavior. The film Blow, goes into the start of a young kid name George Jung, his parents want him to have values and live a wonderful life for himself. George is raised with father owning his own business, a stay home mother.
Differential association theory was founded by Edwin H. Sutherland (Lilly, 2012, p. 43). This theory states that “any person will inevitably come into contact with definitions favorable to violation of the law and with definitions unfavorable to violation of the law” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Whichever definition is more prominent in a person’s mind, will lead to their decision of “whether the person embraces crime as an acceptable way of life” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Sutherland composed nine propositions that explained the theory. He explained that “crime is learned through the process of differential association” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). The nine propositions explained that “criminal behavior is learned” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). He explained that by communicating with others, especially those that are close to them they are more likely to pick up behaviors from those people. Differential association theory also explains that learning criminal behaviors “involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). While learning a criminal behavior one not only learns “the techniques of committing the crime” but also the “specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes” involved with crime (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). This is theory is shown throughout the book when the young Mr. Moore was influenced by the life of crime that was present in his
Johnny’s father, an alcoholic who had thrown a flat-iron at his head, was clearly unsafe for Johnny to live with. As a result, Johnny had run away. After a brief stint living on a farm, Johnny returned to New York City (it is suggested that Johnny still loved his father, despite his abusive nature, prompting his return). Johnny had even tried attending school, but found it too difficult to balance homelessness with the demands school places on a person. This condemned Johnny to a life in the streets, boot blacking. However, from the way Dick speaks to Johnny, repeatedly calling him lazy either to his face or as an aside to the reader, one would think he had chosen this life.
Even though he was a skilled worker, he was proud, and full of arrogance. But after his terrible tragedy, his rude character died in the birth and death room, and Johnny was reborn as a more patient and caring person. He still won't take pity from anyone, but on the inside he is probably crying out for help. Although he has no one to talk to, he does have special talents that help keep him going strong.
The two theories that are being analyzed in this paper are Ronald Akers’ Social Learning Theory and Travis Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory. Hirschi's social bonding theory is one of many control theories which all take on the task of explaining the core cause of crime; however, this particular theory seems to be the most popular and able to stand the test of time. The Social Bond theory contains four elements that explain what criminals lack that causes them to be more prone to illegal activity, these elements are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. On the other end of the spectrum is Akers’ Social Learning Theory, which attempts to explain the correlation between and individual's social environment and their behavior depending on what is praised or punished in an individual's specific social organization. (Walsh & Hemmens)
Ernest Hemingway once said, “All things truly wicked start from innocence.” This quote is relevant to the story, The Outsiders, because sixteen year old Johnny Cade is considered innocent. Johnny is still considered innocent because he is not yet an adult. Another reason he might be believed innocent is because he is quiet, small for his age, and the pet of a group called ‘The Greasers’. However, his conceived innocence is soon diluted not by adulthood, but the truly wicked act of murder. He and Ponyboy Curtis were running away when some guys from another group called ‘The Socs’ stopped them and were going to beat them up. Johnny ended the impending fight quickly by stabbing Bob Sheldon, one of the Socs, in the back because he had told David to drown Ponyboy. During this paper our group proves our verdict, innocent.
At least the father could realize that fact on his own. The only good thing that could possibly come out of this father-son relationship is that Johnny will learn a lesson from it, and will never treat his son this way, that is if he has a one. When the father finally realizes that he and his son’s bad relationship is all his fault it is too late. The damage had already been done. All his son wanted was to have a caring father and he realized this too late. At least Johnny had a good mother, who really cared about him. All though I think that Johnny’s mother should have confronted her husband about his actions. Johnny will be scarred for life from his childhood and will never be able to trust someone fully. This is all his dad’s fault, and I hope that Johnny’s father regrets and feels the pain of losing his son’s truth for the rest of his life. He deficiently deserves to after all of his careless actions,what he did was unforgivable. I cannot relate to Johnny and how he must have felt, but I can imagine it was horrible. His dad was selfish and reckless and Johnny deserved better. He deserved a dad who was
Johnny and Dallas are two very similar characters. For example, they both have neglectful parents. Dally was jailed at the age of ten and spent three years on the deleterious side of New York.He became hard and cold, with a hatred of the world, all because he didn’t get the proper attention. Dally himself mentions, "Blast it, Johnny, what do they matter? Shoot, my old man don't give a hang whether I'm in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don't bother me none." Dally is spitting out evidence of his dad’s negligence and shows the irresponsible personality of him. If Dally had been given affection, maybe he would not have been jailed, start gangs, accost others, and be a delinquent. ...
Johnny how he would not like Johnny to go to jail because he does not
indirect association and identification with more distant reference groups” (Social Learning theory, 2016). Any human being that an individual has direct or indirect contact with, has the ability to influence social learning. These influences can be positive or negative and have a direct correlation with criminal and non-criminal behaviour. There are two major forms of association, primary and secondary (Cochran & Sellers, 2017). Family and friends are considered primary associations, and other individuals such as neighbors, teachers and church groups are considered secondary associations (Social Learning theory, 2016). Studies show that learning criminal behavior occurs mostly within the primary groups, but may also be influenced by secondary associations. Akers also recognizes that the timing, length, frequency and nature of the contact influence behaviour (Social Learning theory, 2016). For example, if a child spends a large portion of each day with friends who misbehave, the child has a greater chance of misbehaving as
Ideally, the theory bases its argument on the economical disadvantages social classes in a society claiming that lower class neighborhoods cause stress, frustration, and disorganization that motivates individuals to commit crimes. For instance, children raised in lower class families face hardships, which in return, creates strains. In the event they succumb to the strains, any slight opportunity to commit a crime, like stealing, is quickly utilized. In addition, children raised in upper class neighborhoods are prone to criminal offenses that are associated with influence. Research by Einstadter, Werner & Stuart (2006) says that criminal offenses, such as drug abuse, are more common to people raised in wealthy families. Therefore, the social backgrounds in which a person is brought up influences the type of criminal acts they engage in. Moreover, social structure influences individuals to commit some crimes and not others. As put forward by Robert Marton, the theory views crime as way of responding to existing conditions that limit one’s ability to achieve economic success in
They can be easily learned from parents, relatives, friends, or other peers. In other words, delinquency can be learned through interactions and associations with other people. This is because “people learn behaviors and definitions of behaviors [through] interactions with [others]” (Brauer & Coster, 2012, p. 378). In the interview, the man mentions how he didn’t know why exactly he behaved the way he did, but he does come to the conclusion that paying close attention to those who you decide to surround yourself with is quite significant. The social learning theory is founded on research that has indicated that the strongest factors that correlate with delinquency are the affiliation with delinquent peers. From the very beginning he knew that his social sphere was toxic as they participated in delinquent behavior together. Peers are powerful influences and incredible learning tools, thus when an adolescent is exposed to negative influences, the learning process and imitation of criminal behavior facilitates. Although, in some instances, learning delinquent behaviors is more of a genetic makeup problem rather than a social issue. According to research “some people may be more receptive to the [type of] learning they receive from their delinquent peers” causing a “more readily [reinforcement of] their own delinquent behavior by
It also includes the factors of social environment. It recognizes more factors of influence, building on trait theory. Arousal theory provides that individuals have different levels of arousal affected by the nervous system, chemistry in the brain, and heart rhythm. The basic idea of this theory is that certain actions, including the act of committing a crime, causes a “thrill” to some. They seek out the thrill and stimulation provided by these actions. Thus, a feeling that is positive, created by an action, will cause someone to seek out that feeling. Genetic theory is another trait theory. Genetics being the sole influence that might make a person behave in a certain way is the explanation of this theory. A certain genetic configuration causes personality traits, and determines behaviors the individual will be likely to have. Attachment theory uses psychology to suggest that criminal behavior is linked with a lack of a personal relationship or attachment as an infant. This lack of positive attachment to a motherly figure leads to psychological problems, such as antisocial behavior. Nature theory is that criminal activity is based on IQ, whereas a low IQ means more of a possibility of criminal behavior. Social structure theory provides that social and economic events and
The major premise of this is that the development of the unconscious personality early in childhood influences behavior for the rest of a person’s life. Criminals have weak egos and damaged personalities. The main focus of this is mental illness. In regards to social learning theory, one’s criminal behavior is learned through human interactions. Learning theories help explain the role that peers, family, and education play in shaping criminal and conventional behaviors. If crime were a matter of personal traits alone, these elements of socialization would not play such an important a part in determining human behaviors. Mental illness is part of the major crime causation for trait theory. According to some estimates, as much as 50% of the U.S. prison population suffers from some form of mental
...ls. Thus, the removal of positively valued stimuli, and the presence of negative stimuli at an early age, along with the failure to achieve positively valued goals led to feelings of anger and resentment that eventually lead Dillinger to express illegitimate coping. Dillinger’s lack of constraints such as social support, perceptions of social control, and community variables also made it possible for him to associate with delinquent peers such as Singleton and later with members of his gang. The prolonged associations with delinquent peers made it more likely for Dillinger to continue committing criminal acts. Thus, the continuous presences of strain, negative emotions and dispositions led Dillinger to become a criminal because Dillinger did not cope with those negative emotions in a positive way, which could have reduced the chances of committing criminal activity.