Placing Minority Group Gangs: The Social Learning Theory

The Social Learning Theory “suggests that much human behavior is learned from modeling others” (pg 118, Thompson). According to Winfree in his article Social Learning, “the theory specifies [on] the general social learning mechanisms by which the rationalizations, norms, rules, and motivations of non-normative behavior are learned but it also specifies the riles of positive and negative social mechanisms, all of which work to condition the ‘learner’ towards or away from crime...behavior is ‘acquired or conditioned by the effects, outcomes or consequences it has on the person’s environment.” (149). According to (Social Learning Winfree) the behavior of these gang members are reinforced depending on the response from others. A positive response from others results in the delinquent

Another sociological theory under the social learning theory is the differential definitions, which “conceived to be a product of the process whereby the individual, through interactions with others, learns evaluations of behavior as good or bad. Deviant behavior is more likely to result when individuals develop definitions that are favorable rather than unfavorable to that behavior. The pro-deviance differential-definition measure used in this study was grounded in the ‘gang experience” (158, winfree, social learning). “Placing minority-group gang membership in a theoretical context is crucial if the goal is to develop a broader understanding of youth gangs…one theory that has shown promise as a culture-free explanation of youthful misconduct is Akers’ social learning theory rests entirely on the ‘assumption of conflict between cultures and that one always obeys the norms of one’s group” (106-107, Winfree, Hispanics). There is a Gang Resistance Education and Treating programs which is a “school-based gang-prevention curriculum that has demonstrated evidence of effectiveness. Law enforcement officers middle school students a 13-week curriculum that