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Insight about Social Learning Theory
Juvenile delinquency social learning theory
Social learning theory and criminal behaviour
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Recommended: Insight about Social Learning Theory
Delinquency is made up of many theories, but the primary hypothesis that it consists of is the social learning theory. The social learning theory consists of teaching right acts instead of delinquent acts since the person is a child. It consists of the learning from other whether it includes parents, peers, or even television. Delinquency is learned, people are not born to be criminals, for the most part they are born to be good and they should be taught to do well, in some instances however the lack of discipline affects a person’s acts and/or personality. The emphasis of social learning is that individuals learn acts and ways of thinking from others. For example a child whose parents are drug users will eventually learn to do drugs as well from his/her parents, or another example would be if the child's friends are in a gang, the child most likely tag along and learn the ways a gang works.
Even today in the United States, social learning is one of the theories that is most linked to willful neglect, according to Kim, Kwak and Yun. They mentioned the accompanying idea, “Among these explanations, social learning theory and social bonding theory enjoy wide adoption and great respect i (Winfree, Backstrom, & Mays, 1994)n modern criminology.” (Kim, Kwak, & Yun, 2010) That idea gives the audience the understanding that out of all the theories out there social learning and social boding are what people use in theory. The primary thought of the theory is the following; “Social learning theory indicates that crime is learned behavior, acquired through contact with parents or peers.” (Kim, Kwak, & Yun, 2010) Most of the behaviors that are portrayed by delinquents are made up of neglect and loneliness. “Research studies focusing on the ca...
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...under, R., & Rine, C. M. (2011). The Intersection of Social Process and Social Structure Theories to Address Juvenile Crime: Toward a Collaborative Intervention Model. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment , 21:909–925.
Kim, E., Kwak, D.-H., & Yun, M. (2010). Investigating the effects of peer association and parental influence on adolescent substance use: A study of adolescents in South Korea. Journal of Criminal Justice , 17-24.
Prather, W., & Golden, J. A. (2009). Learning and Thinking: A Behavioral Treatise on Abuse and Antisocial Behavior in Young Criminal Offenders. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy , Volume 5, No. 1.
Winfree, L. T., Backstrom, T. V., & Mays, G. L. (1994). Social Learning Theory, Self-Reported Delinquency, and Youth Gangs: A New Twist on a General Theory of Crime and Delinquency. Youth Society , 26: 147.
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)
Siegel, L., & Welsh, B. (2011). Juvenile delinquency the core. (Fourth ed., p. 54). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
Morris (2000) argues that we should see youth crimes as a social failure, not as an individual level failure. Next, Morris (2000) classifies prisons as failures. Recidivism rates are consistently higher in prisons than in other alternatives (Morris, 2000). The reason for this is that prisons breed crime. A school for crime is created when a person is removed from society and labeled; they become isolated, angry and hopeless (Morris, 2000).
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
From 1990 to to the present there has been a sharp increase in juvenile crime across the United States. From 1996 to the present there has been a slight decline from the statistics in 1995(OJJDP). What was the cause for this uprise in juvenile delinquincy? I will discuss 2 different theories to why there was such an increase in juvenile crime rates. I will analyze the rise of the "Gangsta-Rap" culture in the early 1990's and how it may have affected teenagers that are in lower-income families. Many people believe that the increase in real life violence on television is a cause for violence in juveniles. I will discuss the evidence for this theory. It seems to me that the best theory to explain the rise in juvenile crime is the social constructionist theory. Different sub-cultures of teens have higher crime rates than others because of their interests, whether it be the music that they listen to or the types of television programs that they watched as child.
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 individuals commit crime through their association with or exposure to others. According to Akers, people learn how to be offenders based on their observations around them and their association with peers. Theorist Akers states that for one, “people can become involved in crime through imitation—that is by modeling criminal conduct. Second, and most significant, Akers contended that definition and imitation are most instrumental in determining initial forays into crime” (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 2011:57). Although Akers’ theory has been linked to juvenile delinquency in the past, it has also been tested as a possible cause of crime overall. Individuals learn from observation that criminal behavior is justifiable in certain circumstances. In connection with juvenile delinquency and crime, peers and intimate groups have the most effect on individuals when associated with criminal behavior. One is more likely to mimic the behavior of someone who they have close ties with, whether the behavior is justifiable or...
The Social Bond Theory fits well into the life of Willie Bosket. Originated in 1969 by Travis Hirschi, Social Bond Theory argued that through effective socialization, a relationship forms between individuals and a social group. When this bond becomes weak or broken, deviance and a life of crime may result (Schmalleger 107). These bonds include components of communal relationships, including family attachments, individual commitments to social and organized norms, involvement in activities, and the belief that these factors are significant. Since the relationships have been thought to help in decreasing the need to partake in disobedient conduct, a great deal of emphasis is put on the fact that a shortage of these attachments exists among juvenile
The study seeks to determine the most prevalent causes among the criminal population that induce a propensity for criminal behavior. There needs to be a balance among attributing behavior to specific causes, but strong causal designs of intervention programs can risk unsuccessful or uncertain program outcomes, although weak causal reasoning cannot be adopted to practical use and the creation of interventions (Borowski, 2003). Past theories occasionally described juvenile delinquency attributed to a single factor: Poverty and social disorganization in neighborhoods, or more proximal causes such as problematic peer influences or ego deficiency (Borowski, 2003). The approach in recent models has been that delinquent behavior is due to a large number of factors operating at different levels, including both proximal and distal factors. The study will be operate from this perspective because it would be difficult to attribute juvenile delinquency, which can take many forms, to a single factor that invariably serves as a cause in all cases.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
The presentation of negative stimuli has been found to be one of the forerunning causes of delinquency amongst juveniles. Some examples of undesirable stimuli that an adolescent could be facing are child abuse, neglect, and exploitation, hostile relationships with parents teachers and peers, negative academic experiences, neighborhood difficulties, and poverty. If a juvenile is surrounded by individuals who sell drugs in order to finance a way of life that is easier and more financial than their current way of life, the adolescent id more likely to imitate that behavior by association.
Some of the explanations of delinquency insinuates that education, politics, social factors, family issues among others are the main causes of delinquency (Rutter, 2013).Just as these were some of the factors in “There Are No Children Here”. In addition, criminal investigators formulated several theories which explain causes of delinquency. Among them are social factors which are explained through several theories which include Social Reaction Theory also referred to as Labeling theory and Power control
Magnusson (1988) and Brofenbrenner (1979) state that social environment in which a person is embedded is essential in the study of their behavior. The theoretical framework of developmental and life course theories of crime allow for the addition of the dynamic element of time and places an emphasis on the longitudinal processes of how the interaction between the individual and his or her social environments constrain and influence behavior.
Warr, Mark. "Parents, Peers, and Delinquency." Social Forces Vol. 72.No. 1 (Sep., 1993): 247-64. JSTOR. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.