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Social influences on behavior
Reasons why some people commit crimes
Students teacher interaction
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This theory is about an idea of which social interactions over the course of a person’s life shape behavior. The real world example I will be using to describe this theory is the “The Batman Theatre Shooting”. On the day of July 20, 2012, “Dark Knight Rises” a movie was just released to movie theatres around the world. Many people were waiting for the movie to come out but not knowing what was going to be in store for them later on that day. James Eagan Holmes was a student out of University of Colorado-Denver of Medicine. He won a federal grant for full tuition and also 26,000 in living expenses he was majoring for a Ph.D. Neuroscience. His professors tried to tell him to find another career after he flunked a major exam. That put him in a since of depression. As a teen, James Holmes was referred into being more withdrawn and rarely started conversations. His friends and classmates started to check on him less and started to be antisocial. He never wanted to have a conversation with his friends nor did he want one with his parents. But in March 2012, he told his friends and classmates that he admired the “Joker” and said he wanted to be just like him. His friends allegedly just ignored the whole comment all together but soon they will be reminded of the comment. He also sought out internet dating sites hoping he could find someone with his beliefs and compassion. He also wrote something disturbing on his wall; it said “would you come visit me in prison?” basically scaring or removing ones that didn’t have the same interest as he did and hoping ones that did share the same would comment to his page. He just withdrew from the university a month before that day. He had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. To deal with the ...
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... to the money. I recommend that he should keep the money in the restaurant and do all the accounting there instead of trying to do it at his house. In the restaurant you have a lot of locked doors and a security system and a a lot more witness’s if the alarm was to go off.
Works Cited
"What You Need To Know About the Batman Theater Shooting [UPDATES]."Mother Jones. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Disturbing Details Emerge about Death of Girl Starved, Burned - CBS Atlanta News." Disturbing Details Emerge about Death of Girl Starved, Burned - CBS Atlanta News. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Why Did James Holmes Do It? One Year Later, Accused 'Dark Knight' Killer Remains a Mystery." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Police: Father, Stepmom Starved 10-year-old to Death." Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
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
McKinley, Carol. "Ramsey Case Spawns Media Feeding Frenzy and Public Obsession."Fox News. N.p., 22 May 2001. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Schneider, Craig. “Focus on JONBENET RAMSEY A brief life story.” The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution
The theory explains how people could be labeled a certain way which would follow them and encourage them to act within the confines of said label or be unable to be perceived as anything but that label. These apparent role models participated in deviant behavior almost equal to that of the Roughnecks and yet they went on to be remembered as good kids. They were allowed to act like delinquents but were never perceived as such because they maintained appearances (good grades, healthy interactions, and lots of participation). The Roughnecks on the other hand took no steps to help with their reputation (they skipped school, made their actions public and attracted a lot of negative attention) thus insuring their label. Regardless of each student’s involvement with certain activities they obtained their labels and kept them through
The deadliest school shooting to have ever happened in the United States at a high school or grade school, happened less than two years ago. On December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza, who was twenty years old at the time, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, four times and then brought firearms to his former grade school Sandy Hook Elementary, and fatally shot twenty children and six adults. Then the shooter put his own gun to his head and fatally shot himself. All of the children were between the ages of six and seven years old, and all six adults who were shot and killed were females who worked at the school. Lanza's father believed that if he were there himself, his son would have had no trouble shooting and killing him too. He also theorized that Adam shot his mother four times for each of them; himself, his mother, his father, and his brother. After the tragedy, the school was torn down and many gun-control debates heated up and schools greatly improved their security to prevent anymore potential attacks. To this day, the motive of Adam Lanza, is still unknown but the effects are still felt in the world today.
Imagine a group of friends or children were responsible for a man's life who desperately sought for help, but the children mocked or even ignored him instead. This example was the same concept used to develop the plot for the story "The Man in the Well" by Ira Sher. An interesting theme of this story is that groups of people tend to act based on their groups impulse and not their own. Though the negative effect of peer pressure might be the cause of why groups, cliques, and gangs do what they do, their behavior alone tends to be much different than when they are alone. It's as if each character themselves goes through a sudden and temporary transformation. However, it's through important concepts of personality, action, and decisions that help
Social learning theory was first developed by Robert L. Burgess and Ronald L Akers in 1966 (Social Learning theory, 2016). In 1973, Akers wrote a book entitled Deviant Behaviour: A Social Learning Approach, which discussed Aker’s conception of the social learning theory. He developed social learning theory by extending Sutherland’s theory of differential association (Cochran & Sellers, 2017). Social learning theory is based on the principles of Pavlov’s operant and classical conditioning. Akers believes that crime is like any other social behavior because it is learned through social interaction (Social Learning theory, 2016). Social learning theory states that the probability of an individual committing a crime or engaging in criminal behaviour is increased when they differentially associate with others who commit criminal behavior (Cochran & Sellers, 2017). Social learning theory is classified as a general theory of crime, and has been used to explain many types of criminal behaviour (Social Learning theory, 2016). Furthermore, social learning theory is one of the most tested contemporary theories of crime. There are four fundamental components of social learning theory; differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement and imitation (Social Learning theory,
On December 14th 2012, just 11 days before Christmas, an awful tragedy happened in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were shot at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This awful event left a lot of unanswered questions and rumors about that day. The reason for that is because the shooter killed himself after shooting twenty young children and six adults. This tragedy open the eyes of everyone; made you want to hug your loves one just a little tighter, appreciate what you still have and never take a day for granted. Even our president Barack Obama felt the pain of all those who lost their loved ones in this event. He insured everyone that he will do everything in his power to make sure a tragedy like this will not happen again. However, did you know that there have been over 44 school shootings since the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary shooting? I know as a future teacher and mother I want to make sure my children are safe in this world and even at school. I want to be able to make a difference in this issue and have some knowledge to have I can do that. The society should understand what really happen during the Sandy Hook event, the reasons behind why school shootings/violence are rapidly increasing each year, and have some knowledge about what we, as a society, can do to help in order for us to start seeing a decrease of these events.
Society often pressures individuals within it to conform to different ideals and norms. This stems from the fact that individuals in a society are expected to act in a certain way. If a person or group of people do not satisfy society’s expectations, they are looked down upon by others. This can lead to individuals isolating themselves from others, or being isolated from others, because they are considered as outcasts. The emotional turmoil that can result from this, as well as the internal conflict of whether or not to conform, can transform an individual into a completely different person. This transformation can either be beneficial or harmful to the individual as well as those around them. The individual can become an improved version of himself or herself but conversely, they can become violent, rebellious and destructive. The novels Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess both explore the negative effects experienced by individuals living within the confines of society’s narrow-mindedness. In A Clockwork Orange, protagonist Alex was the leader of a small group of teenage criminals. He did not have a healthy relationship with either one of his parents or with others around him. Instead he spent most of his time alone during the day and at night roamed the streets in search of victims he could mug or rape. In Fight Club the unnamed protagonist was an outcast in his community. He chose to distance and isolate himself from others and as a result had no friends, with the exception of Tyler Durden and Marla Singer. Due to his isolation, he often participated in nightly fights that took place in Fight Club so that he could relieve his anxiety and stress. In this way, Alex and the unnamed protagoni...
Through Social Learning Theory, an individual can be studied based on the behavior acquired by a role model. Verbal conditioning procedures and observation influences the response to an individual’s personality. Environment factors contribute to the Social Learning Theory. Antisocial model is a major contribute to crime, which influences negative characteristics. The Social Leaning Theory has three core social concepts the must be followed: observational learning, intrinsic reinforcement and modeling process.
The Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Ebert, Roger. A. Roger Ebert on the Media's Coverage of School Shootings. Kottke.org.
“What Happened in Newtown, Connecticut? Eyewitness Accounts of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.” WXYZ. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
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 theoretical study of societal reaction to deviance has been carried out under different names, such as, labelling theory, interactionist perspective, and the social constructionist perspective. In the sociology of deviance, the labelling theory of deviant behaviour is often used interchangeably with the societal reaction theory of deviancy. As a matter of fact, both phrases point equally to the fact that sociological explanations of deviance function as a product of social control rather than a product of psychology or genetic inheritance. Some sociologists would explain deviance by accepting without question definitions of deviance and concerning themselves with primary aetiology. However, labelling theorists stress the point of seeing deviance from the viewpoint of the deviant individual. They claim that when a person becomes known as a deviant, and is ascribed deviant behaviour patterns, it is as much, if not more, to do with the way they have been stigmatized, then the deviant act they are said to have committed. In addition, Howard S. Becker (1963), one of the earlier interaction theorists, claimed that, "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders". Furthermore, the labelling theoretical approach to deviance concentrates on the social reaction to deviance committed by individuals, as well as, the interaction processes leading up to the labelling.
PSYC321-Social Psychology taught me about the ways in which people are influenced by others, how people make decisions, inferences we make about others’ attitudes and personalities, and influence of situational and variables on behavior. I learned that people behave the way that they do for so many reasons. Behaviors are caused more by the social situation than they are by the characteristics of the individuals. One of the concepts that I recall is Lewin’s equation which indicates that the behavior of a person at any given time depends on both the characteristics of the person and the influence of the social situation. Some of the things we do can also be attributed to cultural influences and differences that exist between societies. I found