Learning Theories
Informed by Two Things:
Shaw & McKay’s Theory of Social Disorganization
People are a product of their environment (social dilapidation, ethnic heterogeniety, and poverty)
Gabriel Tarde’s Imitation Theory
People imitate those that they are in close contact with
The superior is often imitated by the inferior
When people are presented a different way of doing something, they may choose to take that approach
what did Travis Hirschi (1935- 2017) say about social bonding theory?
All of us are capable of committing crime
The social bonds that we hold with society keep us from committing crime
Therefore, the important thing to study are the bonds that people hold
Travis Hirschi (1935- 2017) =
social bonding theory
4 Parts of Social Bonding Theory:
- Attachment
- Commitment
- Involvement
- Beliefs
Attachment (social bonding theory) refers to:
the level of affection between individuals who are bonded. This sets the stages for which norms they will internalize
The most important element of the bond
Commitment (social bonding theory) refers to:
the level of investment that the person has in society. Are they connected & reliant on what society has to offer? If they screw up, how much will they lose?
“stake in conformity”, or the amount an individual has invested in conventional society.
Involvement (social bonding theory) refers to:
how busy the individual keeps themselves. Are they constantly working? Engaged in community activity? Volunteering?
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”, emphasizes the need to keep an individual busy doing conventional activities
Beliefs (social bonding theory) refers to:
Morality and what the person uses as their overall guiding worldview.
The extent to which an individual considers societal rules or laws to be important
Social bonding theory assumes what will happen if a person does NOT develop the 4 parts of the social bonding theory:
A person will lead a life of crime
Criticisms of Hirschi’s Theory:
What if someone is attached to a person who commits crime?
Not all involvement is the same. Religion and school have an impact but not sports.
Cannot explain why people start committing more severe crimes.
Edwin Sutherland (1883- 1950) =
Differential Association Theory
Basic Aspects of Differential Association Theory:
- Learning to commit crime is like learning to ride a bike
- We learn the techniques and the motivations
- Socialization is key
Differential Association says….
who you are associated with will influence your behavior
who is Edwin Sutherland (1883- 1950)?
Leading learning theorist
President of the American Sociological Society
Introduced the concept of the white-collar criminal
Differential Association
Spinoffs of Differential Association Theory
- Glaser’s Differential Identification Theory
- Burgess and Akers’ Differential Reinforcement Theory
Glaser’s Differential Identification Theory:
People, youth particularly, can learn from the media and adopt behaviors to replicate their favorite characters (e.g. the arguments that video games cause violence)
Burgess and Akers’ Differential Reinforcement Theory :
Positive and negative reinforcement are the key to criminal behavior; people seek rewards. Therefore, if you get rewarded for committing crime, you will keep doing it.
5 Techniques of Neutralization:
- Denial of Responsibility
- Denial of Injury
- Denial of the Victim
- Condemnation of the Condemners
- Appeal to Higher Loyalties
Denial of Responsibility:
“It wasn’t my fault”- outside forces are to blame for their behavior
Support for Learning Theories:
We can easily see youth imitating the behaviors of their elders
We can often trace who people learned their criminal behaviors/ motivations/ techniques from
Techniques of neutralization are almost universally used by people who commit crime
