Akers' Social Learning Theory

A reformulation and extension of Sutherland's theory.

That definitions favorable to crime are important. Crime may be learned through imitation and differential reinforcement.

The learning mechanisms of behavior—how criminal behavior is learned.

<p>One of the leading theories of crime.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The acquisition, maintenance, and modification of human behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement, imitation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process by which a person is exposed to normative definitions favorable or unfavorable to illegal behavior. It has behavioral, interactional, and normative dimensions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Direct association and interaction with others who engage in behavior and identification with reference groups.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Exposure to different patterns of norms and values through associations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Groups that people associate with expose one to definitions, models to imitate, and differential reinforcements. The greater frequency, duration, priority, and intensity of the association, the greater the effect on behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Primary groups: family and friends.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Church, school, mass media, etc.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One's own attitudes or meanings that are attached to a given behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Neutralizing: justifies through imitation and differential reinforcement</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, appeal to higher loyalties.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The balance of anticipated or actual rewards or punishments that follow or are consequences of behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Positive: presenting a positive stimuli; Negative: removing an aversive stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Direct: presenting an aversive stimuli; Indirect: removing a positive stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Nonsocial: direct physical effects of drugs and alcohol; Social: praise, gaining status, etc.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The engagement of behavior after the observation of similar behavior in others.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Have an indirect effect on the individual's behavior by affecting the differential associations, definitions, differential reinforcements, and imitations of the individual.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Differential social organizations, differential location in the social structure, theoretically defined structural variables, differential social location.</p> Signup and view all the answers