Overview

This week’s unit on Social Learning Theories promises to be both engaging and insightful, as we delve into the nuances of how criminal behavior is not just an individual choice but often a learned one. Our exploration will take us through a comparative analysis of learning theories of crime and how they differ from other criminological perspectives, which often focus on biological, economic, or psychological factors.

We will start by discussing Edwin Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory, which suggests that criminal behavior is learned through interaction with others. We will examine the nine propositions that underpin this theory, discussing how the frequency, duration, priority, and intensity of interactions can influence an individual’s propensity for criminal behavior.

Building on this foundation, we will consider Ronald Akers’s Differential Reinforcement Theory, which extends Sutherland’s ideas by incorporating the concepts of operant conditioning to explain how individuals learn to engage in crime through both rewards and punishments. Akers’s Social Learning Theory further elaborates on the mechanisms of learning criminal behavior, including imitation and definitions favorable to deviant behavior.

The Theory of Neutralization will round out our discussion, presenting the argument that individuals learn to rationalize or justify criminal acts, thereby neutralizing the social norms against such behavior. We will dissect the five original techniques of neutralization identified by Sykes and Matza, including denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties.

Our discussions will be enriched by additional multimedia resources, including videos that bring the material to life by providing real-world examples and applications of these theories. Finally, the PowerPoint attached will serve as your roadmap for this unit, highlighting key points and guiding our exploration of these complex theories. It is designed to complement the readings and provide a visual summary of the main concepts and their interrelations.

As we engage with these materials and each other, remember that our goal is to understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind criminal behavior from a social learning perspective. By the end of this unit, you should be able to critically analyze criminal actions through the lens of social learning theories, understanding not just the act itself, but the learned behaviors and rationalizations that contribute to its occurrence.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

Explain what distinguishes learning theories of crime from other perspectives.
Explain Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory.
Distinguish differential association theory from differential reinforcement theory.
Discuss the main positions of Akers’s Social Learning Theory.
Discuss different techniques of neutralization, according to Matza and Sykes.