By showing this interview with “Crime + Punishment” director Stephen Maing and Lt. Edwin Raymond on Democracy Now, we can spark discussion on how social learning theory operates within institutions like the NYPD. We can encourage students to identify how officers learn behaviors through peer association, reinforcement from superiors, and the normalization of quota-driven, racially biased practices. Then, we can shift the focus to the NYPD 12’s resistance, exploring how individuals can unlearn deviant norms and redefine acceptable behavior through new associations and values. This video is especially useful for examining the role of institutional culture in shaping definitions and reinforcements, and for prompting discussion about ethical decision-making, whistleblowing, and structural reform (and reflect back on Akers’s SSSL theory).
Powered by:
top