1. The social learning theory of crime

2. Learning outcomes: By the end of the session, you will be able to:
Describe how the principles of SLT are used to explain criminal behaviour
Make at least two positive and two negative evaluation comments about the theory’s explanation

3. Do you remember the principles of social learning theory?
You learnt 4

4. The principles... Children/people copy (imitation)
They make a choice about who they copy
They are more likely to copy a higher status same sex role model
They are most likely to copy if they see their model rewarded (vicarious reinforcement)

5. In addition .... Behaviour has to be noticed
The behaviour has to be remembered
the person has to be capable of reproducing the behaviour
There has to be a motivation to repeat the behaviour

6. Modelling ...
refers to the behaviour being demonstrated as well as being reproduced

7. Although social learning theory is a theory in its own right it shares many concepts with traditional behaviourism/learning theory
It does not dispute the role of primary and secondary reinforcement in learning
Nor does it dispute the role of punishment
They disagree with behaviourist over the issue of the person making a choice in their role model
They claim that most behaviour is learnt by copying, but accept that this interacts with direct experiences of reinforcement and punishment
They agree that once a person has chosen to copy a behaviour they are more likely to continue to use that behaviour if they find it reinforcing

8. Application of SLT to crime ...
In applying this theory to crime (specifically to explaining criminal behaviour), the principles of the theory are used to explain the processes of how criminal behaviour is learnt
They can explain why people choose to become criminals through strong identification with a criminal role model, observation of their behaviour, observation of them being rewarded for that behaviour and then imitation of the behaviour

9. Activity
Use what you know of SLT to explain how Joe ended up committing a number of crimes; find examples of:
Copying (or imitation)
Choice of high status role model
Noticing
Motivation to copy
Any other SLT principles

10. You may work with a partner or in a group of 3 (you may wish to assign a scribe) – 10 minutes
Feed back to the class – 10 minutes

11. How the principles of SLT apply ...
Children/people copy
So Joe is quite likely to copy the behaviour he sees around him anyway
They make a choice about who they copy
Joe has chosen to hang around with Taz; he does this repeatedly so having chosen it it must be reinforcing in some way
They are more likely to copy a higher status same sex role model
Joe looks up to Taz; he is older, people like him and respect him. Taz is therefore an older high status role model (within the cultural norms that Joe is living in); he is also male so it is very likely that Joe would choose to copy him

12. They are most likely to copy if they see their model rewarded
They are most likely to copy if they see their model rewarded. (vicarious reinforcement)
Joe sees Taz get rewarded in many ways. He gets a buzz when he shoplifts or steals car s. He gets praise from the gang he gets things for free and he seems to look happier after he has vented his anger through vandalism. Most of all he is liked and has respect. That is exactly the type of reward Joe would like
Behaviour has to be noticed
Joe notices everything Taz does because he admires him and spends time with him. Stories about events are often reputed to show off to others. He could hardly fail to notice

13. The behaviour has to be remembered
The events have brought excitement into Joe’s life, so he is not likely to forget them!
The person has to be capable of reproducing the behaviour
Joe is able bodied and has been watching Taz drive for months
There has to be a motivation to repeat the behaviour
Joe is angry at his dad, getting into trouble is perfect revenge. Joe wants respect and being a bad boy gets respect. Joe wants excitement and wants to impress a girl. Joe has plenty of motivation to continue to copy Taz s behaviour

14. In the exam, you must D. O. A. Define the theory
Outline the theory (fully)
Apply the theory (be specific to AT LEAST ONE element of the theory and link to the question)

15. The role of the media ...
It has been estimated that a child entering secondary school will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 other violent acts on TV alone – this obviously does not include other media (games, books, comics, etc)

16. Media role models ...

17. SLT and the media ...
Two suggestions about violence in television programmes and its effect on children:
Children can become easily desensitised to violence as they get used to seeing violent acts on the TV, so they are not hugely disturbed by real violence unlike those children who do not watch television
Children are more likely to imitate violent behaviours that they see on the TV, so watching programmes with some sort of violence is likely to make them use more violence or aggression towards others

18. The Columbine High School massacre ...
In 1999, two boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a mass shooting in their high school in Columbine, killing 15 people (including 12 students, a teacher and themselves)
Harris and Klebold both enjoyed playing violent video games, and Doom was one of their favourite games
Many have suggested that it is due to these violent games that the pair were inspired to carry out the mass murder, although there was no way of interviewing them to find out if this was true, as they committed suicide after killing the others

19. Video games...
Anderson (2000) has identified four reasons why interactive media will have an even stronger effect than traditional forms of media:
Identification with the aggressor increases imitation of the aggressor; whereas there are multiple identifiable characters in TV shows and movies, violent video games usually take on the role of only one aggressor, so identification with that character is stronger, therefore imitation becomes more likely
Active participation increases learning; clearly the player is much more involved, so the violent storylines are likely to be far more effective

20. Video games...
Rehearsing an entire behavioural sequence is more effective than rehearsing only part of it in a television show; the watcher is not making the active decision to use violence, but in the active role of playing a video game, the whole story is experienced, which involves the player themselves choosing to aggress within the game. This effectively rehearses the choice process for the player in reality
Repetition increases learning; video games tend to have a much more addictive nature, so their lessons are repeatedly learnt through replaying

21. Evaluation of SLT as an explanation for crime...
Strengths -
There is substantial evidence to show that behaviour does get imitated, including evidence to show that aggressive behaviour is often copied (e.g. Eron & Huesmann (1986) found that children who watched more television were more likely to be aggressive or antisocial as teenagers
The theory has a practical application as the principles can be used to rehabilitate offenders, using good role models to reinforce appropriate behaviours with appropriate reinforcements to change the ways of criminals

22. Evaluation of SLT as an explanation for crime...
Limitations -
The theory does not look at individual differences, only at how an individual is affected by social factors, and so biological aspects are not considered in this explanation
The theory does not provide an explanation for opportunistic crime which has not been observed and learnt first (so mainly applies to light crimes such as theft and aggression, rather than murder and rape, for example)