9. Learning Theories
Summary and Review
Dr. Zachary Rowan and Michaela McGuire, M.A.
✅ Summary
- Learning theories of crime suggest that we learn the motivations, rationalizations, and skills of crime, substance use, and other deviant behaviour.
- Sutherland’s differential association theory has nine propositions; the primary component of the theory is the role of differential associations.
- Social learning theory is composed of four main components: 1) differential associations, 2) definitions, 3) differential reinforcement, and 4) imitation.
- The research on learning shows the following: deviant sources of influence have been demonstrated to be one of the most robust predictors of crime; the closest thing to a “fact” that exists in criminology is the relationship between age and crime, also known as the age-crime curve; and males commit the majority of crime.
- There are factors that help change the trajectory of offending in early adulthood called turning points, which are explored by life course theory; these turning points include employment, marriage and the military.
- Critiques of learning theories include: the fact that the theorists are White, Western and male; the fact that the role of the state and state culpability for human rights violations are not questioned; and the assumption that the mechanisms are the same across different groups.
- Learning theories that consider the oppression, racism, genocide, and colonial harm inflicted by the state have yet to be developed and tested.
- A decolonial approach requires an understanding of the role of colonialism in criminological theories, including learning theory, and the discipline as a whole.
- A critical adaptation of learning theory may help identify additional mechanisms of learning, develop a framework to understand how such mechanisms are mediated by colonial structural factors, and ultimately contribute to a deeper understanding of social influences.
🖊️ Key Terms
age-crime curve: referred to as the closest thing to a “fact” that exists in criminology is the relationship between age and crime. It states that criminal behaviour rapidly increases in adolescence until the late teenage years and quickly declines thereafter.
differential association(s): the interaction with others who engage (or support) certain kinds of behaviour and expose individuals to definitions favourable to crime.
differential association theory: an individual-level sociological theory of crime proposed by Sutherland that refuted claims that criminality was inherited, and proposed instead that it was learned.
differential reinforcements: the balance of anticipated or actual rewards and punishments that result from engaging in specific behaviour.
imitation: engaging in behaviour after observing others similarly participate in the act.
life course theory: a theory that examines the trajectory of crime and desistance, including the “turning points” that impact the trajectory, such as marriage or employment.
operant behaviour theory: a method of learning that utilises punishments and rewards for behaviour that either increases or decreases the likelihood that the behaviour will be committed again.
prosocial behaviour: any behaviour that is considered non-deviant or criminal definitions—one’s attitudes or meanings attached to given behaviours that rationalise or offer the moral views of committing a specific act.
social learning theory: a learning theory proposed by Akers that is composed of four main components: 1) differential associations, 2) definitions, 3) differential reinforcement, and 4) imitation. The first two components are nearly identical to those observed in differential association theory. Differential association was expanded to be inclusive of both direct interactions with others who engage in criminal acts, and more indirect associations that expose individuals to various norms or values.
🧠 Chapter Review
Crossword
Fill in the term in the right-hand column and it will display in the crossword puzzle. Be sure to include spaces where appropriate.
Discussion Questions
- Compare and contrast differential association theory and social learning theory. What are the major similarities and differences between the two learning theories?
- Within social learning theory there are four types of reinforcement derived from principles of operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment. Do you think specific reinforcements are more or less effective at changing whether someone engages in crime? If so, answer the following questions:
- Which reinforcement mechanism is most important in explaining whether someone engages (or does not engage) in crime?
- Do you think that certain reinforcement mechanisms are better at explaining whether someone engages in a specific type of crime (e.g., drug use versus violence)? Why or why not?
- How might the mechanisms of reinforcement be more or less important at specific points in an individual’s life course? Are certain mechanisms more important during adolescence versus adulthood?
- Based on the explanation of crime put forward by learning theories, what might be some policy recommendations for controlling or preventing crime?
- Social learning theory attempts to expand upon the mechanisms that explain the learning process of crime. Besides teaching someone the skills necessary to commit a crime, provide examples of other ways peers might increase the likelihood that someone will engage in crime.
- Are there other state (government) related institutions or contexts that might be important in understanding how learning perspectives might be implicated in an understanding of deviance among Indigenous people? If so, explain how these institutions or contexts contribute to definitions, behaviours, or reinforcement mechanisms that support criminal behaviour.
- Do you think it is possible to utilise social learning theory to examine the role of the state in criminalising and incarcerating Indigenous persons? If so, how might the theory be expanded to consider the state? If not, why not?
