THE SOCIAL

LEARNING
THEORY OF CRIME

Mark Joseph M. Virgilio

Do you remember the rules
of social learning theory
 The rules
1. Children/people copy.
2. They make a choice about who they
copy.
3. They are more likely to copy a higher
status same sex role model.
4. They are most likely to copy if they see
their model rewarded. (Vicarious
reinforcement)
 The extra new rules
1) Behaviour has to be noticed
2) The behaviour has to be remembered
3) the person has to be capable of
reproducing the behaviour
4) There has to be a motivation to repeat
the behaviour
 Modelling
Refers to the behaviour
being demonstrated as
well as being reproduced
 Application of theory
social learning theory of crime

o This means taking these rules and suggesting that, as

this is how most people learn most things, then this is
how people learn to become criminals!

o Furthermore it can explain why people choose to

become criminals. (i.e. if a person strongly identifies with
a role model, they really want to be like them and so a
long term role model who is a criminal is somebody the
person wants to become like and so they choose a life
of crime and copy the behaviour in order to learn how to
be like their hero/model)
o Applying social learning theory to
understanding how people learn to be
criminals involves describing a suggested
process
o You have to describe the process that
goes on when a person decides to copy a
certain behaviour and further processes
involved in continuing to copy that
behaviour to the point that the person
themselves become a criminal
 Activity
o Read a story about a boy of 15 named
Joe

o Use what you know of social learning

theory to explain what happened to Joe
that resulted in him committing a number
of criminal acts.
 I see, I recognize, I learned, I do
Joe was a lonely boy. For the early part of his life he had
gone to 6 schools as his father, a soldier travelled
around with his different postings. Then Joes dad left
him and his mom. His dad had a baby with a girl only 9
years older than Joe. Joe was very angry with his dad.
Although he was also angry at his mum for letting it
happen. A local gang had allowed Joe to join them. Taz
the gang leader often asked him to do little tasks for him
such as sending messages or buying sweets for him. Taz
wouldnt let the others go too far bullying or teasing
Joe .Joe wished he could be like Taz. Everyone liked
him, he made them all laugh but was so tough no one
would ever disagree with him. Taz had respect. No one
respected Joe and from his point of view, no one liked
him either. When Taz was short of money he would
shoplift what he needed. When Taz was angry he would
cause damage to property in the park. When Taz was
bored he would steal a car. It wasnt long before Joe
would join Taz in stealing cars. One day, when Joe
wanted to impress a girl he thought he would steal a car
by himself.
 Now from your story we have to unpick
and label the elements of social learning
theory. Try to label the processes of social
learning theory in your story.
Eg:-
o That bits the copying
o That bits the choosing a high status role
model
o That bits the noticing
o That bits the motivation
Take each rule and say how it applies to Joe

1 Children/people copy
So Joe is quite likely to copy the behaviour he sees around him
anyway
2. 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
3. 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

4. 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 buz when he
shoplifts or steals cars. 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
5. 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
6. The behaviour has to be remembered
The events are too exciting to forget
7. The person has to be capable of reproducing the behaviour
Joe is able bodied and has been watching Taz drive for months
8. 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 being a bad boy gets respect. Joe wants
excitement its exciting. Joe wants to impress a girl. Joe has plenty
of motivation to continue to copy Taz s behaviour
In the eyes of the law Joe is now a criminal if he internalises this
label he will be a criminal in every sense
o I would like you to remember here that although
social learning theory is a theory in its own right
it shares many concepts with traditional
behaviourism/learning theory
o They claim that most behaviour is learnt by
copying but accept that a lot of behaviour is
learnt through direct experiences of
reinforcement and punishment. And 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.
o So when you discuss the processes of social
learning theory in criminal behaviour do not be
afraid to use behaviourist concepts