LAWS1110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Social Learning Theory, Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning
Document Summary
Determinism focus on features within the individual to help explain criminality. Focused on psychological causes beyond the individual human actor. In broad terms, a platform based on learning theory considers offending, like all behaviours, to be something that is learned. A couple of main types of learning through conditioning. We"ll also have a look at crime-specific learning theories. Nb by the time we get to rational choice we start to blur the line between classicism (free will) and positivism (the influence of external factors and determinism) The environment can be broken down into a complex and subtle array of behaviour-evoking cues. Through learning, these cues govern the way that we act. They may not even be aware of their effects. Berkowitz (1983) found the sight of a firearm can elicit a feelings of aggression. These classical conditioning principles have been widely applied in offender therapeutic interventions. Target behaviour is associated with an unpleasant experience.
