CLJ 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Labeling Theory, Social Learning Theory, Edwin Sutherland
11 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Assumes that criminal behavior is similar to other forms of human behavior. Crime is viewed as a result of social interaction. Criminal and noncriminal behaviors are learned through the socialization process. Learning theories contend that criminal behavior is learned from others. The learning process involves the internalization of values, norms, and behaviors that can vary across groups. Emphasized the role of socialization in the development of human behavior and interaction. The process of human interaction on both one-on-one and group levels, wherein behavior is learned: from others, reflective of society"s cultural and subcultural values. This perspective emphasizes 2 primary influences: agents of socialization- who is doing the socialization and content of the socialization. One major criticism is that it never explained how people learn to commit crime. That is, it was missing the causal mechanism. Akers and burgess revised the theory by incorporating: There are 4 elements to the theory now: Differential reinforcement: positive and negative; punishments and rewards.
