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Paper Abstract: Describes & compares theories on causes of criminal behavior, concludes that learning theory is most accurate. Paper Introduction: Theories of crime and criminal behavior abound; indeed, there are as many theories about criminal behavior as there are theories about human behavior. Obviously, there are many factors which contribute to or underlie criminal behavior: economic circumstances, social setting, individual morality, situational factors, and the prospects of punishment are but a few (WiIson and Hernstein, 1985). There are, for example, many theorists who propose that criminal behavior is the result of a genetic or physical predisposition. This may certainly be a factor among a few criminal types who exhibit signs of psychoses, encephalitis, psychopathic personality and other personality deviations (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Wilson and Hernstein (1985) identify two types of behavioral Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. This theory will be examined herein in greater detail because ofits many implications and its current popularity among criminologicaltheorists. 77).7) Differential associations with criminal contacts may vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity.8) The same mechanisms of noncriminal learning are involved in the learning of criminal behavior.9) Criminal behavior, like noncriminal behavior, is the expression of general needs and values. It underscores patterns of behavior, as opposedto the quantity of interactions. Sutherland and Cressey (1985) make the strongest argument in support ofthis theory by outlining the learning (of criminal behavior) process as agestalt of differential association. Now in question among contemporary theorists, theclassical school is based on the psychology that people govern theirbehavior based on consideration of pleasure and pain. Akers. Even though Krohn et al. 273).Literature Review We have noted that Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) see that all humanbehavior is shaped by primary and secondary drives and that secondarydrives are actualized through learned secondary one, as this example shows: Part of the benefit that comes from eating either bread or spaghetti must derive from the fact that their common ingredient wheat, satisfies an innate drive--hunger. While some criminal behavior may be rooted, toa certain extent, in physiological deviations such as psychoses, nearly allcriminal behavior exhibits signs of social maladaptiveness (Sutherland andCressey, 1974). 167-69. These tendencieswere reinforced by his institutionalization, which retarded his maturationand in fact solidified his maladaptive behavior through the examples ofother institutionalized individuals around him. At the heart ofthis theory are associations which "consist of the learning of definitionsof the legal code as favorable or unfavorable via the process of theinterpersonal communication in intimate personal groups" (Jaquith, 1981,p. 75).6) Criminal behavior occurs when an individual learns an excess of definitions of the moral or legal code that are favorable to the violation of the law: "When persons become criminals they do so because of contacts with criminal patterns and also because of isolation from anticriminal patterns. The result was a criminalwho felt justified in his behavior as a criminal, and whose criminal actswere justified by his intimate associates. All the various views about criminal behavior cited herein may betaken into account in the development of a theory of the learning ofcriminal behavior by individuals in society. While the chief value of differential association lies in itsexamination of the overall facts about crime, the theory is somewhatdeficient in its application to individual criminality, It is, in fact, alargely sociological perspective which asks how the structure of socialsystems determines the kinds of criminal acts that occur in these systemsand the ways in which such acts are distributed within these systems. Control theory of criminality is centered on the importance oflearned inhibitions against crime (Engal, 1978). (1985)conclude that the social learning approach does have its merits, the sameauthors add significantly that reinforcement --- the major component ofbehavior based on pleasure or pain-nevertheless plays an important role insolidifying adolescent deviant behavior. American Sociological Review, Vol. In this sense, both are primary reinforcers. While a vast array of information is available on thissubject, this paper will examine a few selected references for the purposeof brevity.Theoretical Significance A variety of schools of thought about criminal behavior are worthconsidering here for the purposes of perspective. 139. Instrumentalconditioning is at work when actions are governed by their consequences(Beezowitz, 1978). Other schools state that criminals differ from noncriminals in termsof certain personality traits, The Lombrosian school concentrates onbiological determinism, stating that criminals are, from birth, a distincttype; that physical anomalies identify the type; that these anomalies arepossessed by personalities predisposed to crime; and that certain classesof criminals are differentiated by even more severe stigmata (Sutherlandand Cressey, 1974). Therefore, people who are deficient in conscience may be those whofor various reasons resist classical conditioning and do not internalizerules as easily or as fully as others do. 133-34).3) The learning of criminal behavior occurs, for the most part, within intimate personal groups.4) The learning of criminal behavior includes the learning of the techniques of committing the crime as well as the learning of the direction of motives, attitudes, drives and rationalizations.5) "The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable" (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974, P. Learned behavior is concerned with adaptation to social requirementsand norms (Berkowitz, 1978). (1978, July). But bread and spaghetti differ in texture, flavor, and appearance, and the preferences we have for these qualities are in part learned. Jaquith (1981) discusses differential association theory and itsdelineation of the process whereby delinquency is created. 2., pp. Jaquith sets a solidprecedent for such future efforts. Jaquith, S.M. The origins of criminology are rooted in the classical school ofcriminal behavior. (1979), in their study of deviant behavior ingeneral and adolescent drug use specifically, find that "social learningtheory will do well when tested with other forms of deviant behavior"(Akers et al., 1979, p. 271-8 . 79), and Jaquith finds thatcertain qualifications narrow the applicability of the differentialassociation approach: "The relative impact of a primary group definition onthe individuals definition may vary with the type of deviant behavior beingstudied and according to the offender group" (Jaquith, 1981, p. Instrumental conditioning affects the stimuli we receive andsubsequently affects behavior. Crimes of money areoften considered more "natural" and "rational" than crimes of violence orsexual deviance, but Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) state that while certainreinforcers may have a more predictable effect, all behavior, including thebizarre, responds to reinforcement. 636). 148-161. Control theory statesthat it is first necessary to explain why anyone would want to do the rightthing in order to explain why they do the wrong thing (Engal, 1978).Control theory, which focuses on learning from this perspective, issignificant "because it reminds us of the intangible components of thereinforcements associated with both crime (the bite, if any, of conscience)and the noncrime (the value, if any, of the good opinion of decent folk)"(Wilson and Herrnstein, 1985, p. Rowe (1978) amplifies this idea: Those people we call criminals have not learned to speak intelligently--or so we judge them. Rowe, D. 32, no. In other words, research would delve into the question: Howdo people become the kind of individuals who commit criminal acts? Krohn, and M. International Journal of Offender Therapy and ComparativeCriminology, 22 no, 2, pp. Crimes and Human Nature.New York, Simon & Schuster.----------------------- 12 At the same time, however, Stafford andEkland-Olson (198 ) argue that there are doubts about the conclusions ofAkers et al., specifically having to do with consistency of therelationship between existing data on substance abuse and social learningtheory. Included in their discussion is the idea ofdifferential association, by which their theory of learned criminalbehavior takes its name. The risk in creating such a general theory, however, is that it maynot take into account individual exceptions. Skinner, J.L. SocialProblems, vol. Any person inevitably assimilates the surrounding culture unless other patterns are in conflict; a Southerner does not pronounce r because other Southerners do not pronounce r (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974, p. The cartographic school is based on the notion that crime is causedby the conflict of values arising when legal norms fail to take intoconsideration the behavioral norms that are specific to various sub-groupsof people (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Forthis reason, a future research question might incorporate the psychologicalperspective. References Akers, Ronald L., Marvin Krohn, Lonn Lanza-Kaduce, and MarciaRadosevich. Wilson and Hernstein (1985) identify two types of behavioralreinforcers, primary and secondary: "A primary reinforcer derives itsstrength from an innate drive, such as hunger or sexual appetite; asecondary reinforcer derives its strength from learning" (Wilson andHernstein, 1985, p. 44,pp. Wilson, J. Criminology, Vol. Other future research might involve empirical studies to prove or todisprove the theory of differential association. The relationship between the two categories arises through learningor conditioning. Engal, S.W. These qualities constitute secondary reinforcers (Wilson and Herrnstein, 1985, p. Another deviant individual serves as a model from which thecriminal learns his activities and criminal techniques. Massey, and R.L. 5, pp. Important qualifications, presented, forexample, by Jaquith, suggest that this approach must yet account for theimpact of peer pressure which is independent of internalized definitions.In other words, ideas about criminal behavior are not invented by thecriminal. Stafford, MC, and Sheldon Ekland-Olson. Philadelphia: J.B. 455-468. Herrnstein. Research findings support the idea that criminal behavior is learned. In the same context Lanza-Kaduce et al. Instead, they think that society does not speak its language intelligently" (pp. 3 - 5. Obviously, there are many factors which contribute to orunderlie criminal behavior: economic circumstances, social setting,individual morality, situational factors, and the prospects of punishmentare but a few (WiIson and Hernstein, 1985). For example, the reinforcing of the power of money "isrelatively steady because of the many primary rewards with which it isconnected . Cressey, Criminology. Social learning theory and adolescent cigarette smoking. Sutherland, E.H., and D. Social learning and deviant behavior: Aspecific test of a general theory. find that "peer associations were generally mostdiscriminating with normative definitions and social rewards or punishmentsalso contributing to differentiation" (1984, p. The psychiatric school places emphasis on Freudian theory, whichcontends that the criminal has failed to transform early impulses intosocially acceptable behavior (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). (198 ). . 65).Cultural deviance theory also focuses on learning and states that criminalshave learned their values from deviant rather than law-abiding individuals: Like control theory, this view directs our attention to the intangible reinforcers associated with crime and noncrime, suggesting that criminals are those who have learned that crime is worthwhile because it is reinforced by the good opinion of persons in whose company one commits the crime or learned from other offenders by a process called "differential association"; in other versions, it is learned from a distinctive subculture composed of lower-class males who may not directly teach criminality but who value toughness, excitement autonomy and "street smarts," and who have a fatalistic attitude toward the future (Wilson and Herrnstein, 1985, p. Berkowitz, Leonard. R. American Sociological Review, Vol. 19, no. Sutherland and Cressey (1974) state that criminal behavior is theresult of learned experiences from the past, and the same authors see thisas a gestalt called the genetic explanation of criminal behavior. Is criminal violence normativebehavior? Geneticexplanations, according to Sutherland and Cressey, make the followingclaims:1) Criminal behavior is not inherited, it is learned, and a person notalready trained in crime does not invent criminal behavior.2) Criminal behavior is learned through verbal and non-verbal communication. Engals (1978) uses the example of Rolf, a successfullytreatedhabitual criminal, to illustrate Natural deviance theory. This maycertainly be a factor among a few criminal types who exhibit signs ofpsychoses, encephalitis, psychopathic personality and other personalitydeviations (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). (1985,June). The successful treatment of a habitualcriminal. Sutherland and Cressey (1985) summarize the interconnectedness of thelearned behavior of crime. They do not make such a judgment of themselves. 45). 45, pp. Criminals have freewill and make their choices with reference to seeking pleasure and avoidingpain (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Rolf'scriminality was influenced by dissocial conditions in his childhood fromwhich he learned his maladaptive behavior (Engals, 1978). An example might involve choosing not tosteal a diamond ring left on a jewelry store counter by a salesman, knowingthe cost of such an offense. Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) acknowledge the significance of innate"drives" but concede no credibility to the idea of the criminal as abiological anomaly. Adolescent marijuana and alcohol use. This idea negates the explanation of criminal behavior by drives and values.General Research Findings Among the most salient findings of the research on criminal behaviorare those which explain primary and secondary reinforcers. ." (Wilson and Herrnstein, 1985, p 46). Classical conditioning describes the learning process based onassociations between primary and secondary reinforcers. (1981, August). (1978). 79-96. (1978) How language, image and myth influence behavior.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2,p. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,pp. 45). 221-31. On social learningand deviant behavior. Secondary reinforcers change in strength along withtheir primary reinforcers, and those secondary reinforcers that change theleast in strength are those associated with the greatest number of primaryreinforcers. Theories of crime and criminal behavior abound; indeed, there are asmany theories about criminal behavior as there are theories about humanbehavior. Deviant Behavior, 5,pp. The socialist school argues that crime results from conditions ofpoverty which are in turn seen to be caused by private ownership of themeans of production and resulting alienation (Sutherland and Cressey,1974). Nevertheless, this inquiry will examine the phenomenon of crime as alearned behavior. Akers, M.D. Thesociological and social psychological schools are oriented toward a strongenvironmentalist position with respect to the cause of criminal behavior.Criminal behavior is a form of learning through imitation of others'behavior. Classical conditioning describes, to a certain extent,the internalization of rules and values and social mores. 65). Krohn, M.D., W.F. Radosevich.Cessation of alcohol and drug use among adolescents. Q., and Richard J. 271). (1979, August). There are, for example, many theorists who propose that criminalbehavior is the result of a genetic or physical predisposition. Lanza-Kaduce, L., R.L. Control theory, another approach which focuses on learning, isimportant for its emphasis on what is commonly called "conscience."Cultural deviance theory says that criminals learn their criminal valuesfrom other deviant persons. Akers et al. Lippincott. These exceptions should betaken into account in any empirical research. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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