Ones decision to commit crime may connect more to ones society than it does their individual decision making Introduction Emphasizes the connection between crime and neighborhood structure ID: 468692
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Slide1
Social Learning Theory Slide2
One’s decision to commit crime may connect more to one’s society than it does their individual decision making.
IntroductionSlide3
Emphasizes the connection between crime and neighborhood structure.
More crime occurs in societies that have fraying social structures:
Poor schools
Vacant and vandalized buildings
A mix of commercial and residential property
Changing ethnicityHigh unemployment
Social Disorganization TheorySlide4
Families that can afford to move do so.
Further destroying social structures and ties.
In an attempt to counter crime in urban areas that face these issues, gov’t….
Encourage people to establish business in poor neighborhoods.
Give tax breaks to be people who buy older, dilapidated homes.
Generally create a sense of community.
Social Disorganization cont.Slide5
A group of theories which contend that most people share the same goals of achieving wealth and success.
Some people, however, don't have the same opportunities.
As a result, they get angry. Frustration and
strain leads them into crime.
Strain TheoriesSlide6
A reference to the difference between what a person aspires to do and what he can actually achieve.
Society promotes expectations or goals – to make money and be successful
Society only approves certain ways to achieve this – school, work hard, delay gratification, etc.
Anomie TheorySlide7
Poorer classes lack real opportunities to be successful.
Disadvantaged people recognize they can’t reach success in a socially acceptable way, so they resort to crime.
The jewelry and fancy cars of drug dealers shows that their concept of success is a significant motivating factor for their criminality
Anomie Theory cont.Slide8
Limitations
Most people raised in lower-class neighborhoods
don’t
commit crime.Some people in higher classes
do
commit crime.Anomie Theory cont.Slide9
Variation of anomie theory, focuses on the strain that people of
all
classes can feel.
Not just based on money and success…
Failure to keep up with neighbors
Failure to live up to own expectationsLoss of positive influencesIntroduction of a negative influenceGST may be better than anomie, but doesn’t explain why many people who feel strain, don’t commit crime.
General Strain TheorySlide10
Contends that certain institutions play an important role in keeping people from fixating on material success, and thus, reduce strain.
Families
Church
Today, less people attend church and the families are more fractured.
As positive institutions weaken, negative ones grow.
Street gangsInstitutional Anomie TheorySlide11
A series of theories that contend that subcultures, which encourage non-mainstream values, develop in lower-class neighborhoods.
The subcultures promote values such as:
Instant gratification
Violence
Excitement
ToughnessRisk taking
Subculture TheoriesSlide12
As kids of lower classes fail to live up to society’s expectations, they reject middle class values, and develop their own.
Ex: Kids who don’t gain status in school from being successful, try to obtain status elsewhere.
Drinking, drugs, gangs, theft, violence
Lower-class Reaction TheorySlide13
Combo of
lower class reaction
and
social disorganization.Kids in “stable”, lower-class neighborhoods are more likely to find criminal role models, who help them achieve levels of criminal success.
Kids in socially disorganized neighborhoods, can’t even find criminal role models and resort to the lowest form of crime which is violence.
Differential Opportunity TheorySlide14
Contends that who you are and what you do is a product of your social interactions.
You
learn how to be a criminal
Social Learning theorySlide15
States that your family and close friends have the greatest impact on your behavior and values – no matter what your economic standing.
If parents grow and sell drugs, you will views this as acceptable behavior.
Social Learning theory cont.Slide16
Not only does one learn how to commit crime, but also the rationalizations, excuses and motivations to explain and validate crime.
Social Learning theory cont.Slide17
Example: Your parents teach you how to fertilize and harvest marijuana crops, but you also come to believe that:
MJ has medicinal properties that help people
MJ isn’t dangerous because it helps people relax
Selling MJ is one way to fulfill the “American Dream”.
Police and government are jerks that strip individual freedoms
Not paying tax on your earnings is fine because taxes just go to corrupt officials anyways
Social Learning theory cont.Slide18
The closer your association with criminals, the more likely you are to be criminal.
This theory is not based on class differences, which helps explain why people from all classes not only break the law, but also follow it.
Social Learning theory cont.Slide19
Belief that most people would commit crime if society didn’t impose certain controls that keep them in line.
Internal – the ones you impose on yourself
External – the ones that come from families, schools, etc.
Social Control TheoriesSlide20
Social pressures and individual characteristics work positively and negatively to affect a person’s behavior.
Containment TheorySlide21
External
pressures
towards crime:
Bad neighborhoodLittle opportunity for education, employment or success.
Delinquent friends
Negative subculture, such as gangsInternal pressures toward crime:Lack of self-esteem
Personality traits: easily angered, predisposed to addiction
Containment Theory cont.Slide22
External containments:
Strong family support
Church involvement
Positive role models
Non-delinquent friends
Internal containmentsStrong self-esteemPersonality traits: ability to resist temptation and show self-control
Containment Theory cont.Slide23
Contends that social bonds – family, friends, and others – are what keep people from breaking the law.
Social bonds can be broken into 4 parts:
Attachment – the bonds you have with other people and institutions.
Commitment – the investment you have in mainstream society… more to lose.
Involvement – the amount of time spent in community activities
Belief – the extent to which you believe in society’s values.
Social Bond TheorySlide24
Consider all of the social learning theories that
have just
been presented in class.
Which do you agree with the MOST and why?Which do you agree with the LEAST and why?
‘One Pager
’ Assignment