Learning Theories

• Who came up with the Differential Association Thoery?

  Sutherland
• What is the key idea of Differential association thoery?

  criminality is the result of imitation and learned attitudes in groups that favour law breaking
• What does Sutherland suggest?

  suggests that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motivation for criminal behaviour.
• One strength od Sutherland?


  suggests crime can run in families.
• Limitation to Sutherlands study?

  • not everyone exposed to criminal influences becomes a criminal
• who cam up with the Operant Learning Theory?

  Skinner
• What is the key idea of the Operate learning theory?

  If a behaviour results in a reward it will be repeated. However, if a behaviour results in an undesirable outcome, it will not be rewarded.
• What was the study that skinner used?

  The rat in the box with lever and treat.
• What are some strengths of operate conditioning?

  • can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviour
  • has practical applications which can be applied in different environments (classrooms, prisons)
  • the environment determines the behaviour
• What are some weaknesses of operate conditioning?

  • fails to take into account inherited +/or cognitive factors
  • positive rienforcement doesnt always stop behaviour
  • punishment does not always prevent behaviour from being repeated
• Who came up with the Social learning theory?

  Albert Bandura
• What is the key idea of the social learning theory?

  much of our behaviour is learned from imitating others (models)
• What study did bandura use and what did it show?

  • The Bobo doll experiment.
  • Children most likely to imitate violent behaviour if they have seen an adult model act a similar way towards the doll.
• What are some strengths of the Bandura SLT?

  • takes into account our social nature (we learn from others experiences)
  • Shows importance of role models in learning deviance
• What are some weaknesses of the SLT?

  • based on lab studies so lacks validity
  • not all observed behaviour is easily imitated - we may see criminals rewarded but lack the skills to copy
  • ignores free will of humans (determinism)