Social Learning Theory and the Explanation of Crime

by Akers, Ronald L.; Jensen, Gary F.

• ISBN13: 9780765801333
• ISBN10: 0765801337
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Transaction Pub

Summary

Social learning theory has recently been called perhaps the dominant theory of crime and delinquency in the United States. Yet the theory is often misrepresented. Some equate it with differential association theory. Others depict it as little more than a micro-level appendage to cultural deviance theories. There have been earlier attempts to clarify the theory's unique features in comparison to other theories, and others have applied it to broader issues. These efforts are extended in this volume, which focuses on developing, applying, and testing the theory on a variety of criminal and delinquent behaviors.Chapter 1, "Macro-Micro Transitions in Criminological Theory: Taking Social Learning Global, " addresses these transitions, linking social learning with macro-level, ecological or global theories. Chapters 2 and 3, "Substance Use by Korean Adolescents" and "Explaining Delinquency in Taiwan, " discusses the application of social learning theory to delinquency in other cultures. Chapter 4, "Social Learning and Binge Drinking among Universities, " explores the learning processes relevant to differences among universities in levels of student binge drinking. Chapter 5, "Delinquency and Depression: A Role-Taking and Social Learning Perspective, " chapter 6, "A Social Learning Theory of Courtship Violence: An Empirical Test, " and chapter 7, "Who's It Gonna Be -- You or Me? The Potential of Social Learning Theory to Expand the Explanatory Power of the Integrated Homicide-Suicide Theory, " explain gender variations in types of deviance. Chapter 8, "Development of Antisocial Behavior Across the Life-Span from a Social Interactionist Perspective: The Coercion Model, " links micro-level learningprocesses to structured variations across the life-span. It explains the relative dominance of different types of learning mechanisms (negative vs. positive reinforcement) at different stages of development. Chapter 9,

Table of Contents

Editors' Introduction	1	(8)
Ronald L. Akers
Gary F. Jensen
``Taking Social Learning Global'': Micro-Macro Transitions in Criminological Theory	9	(30)
Gary F. Jensen
Ronald L. Akers
Substance Use by Korean Adolescents: A Cross-Cultural Test of Social Learning, Social Bonding, and Self-Control Theories	39	(26)
Sunghyun Hwang
Ronald L. Akers
Explaining Delinquency in Taiwan: A Test of Social Learning Theory	65	(20)
Shu-Neu Wang
Gary F. Jensen
``Who's It Gonna Be---You or Me?'' The Potential of Social Learning for Integrated Homicide-Suicide Theory	85	(24)
Candice Batton
Robbin S. Ogle
Social Learning Theory and Courtship Violence: An Empirical Test	109	(20)
Christine S. Sellers
John K. Cochran
L. Thomas Winfree, Jr.
Delinquency and Depression: A Gendered Role-Taking and Social Learning Perspective	129	(22)
Stacy De Coster
Gender Variation in Delinquency: Self-Images, Beliefs, and Peers as Mediating Mechanisms	151	(28)
Gary F. Jensen
Social Structure-Social Learning (SSSL) and Binge Drinking: A Specific Test of an Integrated General Theory	179	(18)
Lonn Lanza-Kaduce
Michael Capece
Occupational Structure, Social Learning, and Adolescent Violence	197	(30)
Paul E. Bellair
Vincent J. Roscigno
Maria B. Velez
Confessions of a Dying Thief: A Tutorial on Differential Association	227	(38)
Darrell Steffensmeier
Jeffery Ulmer
Exploring the Relationship between Social and Non-Social Reinforcement in the Context of Social Learning Theory	265	(24)
Timothy Brezina
Alex R. Piquero
Theory-Mapping in Social Research: An Application to Social Learning Theory	289	(28)
Patrick M. Horan
Scott Phillips
Development of Antisocial Behavior and Crime across the Life-Span from a Social Interactional Perspective: The Coercion Model	317	(22)
Margit Wiesner
Deborah M. Capaldi
Gerald Patterson
What Correctional Treatment Can Tell Us about Criminological Theory: Implications for Social Learning Theory	339	(24)
Francis T. Cullen
John Paul Wright
Paul Gendreau
D. A. Andrews
Contributors	363	(2)
Subject Index	365	(4)
Name Index	369