The Social Learning Theory

In the reality of crime, each unlawful act perpetrated against society, society frequently questions what may influence an individual’s behavior towards unlawful misconducts. Factors such as as family, friends, communities, schools, environments and surroundings can have a positive or negative influence towards an individual’s behavior. Those aspects could either influence an individual’s behavior towards deviant conduct or avoid it. There are individuals who engage in unlawful acts for pleasure and its benefits and those who participate as there was a lack of choice, perhaps something they were unwillingly brought into as a result of their surroundings. Social Learning Theory argues the key cause of an individual’s behavior is through learning

People learn from seeing the behaviour, attitudes and the result of those actions. Social Learning Theory describes human behaviours as a persistent mutual communication between the behaviour, cognitive and environment effects. Social Learning Theory increases the knowledge of the aspect of correct role modeling for children. The Social Learning Theory is a theory based on crime and criminality of individuals explaining why individuals behave in a deviant manner (Government of Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth services). Bandura’s theory concentrates on how individuals view the behaviour of others and immediately learn and develop new conducts, the Social Learning Theory demonstrates reasons for people imitating those behaviours. The Social Learning Theory explains individual’s imitating behaviours through the process of modeling. There are three core concepts of SLT, first is the idea of individuals learning through observation, second is the individual’s mental state and lastly is the fact that learning does not necessarily mean change in behaviour. Moreover, there are three models under observation which include “a live model that involves an individual demonstrating or acting out a behaviour, a verbal instruction model that has descriptions and explanations of behaviour and symbolic model that

They are the first role models for their children, in which personal characteristics are developed through the observation of their parents’ characteristics. Children learning how to behave throughout their early years is significant for the reason that it will follow them for their overall lives. Neighborhoods, families, peers have an influence on the development of unlawful behaviours and youthful misconducts, all environments are significant in the construction of deviant behaviour (Beaver, 2008). Individuals behaving in a deviant manner such as violence is often associated with the influence of their relationship experience with their parents. As an individual lacks a relationship with their parents it could possibly lead in engaging in delinquency. According to previous research, it is revealed that there is a strong connection between the experience of violence and negative behaviours in children (Osofsky, 1999). Negative aspects such as rejection and neglect in a relationship between a child and a parent could result in the need to turn to delinquency. The negative effects of violence can range from an individual being temporary upset, to post traumatic stress disorder, and to increased aggressive and violent behaviour