Deck 6: Differential Association and Social Learning Theories

Question 1

Gordon is a drug dealer who does not use drugs himself. As a youngster, Gordon was often around both his uncle and older brother and observed them dealing on many occasions. Gordon feels little guilt or shame about what he is doing because he views himself as a salesman who is offering a desired commodity to willing customers. He also has strong ties to his family despite his criminal activities. Gordon is fairly intelligent and could easily get a normal job. Based on all of this information, which of the following theories can most effectively explain Gordon's behavior?

A) Self-control theory
B) Social control theory
C) Conflict theory
D) Social learning theory

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following was not a major influence on the differential association and social learning theories?

A) Symbolic interactionism
B) Chicago school research
C) Tarde's laws of imitation
D) Marx's dialectical materialism
E) Sellin's culture conflict theory

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Differential association suggests that:

A) the physical techniques and rationalizations for committing crime are acquired through one's friends and peers.
B) definitions favorable or unfavorable to the violation of law determine whether a person will behave criminally.
C) crime is learned through interaction with one's intimate groups.
D) all of the above.
E) none of the above.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Anderson's code of the street:

A) claims that inner-city families have different values from more wealthy, upper-class families.
B) suggests that to be respected in the inner city, one must engage in violence.
C) contends that certain aspects of one's personal style (e.g., facial hair, clothing, jewelry) may signify a willingness to engage in violence.
D) argues that the code is unaffected by structural factors.
E) all of the above.

Question 5

Which of the following is false with regard to Akers's social learning theory?

A) It incorporates ideas like imitation and modeling from Bandura's social cognitive theory.
B) It accounts for factors like the characteristics of the model, the type of behavior being observed, and the consequences of the behavior seen by the observer.
C) It expands on Sutherland's notion of definitions.
D) It disregards the importance of school and family life in favor of an exclusive focus on one's peer groups.
E) It was based in part on Skinner's operant conditioning theory.

Question 6

According to Akers's social learning theory, which set of definitions helps to justify or excuse criminal behavior?

A) Positive
B) General
C) Abstract
D) Neutralizing
E) None of the above

Question 7

Which of the following is not a legitimate criticism of social learning theory?

A) It only explains the emergence and not the maintenance of criminal behavior.
B) It does not account for individual differences that may give rise to criminal behavior or criminal opportunity structures.
C) It can't prove that criminal attitudes arise solely from criminal associations (i.e., what came first, the chicken or the egg?).
D) It is very difficult to operationalize and test.
E) All of the above.

Question 8

Research on social learning theory:

A) has provided little support for the theory.
B) suggests that early childhood experiences of violence within the family are strongly associated with early childhood aggression.
C) demonstrates that family influences become most important during adolescence.
D) indicates that females are more influenced by peers than are males.
E) has shown that social class determines one's learning style.

Question 9

Differential association and social learning theories build directly on earlier contributions from psychological and biological positivism.

Question 10

Differential association and social learning theories are good examples of conflict theories that dismiss any notion of consensus around laws and norms.

Question 11

Both individual criminal behavior and subcultural aspects of crime are addressed by differential association and social learning theories.

Question 12

The micro-level counterpart to differential association is known as differential social organization.

Question 13

According to Miller's theory of lower-class focal concerns, the values of upper and middle classes differ greatly from the values of lower classes.

Question 14

Wolfgang and Ferracuti's subculture of violence theory argues that criminal subcultures tend to be uniform entities and exhibit little variation based on geographic region.

Question 15

Social learning theory has influenced rehabilitation programs that are used in prisons.

Question 16

Differential association and social learning theories assume that "birds of a feather flock together," not "if you lie with dogs, you get up with fleas."

Question 17

How did the history of and assumptions made by differential association and social learning perspectives impact their development?

Question 18

What aspects of criminality do differential association and social learning theories attempt to explain?

Question 19

Does having delinquent peers always result in criminality? How does this statement connect to the differences between causation and correlation?

Question 20

How might the biological and psychological theories explored earlier be integrated within learning theories?

Question 21

What are some practical implications of differential association and social learning theories in the criminal justice system and wider society?