The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Ronald L Akers - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Learning theory
The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology, 2011Co-Authors: Ronald L Akers, Christine S SellersAbstract:Social Learning theory is one of the most widely tested and cited criminological theories in the field. Since Burgess and Akers's first conceptualization and Akers's more recent refinements of Social Learning theory, a considerable amount of support has been evidenced surrounding its four theoretical components: differential association, differential reinforcement, definitions, and imitation. Furthermore, Social Learning variables are also found to be robust predictors of crime and deviance alongside other general theories of crime. This entry reviews the theoretical propositions of Social Learning theory and the empirical tests of the theory and concludes with a consideration of future directions for research. Keywords: Criminology; Delinquency; Learning; Sociology; Sociology of Crime
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is stalking a learned phenomenon an empirical test of Social Learning theory
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2011Co-Authors: Kathleen A Fox, Matt R Nobles, Ronald L AkersAbstract:Abstract Purpose We examine the extent to which components of Social Learning theory (i.e., definitions, differential reinforcement, and differential association/modeling) predict stalking victimization and perpetration using survey data from a large sample of college students. Methods Among a sample of 2,766 college students, logistic regression models were estimated to analyze the relationships between Social Learning theory and stalking perpetration and victimization. Results Results suggest that victimization and perpetration are functions of Social Learning. The findings also indicated that females were significantly more likely to be both stalking victims and perpetrators. Conclusions Regarding stalking perpetration and victimization, our results suggest that there may be responses, attitudes, and behaviors that are learned, modified, or reinforced primarily through interaction with peers. Overall, Social Learning theory concepts appear to be important predictors of stalking perpetration and victimization that help to develop theoretical explanations for stalking.
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the Social Learning theory of crime and deviance
2009Co-Authors: Ronald L Akers, Wesley G JenningsAbstract:The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of Akers’ Social Learning theory including its theoretical foundations and four central explanatory concepts of differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement, and imitation. Akers (Social Learning and Social structure: a general theory of crime and deviance. Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1998) has extended Social Learning theory to the macro-level, and thus we provide a look at the assumptions, concepts, and propositions of his Social structure Social Learning model (SSSL). This discussion is followed by an examination of empirical research that has investigated the ability of Social Learning theory to account for variation in criminal and deviant behavior and a review of the evidence on the SSSL model pointing toward future directions for Social Learning and Social structure. The chapter concludes with a look at the applications of Social Learning theory to programs and policies.
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Social Learning and Social structure a general theory of crime and deviance
1997Co-Authors: Ronald L AkersAbstract:The Social Learning theory of crime integrates Edwin H. Sutherlands differential association theory with behavioral Learning theory. It is a widely accepted and applied approaches to criminal and deviant behavior. However, it is also widely misinterpreted, misstated, and misapplied. This is the first single volume, in-depth, authoritative discussion of the background, concepts, development, modifications, and empirical tests of Social Learning theory. Akers begins with a personal account of Sutherlands involvement in criminology and the origins of his influential perspective. He then traces the intellectual history of Sutherlands theory as well as Social Learning theory, providing a comprehensive explanation of how each theory approaches illegal behavior. Akers reviews research on various correlates and predictors of crime and delinquency that may be used as operational measures of differential association, reinforcement, and other Social Learning concepts. Akers proposes a new, integrated theory of Social Learning and Social structure that links group differences in crime to individual conduct. He concludes with a cogent discussion of the implications of Social Learning theory for criminology and public policy. Now available in paperback, with a new introduction by the author, this volume will be invaluable to professionals and for use in courses in criminology and deviance.
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is differential association Social Learning cultural deviance theory
Criminology, 1996Co-Authors: Ronald L AkersAbstract:Sutherland's differential association theory has long been criticized as a “cultural deviance” theory, and the critics have continued to apply this same designation to the theory's Social-Learning reformulation by Akers. According to this critique, differential association/Social Learning theory rests on the assumption that Socialization is completely successful and that cultural variability is unlimited, cannot explain individual differences in deviance within the same group and applies only to group differences, has no way of explaining violation of norms to which the individual subscribes, and proposes culture as the single cause of crime. This article examines the basis and validity of this cultural deviance label. I conclude that the usual attribution of cultural deviance assumptions and explanations to differential association/ Social Learning theory is based on misinterpretations. Then, I offer a clarification of how cultural elements are incorporated into the theory.
Lonn Lanza-kaduce - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Binge Drinking Among College Students: A Partial Test of Akers’ Social Structure-Social Learning Theory
American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2013Co-Authors: Michael Capece, Lonn Lanza-kaduceAbstract:The present research continues to test the hypothesis from Akers’ Social Structure-Social Learning Theory (1998) that the effects of structural variables will be mediated by Social Learning processes. The present research uses Core Alcohol and Drug Survey data from eight diverse college campuses throughout the United States to study binge drinking. This research examines 13 structural features for a full range of college students. The results indicate the Social Learning variables (rewards, punishments and definitions) mediated most of the structural effects of binge drinking. There were significant interactions, which are not predicted by Akers. The paper discusses the implication of these findings for Akers’ mediation hypothesis.
Kevin N. Laland - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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cognitive culture theoretical and empirical insights into Social Learning strategies
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2011Co-Authors: Luke Rendell, Laurel Fogarty, William Hoppitt, Thomas J H Morgan, M M Webster, Kevin N. LalandAbstract:Research into Social Learning (Learning from others) has expanded significantly in recent years, not least because of productive interactions between theoretical and empirical approaches. This has been coupled with a new emphasis on Learning strategies, which places Social Learning within a cognitive decision-making framework. Understanding when, how and why individuals learn from others is a significant challenge, but one that is critical to numerous fields in multiple academic disciplines, including the study of Social cognition.
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Social Learning strategies
Animal Learning & Behavior, 2004Co-Authors: Kevin N. LalandAbstract:In most studies of Social Learning in animals, no attempt has been made to examine the nature of the strategy adopted by animals when they copy others. Researchers have expended considerable effort in exploring the psychological processes that underlie Social Learning and amassed extensive data banks recording purported Social Learning in the field, but the contexts under which animals copy others remain unexplored. Yet, theoretical models used to investigate the adaptive advantages of Social Learning lead to the conclusion that Social Learning cannot be indiscriminate and that individuals should adopt strategies that dictate the circumstances under which they copy others and from whom they learn. In this article, I discuss a number of possible strategies that are predicted by theoretical analyses, including copy when uncertain , copy the majority , and copy if better , and consider the empirical evidence in support of each, drawing from both the animal and human Social Learning literature. Reliance on Social Learning strategies may be organized hierarchically, their being employed by animals when unlearned and aSocially learned strategies prove ineffective but before animals take recourse in innovation.
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Social Learning and life skills training for hatchery reared fish
Journal of Fish Biology, 2001Co-Authors: Culum Brown, Kevin N. LalandAbstract:With the stress placed on our natural resources, many fisheries increasingly rely on restocking from hatchery-reared sources in an attempt to maintain commercially viable populations. However, the mortality rates of hatchery-reared fishes during the period directly following release are very high. The successful development of restocking programs is consequently dependent upon production and release strategies that lead to improved migratory, antipredator and feeding behaviour in hatchery fish. While relevant individual experience prior to release might improve performance, Social Learning potentially provides a process whereby fish can acquire locally adaptive behaviour rapidly and efficiently. It is now well over a decade since Suboski & Templeton (1989) raised the possibility of using Social Learning processes to improve the post-release survival of hatchery-reared fishes. This period has witnessed considerable progress in the understanding of how Social Learning operates in fish populations. We review new methods and recent findings that suggest how Social Learning protocols could realistically be applied on a large scale to enhance the viability of hatchery fish prior to their release into the wild. We also suggest a practical pre-release training protocol that may be applied at the hatchery level.
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Shoaling generates Social Learning of foraging information in guppies
Animal Behaviour, 1997Co-Authors: Kevin N. Laland, Kerry WilliamsAbstract:Two experimental studies are reported which investigate the Social Learning of foraging information in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. In both cases, untrained adult female guppies swam with trained conspecifics to feed, and in the process learned a route to a food source. In experiment 1, subjects were given 5 days experience swimming with demonstrator fish trained to take one of two equivalent routes to food. When tested alone, subjects preferentially used the route of their demonstrators. Experiment 2 investigated whether this Social Learning could mediate the stable transmission of route preferences among small populations of fish. This experiment used a transmission chain design, in which fish in small founder populations were trained to take one of the two routes, with founder members gradually replaced by untrained conspecifics. Three days after all founder members had been removed, populations of untrained fish still maintained strong preferences for the routes of their founders. The results suggest that the tendency to shoal may facilitate a simple form of guided Social Learning, which allows guppies to learn about their local environments. They also imply that selectively neutral behavioural alternatives may be maintained as traditions in aggregated animal populations by very simple Social mechanisms. The transmission chain method may be particularly useful for studying Social species, such as the guppy, that do not respond well to isolation testing.
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chapter 7 developing a theory of animal Social Learning
Social Learning in Animals#R##N#The Roots of Culture, 1996Co-Authors: Kevin N. LalandAbstract:Over the last century, several hundred empirical studies have generated significant amounts of information about Social Learning in animals. While these studies have spawned a number of intuitive schemes designed to collate and categorize information on animal Social Learning, development of a formal theoretical framework is still in its infancy. One might expect many benefits from such a framework. Formal theory can structure and discipline thinking, tighten hypotheses, clarify mechanisms, identify key parameters, and raise questions that inspire empirical research. The field of animal Social Learning has not yet reached the stage of development where theoretical and empirical projects guide and inform each other. Much of the theory that does exist has been adapted from models of human culture rather than specifically designed for the analysis of Social Learning in other animals. This chapter attempts to outline the benefits of developing a coherent theory, reviewing and extending current theory, and pointing to the areas where further theory is required. Principal conclusion is that there is a need for greater integration of empirical and theoretical findings, so that each tradition can inform and stimulate the other.
Lucy M Aplin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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environmental and life history factors but not age influence Social Learning about food a meta analysis
Animal Behaviour, 2020Co-Authors: Julia Penndorf, Lucy M AplinAbstract:Social Learning is widespread across the animal kingdom and used by individuals to acquire adaptive behaviour across a range of contexts, from mate choice to migration. However, while multiple studies have demonstrated the presence of Social Learning in different species across several taxa, less attention has been paid to explaining variation in this phenomenon between populations or individuals. Theoretical modelling has suggested age should be important, with Social Learning most adaptive during the juvenile phase. Yet, empirical studies testing the interaction between age and Social Learning are equivocal and scattered in the literature. Accordingly, we present here what we believe to be the first meta-analytical review of this body of work. Collating 57 experimental studies that tested Social Learning in a foraging context, we conducted a two-fold analysis. First, we examined whether Learning success or rates were correlated with five possible variables: phylogeny, dispersal system, age at first reproduction (a conservative measure of extended juvenile periods), type of task or testing condition (captive individuals, wild individuals or wild individuals brought into captivity for testing). Second, we tested for interactions between age and these variables (28 studies). Our results did not support a clear direct relationship between age and Social Learning abilities. However, life history factors indirectly related to age (age at first reproduction and dispersal system) affected Social Learning propensity. Finally, Social Learning success was also correlated with factors related to the experiment itself (captive or wild origin of the animals and the type of task used to assess Social Learning).
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milk bottles revisited Social Learning and individual variation in the blue tit cyanistes caeruleus
Animal Behaviour, 2013Co-Authors: Lucy M Aplin, Ben C Sheldon, Julie MorandferronAbstract:Blue tits are famous for the ‘milk bottle’ innovation, which emerged at numerous sites across Britain in the early 20th century. However, overall we still know little about the factors that foster or hinder the spread of innovations, or of the impact of individual differences in behaviour on Social transmission. We used a two-action and control experimental design to study the diffusion of innovation in groups of wild-caught blue tits, and found strong evidence that individuals can use Social Learning to acquire novel foraging skills. We then measured six individual characteristics, including innovative problem solving, to investigate potential correlates of individual Social-Learning tendency. Consistent with a hypothesis of common mechanisms underlying both processes, we found evidence for a relationship between Social Learning and innovativeness. In addition, we observed significant age- and sex-biased Social Learning, with juvenile females twice as likely to acquire the novel skill as other birds. Social Learning was also more likely in subordinate males than dominant males. Our results identify individual variation and transmission biases that have potential implications for the diffusion of innovations in natural populations.
Joanne Tippett - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Learning in european river basin management barriers and fostering mechanisms from 10 river basins
Ecology and Society, 2007Co-Authors: Erik Mostert, Claudia Pahlwostl, Bradley Searle, David Tabara, Yvonne Rees, Joanne TippettAbstract:We present and analyze 10 case studies of participatory river-basin management that were conducted as part of the European HarmoniCOP project. The main theme was Social Learning, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration, organization, and Learning. The case studies show that Social Learning in river-basin management is not an unrealistic ideal. Resistance to Social Learning was encountered, but many instances of Social Learning were found, and several positive results were identified. Moreover, 71 factors fostering or hindering Social Learning were identified; these could be grouped into eight themes: the role of stakeholder involvement, politics and institutions, opportunities for interaction, motivation and skills of leaders and facilitators, openness and transparency, representativeness, framing and reframing, and adequate resources. Promising topics for further research include the facilitation of the Social Learning processes, the role of power, and interactions in political and institutional contexts.
