It is interesting to think about the psychology behind criminals and try to understand why they do what they do. I think that the textbook explains very well different theories and reasons why a criminal may commit a crime. The Social Learning Theory is one theory that helps psychologists and individuals understand why a criminal does what they do. I feel like a lot of people have certain stereotypes when it comes to criminals such as; they must have had a major trauma in their childhood or something must’ve happened to them as a kid. While statistics show that this is the case majority of the time, outside social environments can be used as another way to give reason to crimes.
The textbook explains social learning theory as, “criminal activity represents learned behaviors that develop through a person’s interactions and experiences with the social environment” (Gruman and Schneider, 2016). This means that the crimes criminals commit may be caused by interactions criminals have with people or things in society. There are so many things and people in society that can easily influence other people to do things. This could be positive and negative things, but the social learning theory specifically points out negative crimes that criminals may be influenced to commit.
Something that I have studied and looked at in the past was the effect violent video games have on aggression in people. There have been many studies performed to see how violence in media, specifically video games, can cause people to become more aggressive and display aggressive behaviors. I think that this goes hand and hand with the social learning theory. Outside environmental factors, such as violence in the media, can cause certain behaviors, such as aggression. I think it is important to think of other factors that would affect people’s behaviors and think of other reasons as to why criminals do what they do.
As much as it is important for psychologists and other people working in the judicial system to know about this theory, I think it should be known by criminals as well. I think that if criminals were aware of this theory and how certain factors and things may influence them, then they can stray clear from those factors. Being aware of these things may lead to a lower crime rate and help criminals not commit crimes.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.