Ch 4 Crim Behavior: Learning & Situational Factors Flashcards
Behaviorism (Ivan Pavlov)
A perspective that focuses on observable, measurable behavior and argues that the social environment and learning are the key determinants of human behavior.
-“Conditioned Learning”-Classical Conditioning
He found what stimulated the brain according to what the person expected
EX: I see puzza, my mouth gets watery
Cognitive processes
Internal mental processes that enable humans to imagine, gain knowledge, reason, and evaluate information.
Classical conditioning/ Pavlovian conditioning
The process of learning to respond to a formerly neutral stimulus that has been paired with another stimulus that already elicits a response. Also called Pavlovian conditioning.
Stimulus
A person, object, or event that elicits behavior.
Independent variable
The measure whose effect is being studied, and, in most scientific investigations, that is manipulated by the experimenter in a controlled fashion.
Dependent variables
The variables that are measured to see how they are changed by manipulations of the independent variables.
Variable
Any entity that can be measured.
Situationism
A theoretical perspective that argues that environmental stimuli control behavior.
Reductionism
A research approach that argues that in order to understand highly complex events or phenomenon, one must start examining the simplest parts first.
Operant conditioning
A form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or diminished by its consequences. Also called instrumental learning.
Reinforcement
Anything that increases the probability of responding.
Positive reinforcement
The acquisition of something desired as a result of one’s behavior.
Negative reinforcement
The reward received for avoiding a painful or aversive condition, or stimuli.
Punishment
An event by which a person receives a noxious, painful, or aversive stimulus, usually as a consequence of behavior.
Extinction
The decline and eventual disappearance of a conditioned or learned response when it is no longer reinforced.
Social learning theory
A theory of human behavior based on learning from watching others in the social environment. This leads to an individual’s development of his or her own perceptions, thoughts, expectancies, competencies, and values.
Expectancy theory
A theory of motivation that takes into account both the expectancy of achieving a particular goal and the value placed on it.
Observational learning (modeling)
The process by which individuals learn patterns of behavior by observing another person performing the action.
Models
Individuals or groups of individuals in the environment whose behavior is observed and imitated.
Differential association-reinforcement (DAR) theory
A theory of deviance developed by Akers that combines Skinner’s behaviorism and Sutherland’s differential association theory. The theory states that people learn deviant behavior through the reinforcements they receive from the social environment.
Discriminative stimuli
Social signals or gestures transmitted by subcultural or peer groups to indicate whether certain kinds of behavior will be rewarded or punished within a particular social context.
Frustration
An aversive internal state of arousal that occurs when one is prevented from responding in a way that previously produced rewards (or that one believes would produce rewards).
Socialized offender
A person who violates the law consistently because of learning the behavioral patterns from his or her social environment.
Individual offender
In Berkowitz’s theory, the person who offends after a series of frustrations and unmet needs.
