G543 - Upbringing - Akers

Question 1

How many participants were selected? What age range? With what?

Answer 1

2500 males and females ages 13-18 with drinking and drug problems

Question 2

What 5 key factors did Akers propose as predictors of learning deviant behaviour?

Answer 2

Imitation
Differential association
Definitions
Differential reinforcement - social
Differential reinforcement - non-social

Question 3

What did Akers find to be a very important factor in learning drink and drug behaviour?

Answer 3

Imitation

Question 4

For imitation, what % variation was there in drinking behaviours? And drug behaviours? What does this provide support for?

Answer 4

55% in drink, 68% in drug, the social learning theory

Question 5

What did Akers suggest were important in explaining how deviant behaviour is learned? What does this provide support for?

Answer 5

Differential association, and definitions of what is acceptable/not acceptable. Provides support for the differential association theory

Question 6

What did Akers aim to test?

Answer 6

The social learning theory proposed by Bandura which suggests we learn through imitation, and the differential association theory proposed by Sutherland