learning Flashcards
what is learning
-Principle means of acquiring or changing behaviour
-Occurs through observation or association
–> 2 events are connected
-Learning has no risk factors and criminal behav is diff in learning behav
Classical conditioning
Ivan pavlov
-2 stimuli are repeatedly paired and result in a neutral stimulus being able to evoke the response that was originally only evoked by the unconditioned stimulus
-Unconditioned stimulus: salivation response and food, not learned behaviour
-Conditioned stimulus: the learned behaviour
-Environment will act on the person (before)
Classical conditioning + crime
Limited research on role of classical conditioning on criminal behaviour, but may play a role in sex offenses
May explain why people follow the law, rather than break it
Human conscience is a classically conditioned emotional reflex that develops during childhood socialization (isaac in neuroticism)
Stimulus generalization (conditioned reflex is established and will evoke same response in a different situation) explains why not every bad behav needs to be repeated and punished
Classically conditioned conscience may be missing in some people due to inconsistent or absent punishment (cannot make connection between behaviour and punishment)
–>Lack of fear response
Some people may be easier to condition
Operant conditioning: person acts on environment
BF Skinner
Behaviour is acquired or eliminated, by the consequences that follow it
Requires a discriminative stimulus, a response, and the consequences of the response
Behaviour changes on what is to follow (future)
Stimulus generalization: dog sits when commanded to sit and not other communication
-reinforcement, punishment, extinction, reinforcement sched
REINFORCEMENT
Anything that increases the probability of future responding
Positive reinforcement
–> Something positive is gained
Negative reinforcement
–> Something negative is removed
Increase the probability or likelihood of behaviour occurring
–> If reward is delayed, ability to learn behaviour is reduced
–> Length of time determines form of connection
Most effective if reinforcement occurs immediately
–> Connections hard to form if delayed
Punishment
-Positive punishment: added on punishment
-Negative punishment: removal of something positive
-Effective punishment should be intense, timely, consistent
Punishments don’t replace a negative behav with a positive one
–> More effective if accompanied by reinforcement
-Suppress bad behaviour temporarily but no positive reinforcement
Extinction
Ending of behaviour without reinforcement or punishment
Reinforcement schedule
Rules governing delivery of reinforcement
May be continuous or intermittent (more common)
WHY CJS PUNISHMENTS FAIL (does not follow operant/classical conditioning)
Intensity
-Rarely intense initially (mild punishment for first time offender and conscious is more intense punishment)
Immediacy
-Delays between arrest and sentencing is common (punishment is effective immediately)
Consistency
-Perps not always caught or punished
No prosocial replacement
-Token economies in institutions as a positive reinforcer
Operant conditioning and crime
Crime is reinforced
–> Nonsocial (shoplifted an item) , internal physiological state (feeling powerful)
Nonsocial reinforcements
–>Material items or internal states
Differential reinforcement
–>Past reinforcement may exceed effects of punishment
Observational or social learning
Albert bandura
Examine internal processes
Importance of social environment
Behaviour is learned through watching/listening and replicating others
Time between perceiving stimulus and acting on the stimulus
Explains onset of criminal behav
Acquisition and imitation (paying attention to model and retaining in memory)
Model
–> Individual originally performing the behaviour
Acquisition
–> Observing the model and retaining behav in memory
Imitation
–> Performance of acquired behav
–> Requires capability and motivation
Behaviour requires reinforcement
–> Vicarious reinforcement occur to other people
–> Behaviour can be acquired without imitation
Expectancy theory
Julian rotter
Behaviour is based on the expectation that the behav will lead to a specific outcome
Violence has worked in the past, so expectation is that it will work again
Expectation to gain a sort of reward
Observing and imitating crime
Imitation dependent on the model
Models can show prosocial or antisocial behav
Greater impact of more significant models
Actions > words
Bobo doll experiment
3 groups of children watched adults assault the bobo doll
One model group was punished, one model group was reinforced, one model group received neither reinforcement nor punishment
Children who witnessed reinforcement more likely to assault the bobo doll
Monkey see monkey do
Aggressive modeling
