Understanding of the material presented on social learning and general strain theories - Essay Example

Unit Social Learning and General strain theories Social learning theory s that an environment modifiesthe behavior through the observational learning process. This theory claims that people learn from their surroundings. People gain knowledge from what surrounds their lives, such as children learn from the adults. The people or objects, which people learn refer to the model. The models give examples of gender behaviors to monitor and emulate. Social learning also refers to the cognitive process that can take place within a social environment.

This cognitive process occurs in the direct instruction or observation. The general strain theory is a criminology branch that has a perspective that criminal behavior is a result of pressure by negative emotions such as anger which results to negative or strain relationships with others. The social learning and the general strain theories have some similarities and differences that explain more concerning them. The difference between the two that, general strain theory puts emphases on the negative relationships with others while the theory of social learning focuses much on the cognitive information acquired through the learning process.

The general strain theory involves a motivational element of emotions that are negative while social learning involve a general learning process of either negative or positive things around the human beings (Agnew 67). For general strain theory, motivation occurs before the negative performance, but for social learning theory, motivation occurs when the desired behavior is achieved, although reinforcement is applied whenever a learner shows undesirable action. The social learning theory has some general similarities with the theory of general strain.

Both of the two theories focus on the behavior one acquires from their environment they live. Both theories influence the development of a human being under any specified circumstances. They both explain how the human surrounding influences the relationship that he will have to the people around or even objects (Agnew 68). The two theories have motivation and reinforcement as the key factor that influence the action one engage in. They are both behaviors centered as compared to the other theories.

The two theories propose that both behaviors of conformance and criminal like behavior are some kind of behaviors that one acquire and maintain, or even change through interaction with others.The most convincing theory between the two mentioned theories is the social learning theory. This theory can easily handle behavior inconsistencies. It explains the changes that occur in crime and delinquency. It is optimistic in some way as compared to the general strain theory, which is pessimistic towards its subject.

Social learning theory explains a real and precise picture of how one learns behavior. This theory gives more reasons for the occurrence of any criminal behavior (Agnew 67). It is the basis for integration of social and cognitive theories. The theory shows the behaviors learned socially and those that are cognitive in nature. This is vital to explaining some criminal behaviors of some people. It helps to explain the aggressiveness of some people within the society. The theory can explain a large number of differing behaviors of the human being.

This is important in the criminology field because it explains the variety of behaviors depicted by criminals. This theory is accurate and can easily be understood, unlike other theories. It focuses on the crucial theoretical aspects, for example, how stable is the behavior of a person. It is a theory that is evolving due to its ability to open up for new changes. Work citedAgnew, Robert. Pressured into Crime: An Overview of General Strain Theory. Los Angeles, Calif: Roxbury Pub, 2006. Print.