Ron Akers, who developed Social Learning Theory as a theory of crime, argued that differential association is a learning theory of human behavior. As such, Akers contends that it should draw from psychological processes of learning that psychologists in other fields have developed in more depth.
Akers’ social learning theory makes a significant contribution to differential association by emphasizing that learning occurs through a process of differential reinforcement. According to Akers, this concept involves the balance of anticipated or actual rewards and punishments that follow behaviors. It is not merely the differential associations we have about crime, but also how our behaviors are reinforced differently by the people around us. If the youth decides to engage in delinquency, Akers argues that their likelihood of future delinquent behavior depends on whether they are rewarded by their “bad friend” or others around them, or punished by their “good friend” or others around them. Thus, it is through the differential rewards and punishments for our behavior that we learn how to behave.
You should recognize from the reading, though, that Akers’ theory differs in the following ways:
- First, it goes beyond just punishment to include reinforcement, which is understood to be a more powerful method of influencing behavior. The criminal justice system is only involved in imposing punishments, following deterrence theory, so other institutions must be involved in the reinforcement processes described by Akers.
- Second, it emphasizes social interactions, and doesn’t rely on formally imposed punishment or even formal kinds of punishments imposed by other authority figures. Like DAT, Akers recognizes the importance of simple interactions with family, peers, and others around the actor, but looks at the reinforcement processes, rather than the simple communication of attitudes.
