Provide a critique of social learning.

criminal justice discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn. Provide a critique of social learning. Note the limitations of this theory. You may wish to provide a critique of Akers et al.’s article, but you do not have to. I know that many of you “like” social learning theory; that is fine, but what I want you to do is think about and discuss the limitations of it (it is not a perfect theory). Do not just “walk through the motion” on this discussion. I want you to really reflect on what is wrong with this theory. Then, discuss how you think that these limitations could be addressed. Requirements: 2-3 paragraphs | .doc file 1 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY One of the more dominant criminological theories is social learning theory. As you will learn about this week, the major hypothesis of this theory is that criminal behavior is learned by watching others commit crimes. As a result, social learning theory identifies parents, peers, the media, and other salient role models as potential causes of crime. There has been a lot of empirical support for this theory, in that exposure to delinquent peers is a strong predictor of delinquency and crime. However, exposure to other sources of criminal images, such as movies, television, and video games, is not nearly as straightforward. In fact, there is a lot of evidence to indicate that these media sources have no effect on crime. Of course, more research is needed before a definitive conclusion can be drawn. To give you a bit of background information, social learning theory grew out of Sutherland’s differential association theory. Differential association theory was stated in nine principles and basically argues that crime is learned in close interactions with significant others. However, this theory was lacking in certain respects so Akers came along and made a number of changes/additions/modifications to it. He subsequently called the theory, social learning theory. You will read about differential association theory and social learning theory this week (they are typically both referred to as social learning theories, but I wanted you to be aware of the differences between the two). The article for this week represents a classic test of social learning theory. Pay attention to how they described social learning theory and what they found. 2 Weekly Assignment Your assignment for this week is as follows: 1) Read the week 5 notes 2) Read pp. 47-60 in Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 3) Review the Powerpoint presentation 4) Read the article by Akers et al. (it is posted under the Assignments tab) 5) Post (on the discussion board) a response the following question: Provide a critique of social learning. Note the limitations of this theory. You may wish to provide a critique of Akers et al.’s article, but you do not have to. I know that many of you “like” social learning theory; that is fine, but what I want you to do is think about and discuss the limitations of it (it is not a perfect theory). Do not just “walk through the motion” on this discussion. I want you to really reflect on what is wrong with this theory. Then, discuss how you think that these limitations could be addressed. **Make sure that you respond to the question in detail and that the writing is free of grammatical errors and that it is well-organized. Also, make sure you cite ALL of the assigned readings for the week. Failure to follow these requirements will result in a lower grade. Your answer should be at least 2 well-developed and carefully crafted paragraphs.