Is Crime a Learned Behavior?/ Social and Behavioral Aspects of Criminal Behavior
HELLO THERE, ARE 2 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENTS I HAVE LABELED THEM BOTH BELOW ALONG WITH 2 OTHER ATTACHED PAPERS TO HELP GUIDE YOU ALONG THE WAY I WILL ALSO ATTACH THE READING MATERIAL TO HELP YOU IF NEEDED AND YOU CAN USE OUTSIDE REFERENCES TO COMPLETE THE WORK ALSO BOTH ASSIGNMENTS HAVE TO BE EXLEAST 250 WORD COUNT EACH THANKS…...
Discussion 1: Is Crime a Learned Behavior?
According to the social and behavioral theories addressed in this week’s Learning Resources, behavior is learned through experience, observation, and the administration of punishment and rewards. For example, a child may avoid a hot stove after being burned, an adolescent may mimic his or her favorite recording artist, and an adult may drive slowly through a school zone after receiving a speeding ticket the week before. The majority of learned behavior is considered to be acceptable and falls within the confines of social norms. However, poor behavior can also be learned and reinforced through the same mechanisms as good behavior.
For this Discussion, you consider the degree to which criminal behavior is learned and whether the current criminal justice system is equipped to help offenders “unlearn.”
To prepare:
Identify a recent crime that received news coverage and for which there is information about the offender’s background and motives.
By Day 3
Post a response that addresses the following:
Summarize the crime you have identified.
Why did the offender commit the crime? To what extent do you think the crime was the result of learned behavior?
Is the current criminal justice system equipped to help offenders “unlearn” criminal behavior, such as that involved in this crime?
Discussion 2: Social and Behavioral Aspects of Criminal Behavior
In this Discussion, and in the Assignments that follow in Weeks 2–5, you will apply concepts and theories of criminal behavior to the Keen family. The Keen family is a fictitious family that is not unlike many real families in which criminal behavior is multi-generational and pervasive. You can learn more about the Keen family by viewing this week’s media resource.
Given that this is the first time you will be applying concepts and theories to the Keen family, this activity is designed as a Discussion so that you have the benefit of peer and Instructor guidance and feedback. As mentioned above, the subsequent application of concepts and theories in Weeks 2–5 will be in the form of papers.
In this Discussion, you apply social and behavioral concepts and theories to explain the criminal behavior of Keen family members.
Post a response that addresses the following:
Explain how—and to what extent—the following factors account for criminal behavior in the case study:
Parenting styles and practices
Peer influences
Conditioning and reinforcement
Support your response with specific examples from the case study, theories from the Learning Resources, and relevant professional experience.