Running head: MILESTONE ONE 1
Milestone One: Resource Collection
Moesha C. Seaborn
Southern New Hampshire University
MILESTONE ONE 2
Milestone One: Resource Collection
At some point in everyone's life, they are faced with the decision of either following and
upholding the law or breaking it. When an individual decides to engage in criminal activity, what
factors are influencing their decision?
Using the influential Bandura experiment from 1961, Peter Graham and Adeela Arshad-
Ayaz (2016) delve deeper into the causes of aggressive behavior. Graduate student at Queen's
University in Canada's School of Environmental Studies, Graham is studying for a PhD in
environmental science. As a lecturer at Concordia University's Loyal College for Diversity and
Sustainability, Graham teaches a variety of courses related to sustainability. Concordia
University's Department of Education is home to Arshad-Ayaz, an assistant professor. Bandura's
learned aggression model can be used to model learned unsustainability, according to Graham
and Arshad-Ayaz (2016). Bobo dolls are symbolic representations of aggressive behavior, even if
they do not have any intrinsic aggressive characteristics themselves. Initially, Bobo dolls are seen
as signs that constitute a particular form of mediated action, but they become a cultural tool for
enacting almost ritualistic aggression (Graham & Arshad-Ayaz, 2016). According to Graham &
Arshad-Ayaz (2016), transformational change involves questioning and challenging the social
construction of objectivity in the face of propositional knowledge. By challenging and
questioning the cultural notion that Bobo dolls initiate aggression, the possibility of
"emphasizing narrative forms of knowledge" can emerge. Research limitations include the fact
that the author failed to implement the arguments and hypotheses he made in his article. The
arguments made in research should be examined in a context such as education, in order to
determine their reliability and validity. Its strength is that it implements Bandura's (1961)
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experiment regarding learned aggression into modern society, despite its limitations. Bandura's
research may be outdated in today's society, but the authors shift the focus to sustainability.
According to Klenteberg, Almquist, Beijer, and Rydelius (2011), family psychic
characteristics in childhood have a direct impact on criminal behavior.@Prof. Britt af Klinteberg
holds a PhD in psychology and is a professor at Stockholm University and a member of the
Karolinska Institute's Department of Women's and Children's Health.@In addition to holding a
PhD, Ylva Almquist is also a post-doctoral researcher at Stockholm University (Karolinska
Institute).@Research at the Karolinska Institute is being conducted by Ulla Beijer, who holds a
PhD in Women's and Children's Health. Currently, Per-Anders Rydelius is a professor at the
Karolinska Institute's Department of Women's and Children's Health and holds both a MD and a
PhD.@According to the authors, they examined subjects who were born in 1953 from the
Stockholm Birth Cohort.@A study examined substance use and mental health disorders as
potential factors influencing criminal behavior.@In their 2011 study, Klenteberg, Almquist,
Beijer, & Rydelius conclude that "all aspects of family psychosocial and individual problems
studied were linked to criminality for both genders" (Klinteberg, Almquist, Beijer, & Rydelius,
2011).@Having the individual's substance abuse addressed could potentially lead to a decrease in
criminal behavior, according to the authors.@There is a limitation to the study, which is that
participants were all Swedish, which means the sample may not be representative of the
population as a whole.@Results of the study may be influenced by cultural factors, which have not
been taken into consideration.@If the study had been conducted in a culture other than Swedish,
the results might have been different.@Additionally, all participants in the study were born in
1953, so the study does not include participants from other generations.@Participants from both
genders are included in the study, which is one of its strengths.@Additionally, the study includes a
MILESTONE ONE 4
variety of different family psychosocial characteristics that can influence criminal
behavior.@Researchers examined potential factors influencing criminal behavior to address the
research question.@These factors included family structure, family relationships, and parental
support. The researchers also considered the influence of peer pressure and the influence of peers
on criminal behavior. Finally, the researchers considered the effect of family socioeconomic
status on criminal behavior.
According to Hampton, Drabick, and Steinberg (2014), intelligence (IQ) is associated
with juvenile delinquency; however, other factors such as psychopathy may also influence
juvenile delinquency.@Each of the three authors is a member of Temple University's Department
of Psychology.@In a recent paper by Hampton, Drabick, and Steinberg (Hampton, Drabick &
Steinberg, 2014), the authors examined the relationship between psychopathy and income as well
as aggressive offending.@Hampton, Drabick & Steinberg (2014) evaluated 1, 354 juvenile
offenders on intelligence, psychopathy, and self-reported offending.@In their study, Hampton,
Drabick & Steinberg (2014) found that those with high psychopathy levels and high IQ levels
show the highest levels of offending (Hampton, Drabick & Steinberg, 2014).@The study is limited
to juvenile offenders as its participants.@Only fourteen to eighteen-year-olds are included in the
sample, so it may not be representative of the general public.@Further research is needed to
investigate the relationship between psychopathy and crime across different age groups. It is also
necessary to consider other factors, such as environmental factors, to determine why certain
individuals are more likely to commit crimes.
We will all take different paths in our lives depending on a variety of factors.@Individuals
are responsible for setting their own paths and making their own decisions.@Choosing certain
paths can lead to danger and criminality, and making some decisions is easier than
MILESTONE ONE 5
others.@Research literature above discusses factors that may influence an individual's decision to
commit a crime in order to address the research question.@It is important to understand how these
factors can shape an individual's decision-making processes, so that we can better identify and
intervene in potential criminal behavior. Additionally, it is important to provide individuals with
resources and support to make informed decisions about their lives and paths.
MILESTONE ONE 6
References
Graham, P., & Arshad-Ayaz, A. (2016). Learned Unsustainability: Bandura's Bobo Doll
Revisited. Journal Of Education For Sustainable Development, 10(2), 262-273.
Hampton, A. S., Drabick, D. A., & Steinberg, L. (2014). Does IQ moderate the relation between
psychopathy and juvenile offending?. Law and human behavior, 38(1), 23.
Klinteberg, B., Almquist, Y., Beijer, U., & Rydelius, P. (2011). Family psychosocial
characteristics influencing criminal behaviour and mortality - possible mediating factors:
a longitudinal study of male and female subjects in the Stockholm Birth Cohort. Bmc
Public Health, 11
