Criminal Theory - Operational Implementation Term Paper

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In terms of correctional program implementation, operant conditioning principles provide the basis for motivating cooperation and other desirable behaviors (including reduction of undesirable behaviors) in a quid pro quo arrangement. Typical examples of operational implementation of operant conditioning would include so-called "token economies" and other bilateral agreements, arrangements, or understandings that certain desired behaviors provide specific rewards (Van Voorhis 2007). Operant conditioning principles are particularly useful in parenting, such as between teenagers rewarded with late weekend curfews for good grades; it is also a proven method of increasing inmate compliance within correctional institutions where good behavior is rewarded with increased privileges and undesirable behaviors are punished through privilege reduction (Spiegler & Guevremont 1993). Generally, the most important fundamental element of successful implementation of operant conditioning principles in behavior modification is the gradual phasing out of the reward-based motivation for compliance (Van Voorhis 2007). The goal of any such operational conditioning-based program is always the eventual transition to desired behaviors without the promise of specific reward (or the threat of specific punishment) as the primary motivation for appropriate social behavior and conduct.

Operational Implementation of Social Learning Principles:

Social learning theorists do not directly dispute the principles underlying classical or operant conditioning; rather, they suggest that those two particular psychological mechanisms are overshadowed by the degree to which social learning is actually responsible for the myriad individual behaviors represented in the full spectrum of human social conduct (Goldstein, Glick, and Gibbs 1986). According to this view, only a relatively small percentage of human behaviors are motivated by specific reward and punishment compared to the percentage of human behaviors that are attributable to modeling behaviors observed in others.

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In the context of the development of criminal behavior, social learning is abundantly evident wherever children emulate positive behaviors exhibited by parents, teachers, or other role models; it equally evident in negative context wherever individuals emulate behaviors modeled by criminals and peers (Macionis 2003). In terms of correctional program implementation, social learning principles are closely linked to operant conditioning principle implementation in that the former often consists primarily of presenting subjects with role positive models of their peers. More specifically, the subject observes the model rewarded for the types of behavior desired of the subject.

Whereas social conditioning is profoundly influential in the socialization process generally (Henslin 2002), it is not as conducive to reform in an institutional setting by virtue of the powerful persistence of gang affiliation and established institutional cultures that directly contradict the behavior modeled by exposure to positive examples. REFERENCES

Gerrig, R.J., Zimbardo, P.G. (2005) Psychology and Life. New York: Pearson

Goldstein, Glick, and Gibbs. (1986) Aggression Replacement Training, pp 1-68

Henslin, J.M. (2002) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon

Innes, B. (2007) Serial Killers: The Story of History's Most Evil Murderers. London: Quercus

Macionis, J.J. (2003) Sociology 9th Edition.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Schmalleger, F. (1997) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Spiegler, M., Guevremont, D. (1993) Contemporary….....

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