Social Learning, Negative Labeling, and Social Disorganization and Street Gang Formations
Overview
This essay examines how three criminological theories—social learning, negative labeling, and social disorganization—contribute to the formation of street gangs in society. The paper argues that criminal behavior develops through a comprehensive understanding of social processes and structures, whereby individuals learn and adopt criminal behaviors through social interaction and group membership.
What this essay covers
- Social Learning: Explains how criminal behavior is acquired through learning processes as gang members identify, adopt, and imitate behaviors from their community
- Negative Labeling: Analyzes how labeling individuals with negative associations causes them to align their behaviors with group identity and increases likelihood of gang involvement
- Social Disorganization: Discusses how weak parent-teenager bonds and disorganized community structures facilitate the nurturing and transmission of criminal behaviors within groups
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Social Learning, Negative Labeling, and Social Disorganization and Street Gang Formations
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Social Learning, Negative Labeling, and Social Disorganization and Street Gang Formations
Numerous proponents of the social learning theory argue that criminal behavior and crime within a society are understood through a comprehensive outlook on the social process, structure, and theories. In this regard, criminal behavior and crime activities result from the formation of criminal gangs within the society. In this regard, social learning, negative labeling, and social disorganization are significant contributors to street gangs' formation. The essay aims to explain how these aspects play in the formation of street gangs (Matsueda, 2017).
Social Learning
According to the social learning theory, crime and criminal behavior arise through learning. The members of the street gangs identify, adopt, and imitate these behaviors. The young people within a particular community learn specific behaviors from other members of the same community. Through such learning, the gangs are formed as people acquire criminal behaviors through social learning. The learning process is usually through stages and gradually leads to the formation of criminal street gangs (Matsueda, 2017).
Negative Labeling
Negative labeling is also a known contributor to the development of street gangs. During the development stages, individuals are known to behave in a certain way, which causes young people to join or enroll in gang groups. When a person is labeled to belong to a specific group, they tend to align their attitudes and behaviors to what the group is identified with.