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The Empirical Status of Social Learning Theory: A Meta-Analysis
Authors:
Travis C. Pratt;
Francis T. Cullen;
Christine S. Sellers;
L. Thomas Winfree Jr.;
Tamara D. Madensen;
Leah E. Daigle;
Noelle E. Fearn; Jacinta M. Gau
(Show Biographies)
DOI:
10.1080/07418820903379610
Publication Frequency:
6 issues per year
Published in:
Justice Quarterly
First Published on:
25 November 2009
Subjects:
Criminal Justice;
Criminology - Law;
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Abstract
Social learning theory has remained one of the core criminological paradigms over the last four decades. Although a large body of scholarship has emerged testing various propositions specified by the theory, the empirical status of the theory in its entirety is still unknown. Accordingly, in the present study, we subject this body of empirical literature to a meta-analysis to assess its empirical status. Results reveal considerable variation in the magnitude and stability of effect sizes for variables specified by social learning theory across different methodological specifications. In particular, relationships of crime/deviance to measures of differential association and definitions (or antisocial attitudes) are quite strong, yet those for differential reinforcement and modeling/imitation are modest at best. Furthermore, effect sizes for differential association, definitions, and differential reinforcement all differed significantly according to variations in model specification and research designs across studies. The implications for the continued vitality of social learning in criminology are discussed.
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| Keywords: social learning theory; differential association; meta-analysis |
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