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Social Reinforcement, Socialization, and Chronic Delinquency
Author(s) -
SARBIN THEODORE R.,
ALLEN VER L.,
RUTHERFORD ELDRED E.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
british journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0007-1293
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1965.tb00461.x
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , psychology , reinforcement , socialization , developmental psychology , conditioning , social psychology , statistics , mathematics
This study compared the performance of delinquent and non‐delinquent boys on an operant conditioning task in which social reinforcement was given. It was hypothesized that chronic delinquents would perform poorly in a social learning situation because of an inadequate social environment during the important early periods of life. Both delinquents and non‐delinquents showed evidence of some learning on the task; difference between the groups was greatest in the first part of the conditioning session. Subjects who had high scores on a socialization scale—whether delinquents or non‐delinquents—showed more conditioning than S s with low scores. Results were discussed in terms of the cue property and the reinforcement property of a social stimulus.