The Empirical Status of Social Learning Theory: A Meta‐Analysis

TLDR

Social learning theory has been a core criminological paradigm for four decades, yet its overall empirical status remains unknown despite extensive scholarship. The study conducts a meta‑analysis of empirical literature to assess the theory’s empirical status and discusses its implications for the field. The authors performed a meta‑analysis of empirical studies to evaluate the theory’s empirical status. Results show substantial variation in effect sizes across variables, with strong associations for differential association and antisocial attitudes, modest effects for differential reinforcement and modeling, and significant differences by model specification and research design.

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.