Transgender, a word that is commonly confused among people who do not fully understand it’s definition. It is defined by Julia Wood (2014) as, “Individuals who feel like his or her biological sex is not his or her true sexual identity” (pg. 289). This is how the main character Brandon Teena from the award winning movie Boys Don’t Cry feels. Many theories deal with how boys and girls must play the roles of their assigned sex. These theories connect to what is going on in Brandon 's head and how he is trying to defy the lessons that have been instilled in him since he was little. Through his verbal and nonverbal actions Brandon puts on the performance of a man and leads his life as he wishes it was. There is still the pull inside of him from
Social learning theory is defined by Walter Mischel as “individuals learn to be masculine and feminine by imitating others and getting responses from others to their behaviors” (Wood, p. 45, 2014). This is somewhat different for Brandon though. Social learning theory is usually for children and learning to act their gender in the best way. Brandon examples this when he is trying to act more like a man around his new friends from Falls City. In the movie when they first go to the party in a field where men are riding the bed of a truck like it was a surfboard, or “bumper skiing” (Hart, Kolodner, Sharp, Vachon, 1999). Brandon sees the men doing this and John says, “That’s what guys do around here” (Hart et al, 1999). Brandon uses this an opportunity to prove he is one of the guys. Also, Brandon is exhibiting many personal dramas, such as don’t be female and you must be aggressive to prove you are a man (Wood, 2014). John and Tom show both of these traits and have become role models to Brandon on how to perform masculinity the right way (Cooper, 2002). He continues this theory by watching the other men in the group and the more he acts like them, the more he feels his disguise is
The first subcategory is called the “Social Learning Theory”, which dictates that a person’s behavior is learned through negative external observations (Siegel & Worrall, 2013, p. 50).
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
John Wayne Gacy was a U.S. serial killer who was found guilty of killing 33 boys and young men (McCormick, 1998). Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois (Sullivan, 2013). John Wayne Gacy had two sisters, Joanne and Karen and had a difficult relationship with his father. His father was an auto repair machanic and World War I veteran (Jones, 2012). Whenever his father came home from work, he would go to the basement and drink. His father was an alcoholic and used physical punishment on all of his children (Jones, 2012). He would even beat the children with a razor strap if they misbehaved (Sullivan, 2013). Gacy’s mother tried her best to protect the children, but Gacy’s father physically assaulted her as well (Jones, 2012). Additionally,
Alex Kotowits’ book, There Are No Children Here, follows two young boys over a course of two years. The environment that the children are raised in is a lower income area that is surrounded by violence, gangs, and crime. The best theory to explain this novel would be strain theory, followed by social disorganization theory. Being raised in poverty generates many issues, which then makes children rebel later in life. Many families experience different types of strain such as experience strain, vicarious strain, and anticipated strain. This not only affects the person who is experiencing strain, but also affects other people who are around them. The novel presents a good example of both general strain theory and early social disorganization theory
In 2003 Ronell Wilson and his friend Jessie Jacobus arranged to sale guns to a buyer. The buyers happen to be two undercover detectives. They arranged to meet in Staten Island to exchange guns for cash. Wilson and his friend did not have guns to sale and the plan was to rob the two gun buyers. When they met the gun buyers Wilson and Jacobus sat in the back of the car right behind the two detectives. At some point Wilson realized that the gun buyers were cops and begin shooting them one by one to avoid going to jail. Wilson used a small handgun to kill both detectives. Wilson killed Detective Rodney J. Andrews and detective James V. Nemorin.
George Orwell quotes, “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” The documentary, “The Mask You Live In”, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, shows different ages of males who struggle to be themselves while battling America’s limited meaning of manliness. George Orwell quotes, “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” Influenced by the media, among their age group, and the grown-ups in their lives, adolescents dissociate their emotions, disrespect women, and are aggressive. Society gender stereotypes affect young males to change to fit into the societal norm as they characterize “real” men.
What are theories of crime? Why are they important? In this paper, will discuss two crime theories. Social learning theory and the labeling theory. We will compare both crime theories. It will also explain how these theories are related to specific crimes. The two theories discussed will also explain the policy implications. Finally, we will address what types of programs can be created to mitigate specific crimes related to the causation theories.
These experiences include personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies” (Siegel 138). Social learning theory can be attributed to Ted Bundy based on his rough childhood. He was raised by his grandparents, who lied and said that his mother was his sister, which Bundy did not figure out until later in life. Bundy also did not know the true origin of his father, which stirred up inconsistent rumors that his father was actually his grandpa, meaning his birth was from an insetious rape (Michaud & Aynesworth 56). His grandpa was reported as being abusive to his children and acted in a vulgar and violent manner (Michaud & Aynesworth 330). Based on social learning theory, Bundy learned how to act violent from his grandfather, which led to him becoming a serial killer. “The boy who sees his father repeatedly strike his mother with impunity is likely to become a battering partner and husband” (Siegel
Homeschooled children have the same, if not more, socialization skills than children that go to public schools. Some public schooled children might think that because homeschooled children do not go to a public school that they do not have friends or the social skills that come with going to a public school with their peers. I grew up in the public schools so before doing research I believed that home schooled children did not have the same amount of social skills as public and private schooled children because they did not have to learn in a room full of other kids, which seems to be where kids learn how to take turns and interact with other children of their age.
Basically, what one needs to know before proceeding to read through this analysis of gender development is that gender identity refers to “one’s sense of oneself as male, female, or transgender” (American Psychological Association, 2006). When one’s gender identity and biological sex are not congruent, the individual may identify as transsexual or as another transgender category (cf. Gainor, 2000). Example, Jennifer in the book, She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders, who brought us through the struggle of living a transgendered life from start to finish. Also, the formation of gender identity is influenced by social factors, such as family, friends, the environment, etc. For example, fathers tend to be more involved when their sons engage in gender-appropriate activities such as playing baseball or soccer rather than wanting to become a dancer or a cheerleader.
According to the Strong and Cohen some ways people are socialized into their gender is by the social learning theory, cognition, modeling, cognitive development theory, and agents of socialization (120). The social learning theory is derived from behaviorist psychology and it emphasizes on observable events and there consequences rather than people’s internal feelings and drives. We learn attitudes and behaviors through social interactions with others.
There are so many theories that have come about over the years that try to explain why we have a certain personality. Many of these theories were based on the environment at the time and observations. Thinking about those other theories made me realize that many things we do are based on observation and the theory that I feel best suits my personality is the Social-Cognitive Learning Theory that was introduced by Albert Bandura. According to Bandura, the set of cognitive processes by which a person perceives, evaluates, and regulates his or her own behavior so that it is appropriate to the environment and effective in achieving goals (Friedman & Schustack, 2012, pg.236). This theory focuses on the way people learn by observing others and
Successful teachers develop the whole child by making integrated efforts to promote their student’s academic, social and emotional learning. Children need to be aware of themselves and others; make responsible decisions, and be ethical and respectful of the people around them.
The Social Learning Theory (SLT) states that people learn by observation, modeling and motivation by positive reinforcement. Albert Bandura believed that observational learning could be used to explain a broad range of behaviors and that modeling was important to behavior. He observed that children would imitate people even if reinforcements were not immediate. In 1977, Bandura conceived the concept of self-efficacy which is the foundation of the Social Cognitive Theory. Self-efficacy is one’s confidence in completing a task or goal. An individual’s actions are influenced by actions that are observed in others and that individual has control of his/her own life.
Behavior and social learning are two theories that are inherently intertwined. Behavior to some extent is taught for social reasons, and social learning can very much shape and create behaviors. While behavior is something intentionally taught, social learning can teach and reinforce many unintentional behaviors, such as dishonesty or aggression. In order to adequately discuss these two interrelated topics, theory exploration is in order.