Social Learning and Theft: An Experimental Test of the Causal Mechanisms

• In Event: New Directions in Social Learning Theory

Abstract

The relationship between peer and personal deviance has long been acknowledged, though research that can actually speak to the issue of causality is rare. Paternoster et al. (2013) presented one of the few experimental studies addressing peer influence on deviance. They showed that approximately one third of participants who were exposed to deviant peer influence engaged in deviant behavior versus none in the control group. We attempted to build on their work by: a) adding more treatment groups as based on social learning theory (control, definitions-only, modeling-only, definitions-plus-modeling); b) increasing the visibility of the deviant behavior (taking a $15 gift card in full view of other participants); c) testing the effect of different levels of peer influence (one versus two confederates). Using a convenience sample of undergraduate students (~300), we found that participants in the definitions-plus-modeling group were most likely to take a gift card followed by the modeling-only group. Interestingly, the modeling-only treatment was only influential when two confederates were present. There were no thefts in either the control or definitions-only groups regardless of the number of confederates. The implication is that deviant modeling is the critical causal mechanism though verbal support can strengthen the effect of modeling.

Authors

• Owen Gallupe, University of Waterloo

• Holly Nguyen, University of Maryland

• Martin Bouchard, Simon Fraser University

• Jennifer Schulenberg, University of Waterloo

• Allison Chenier, University of Waterloo

• Katie D. Cook, University of Waterloo