NCJ Number
57506
Date Published
1978
Length
19 pages
Annotation
THEORY AND RESEARCH ON THE UTILITY OF A COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING PERSPECTIVE IN IMPROVING THE SOCIAL SKILLS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS ARE REVIEWED.
Abstract
THE ARTICLE INCLUDES A DISCUSSION OF DELINQUENCY CAUSES; AN EXPLANATION OF THE COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING PERSPECTIVE; A SURVEY OF RESEARCH APPLYING THE PERSPECTIVE IN TREATING DELINQUENTS, INCLUDING DETAILS OF A STUDY CARRIED OUT AT THE CASCADIA JUVENILE RECEPTION-DIAGNOSTIC CENTER IN TACOMA, WASH., AND AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH RESEARCH FOR TREATING AND PREVENTING DELINQUENCY. 'COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING' HAS TO DO WITH THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS ON PEOPLE'S THINKING, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND OTHER COGNITIVE PROCESSES. FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, PEOPLE ARE VIEWED AS INFORMATION PROCESSORS, WHOSE COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES ARE PRODUCTS OF THEIR PERSONAL HISTORIES AND FUNCTION AS MEDIATORS BETWEEN EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOR. THE CASCADIA EXPERIMENT TESTED TWO WAYS OF TRANSMITTING SOCIALLY RELEVANT INFORMATION TO DELINQUENTS: MODELING AND DISCUSSION. IN THE MODELING SESSIONS, COUNSELORS AND DELINQUENTS ROLE-PLAYED SITUATIONS THAT OFTEN PRESENT PROBLEMS FOR ADOLESCENTS (E.G., RESISTING TEMPTATIONS BY PEERS TO ENGAGE IN ANTISOCIAL ACTIVITY). BY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT MEASURES, INCLUDING A 5-YEAR RECIDIVISM FOLLOWUP, YOUTHS TREATED IN DISCUSSION OR MODELING GROUPS FARED BETTER THAN UNTREATED CONTROLS. PASSIVE, DEPENDENT, LESS SOCIALLY ADEQUATE SUBJECTS WITH NEUROTIC PERSONALITIES RESPONDED MORE FAVORABLY TO MODELING, WHILE AGGRESSIVE, SOCIOPATHIC YOUTHS RESPONDED MORE POSTIVELY TO DISCUSSION. THE CASCADIA FINDINGS AND THOSE OF OTHER EXPERIMENTS WITH MODELING IN SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR DELINQUENTS ARE ENCOURAGING. RESEARCH INTO MODELING, REINFORCEMENT, AND OTHER MEANS OF TRANSMITTING INFORMATION IN A TREATMENT CONTEXT SHOULD CONTINUE. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)