Introduction
Learning enables people to adapt to certain behaviors either negatively or positively. The stimuli can change a whole society’s thinking concerning an issue. Social learning allows action adaptation or changes through observation. Social control manages these behaviors while social bonds attach people to certain groups or activities. The paper would highlight the need for careful analysis of behavior through the lens of social learning, social control, and social bonds.
Social Learning
When I was a teenager, my dad moved the entire family from the rural to the city. I discovered that most of my age mates had adapted to a particular lifestyle in the city that did relate to what I had learned while at home (Bakhurst, 2015). They spent much of their time in a school outside classrooms. They also disrespected their parents. Some of them could get to their homes as late as 1:00 A.M without explanation. During school outings, they could engage in sexual misconduct and abuse alcohol.
My father took me to a peer educator where I found new friends. We could attend lessons on moral behavior, career advancement, and all challenges that a teenager went through. He lived those principles of life by example. We had to emulate these moral attributes. I learned that being part of this group helped to shape my destiny (Bakhurst, 2015). Some of my schoolmates died of a drug overdose. Others went through life trauma, and still, others left school before completing their learning.
Social learning theory shows that I managed to survive the teenage crisis because of having a live model in the peer educator. It kept me from delinquency. Now I have managed to move on as I influence others and the teenagers on how to handle life stages and situations.
Social Control
I discovered that I could not just join them even as they insisted that I do. I knew there was a law that would soon catch up with them. Children are not supposed to engage in drug abuse. The direct consequences are the harsh punishment from the administration security authorities (Santos, 2010). They are also not expected to sneak from school because the school administration would soon administer punishment once caught. I realized from my peer educator that sex before marriage and as a teenager was an irresponsible behavior. It could lead to pregnancy, unplanned for family, or abortion. The repercussions for irresponsibility were harsh. So I feared getting in danger because of my actions (Daniels, 2012).
It helped me to decide to refrain from delinquency. I also looked at the risk and burden I would place on others. My parents would have a hard time trying to sort my case. They would not be proud of me. Society would live in fear of what I could do. Sexual acts could cause the burden of raising children at a tender age. The social control attributes weighed down on my choice of behavior. I had to determine my cause of action because of my future.
Social Bonds
I made it my goal to choose what to do and when to do it. During one of the training sessions with the peer educator, we formed peer groups in which we became Trainer of Trainers. The teams were supposed to help us become responsible students and responsible citizens. We learned that to maintain good behavior we had to go through various processes (Lamet, Dirkzwager, Denkers, & Van Der Laan, 2013). They were essential for our well-being.
First, we had to attach to the new or better way of life. Everybody that saw us had to know the difference between us and others (Daniels, 2012). The commitment was significant because it enabled us to work towards achieving the group norms. We had to involve ourselves in routine activities. It was not enough to just know what we had to do (Peterson, Lee, Henninger, & Cubellis, 2014). We also learned the things we were to stop doing.
We learned to respect parents and hold them in high esteem. We also learned to respect teachers as our guides in educational matters. Obedience to school rules was prudent. From these settings, the social bonds became paramount to our activities (Lamet et al., 2013). I have attached myself to worthy cause groups.
Conclusion
It is not just the avoidance of problems that people make decisions. People choose what will benefit them in the future. I cannot control the behaviors of other people, but I can contribute to shaping mine.
References
Bakhurst, D. (2015). Understanding vygotsky. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 5(1), 1-4.
Daniels, H. (2012). Institutional culture, social interaction and learning. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(1), 2-11.
Das, V. (2011). Education beyond class rooms. Social Change, 41(4), 599-609.
Lamet, W., Dirkzwager, A., Denkers, A., & Van Der Laan, P. (2013). Social bonds under supervision: Associating social bonds of probationers with supervision failure. Criminal Justice And Behavior, 40(7), 784-801.
Peterson, B., Lee, D., Henninger, A., & Cubellis, M. (2014). Social bonds, juvenile delinquency, and korean adolescents: Intra- and inter-individual implications of hirschi’s social bonds theory using panel data. Crime & Delinquency. 8(3), 115-118.
Santos, T. (2010). Development and civilisation. Social Change, 40(2), 95-116.