Learning Criminal Behavior Through Conditioning

You can be trained to become a criminal, just like a dog is trained to sit. Behaviorist theories

argue that criminal acts are not born from evil, but are learned behaviors.

Think of the famous "Little Albert" experiment, where scientists conditioned a baby

to fear a harmless white rat just by pairing it with a loud, scary noise.

Now, apply this to crime. If an illegal act is followed by a reward—like money,

status, or an escape—and the punishment is weak or easily avoided, the behavior gets

reinforced. Your brain learns that crime pays. It's a simple calculation of consequences.