In previous posts of the Forensic View and elsewhere (e.g., Sharps, 2024), we have seen that violence and criminal behavior can be promoted by certain forms of brain damage, as well as by the desire for gain, and that the “good” nature believed by many people to be inherent in the human species is no guarantee against criminal violence. But what other psychological factors, outside the prospect of gain, can promote violent or criminal behavior, especially when all the perpetrator is likely to gain from such behavior is a prison record?

Bandura (1977) showed that human beings tend to imitate those who appear to be powerful, or to be rewarded for their actions. When a ”model” was observed by children to assault a ”bobo doll” punching bag, the children generally tended to attack the bag with greater frequency and intensity, especially if the model was an adult (and hence relatively powerful by child standards), or was seen to be rewarded for the violent action. This “modeling” behavior was basic to the development of social learning theory.

Bandura’s studies were conducted with children, of course, but the imitative impulse is by no means eliminated by the onset of adulthood. Fashion stands as an excellent example. Practically nobody wears a disco shirt anywhere today, but in the 1970s there were settings in which, if a male wasn’t wearing one, his romantic prospects dropped practically to zero. Even today's adults, many of whom believe themselves to be immune to the vagaries of fashion, don't typically show up at funerals wearing

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