In this evaluation, I will be critiquing an analysis from my Senior Seminar class of a book called “Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City”, by Elijah Anderson. The assignment was to write an analysis based on the text to explore our deep thoughts, learn the distinction between descriptive and analytical writing, and make a strong connection between ourselves and Anderson’s overall message and argument of the text. This analysis was challenging but yet pushed my ability to improve my critical thinking skills and think my thoughts through to analyze the text. I learned that I had to first understand and describe the text before I am able to analyze its elements. However, my professor also emphasizes that
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Specifically, to the book “Code of the Street”, it is the examination of learning criminal engagement based on the interaction with the poor environment which shapes one’s actions. In other words, this particular theory approaches to answer the Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions in relation to crimes being committed because of a person's environment. Behaviorism plays the role of an environmental factor influencing behavior (McLeod, 2007). To explain, we all learn behaviors or bad habits from our surroundings such as, where we resin. As a result, we observe these behaviors whether they are good or bad and we as people acquire them through conditioning and based on what we have observed and learned we create a stimulus-response. For example, as demonstrated in my analysis I explain how Anderson made a connection between youths being influenced by “street culture” like drugs, violence, lack of education because of poor education systems, and poverty to likely be set up to fail and have the outcome of behavioral problems. To add, simply living in such an indigent environment places youth at risk of falling victim to aggressive behavior. For instance, the urban neighborhood I grew up in is a low and middle-class community with a majority of individuals who are under subsidized housing with more than two people living in a two bedroom apartment, unemployed or low wage jobs, and no education or highest level of education is a high school diploma. In addition, the community is filled with violence, drug and drug dealers, and people with self-destruction mindsets that are only focused on living in the moment and little concern for the future. The Behavioral
Specifically, to the book “Code of the Street”, it is the examination of learning criminal engagement based on the interaction with the poor environment which shapes one’s actions. In other words, this particular theory approaches to answer the Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions in relation to crimes being committed because of a person's environment. Behaviorism plays the role of an environmental factor influencing behavior (McLeod, 2007). To explain, we all learn behaviors or bad habits from our surroundings such as, where we resin. As a result, we observe these behaviors whether they are good or bad and we as people acquire them through conditioning and based on what we have observed and learned we create a stimulus-response. For example, as demonstrated in my analysis I explain how Anderson made a connection between youths being influenced by “street culture” like drugs, violence, lack of education because of poor education systems, and poverty to likely be set up to fail and have the outcome of behavioral problems. To add, simply living in such an indigent environment places youth at risk of falling victim to aggressive behavior. For instance, the urban neighborhood I grew up in is a low and middle-class community with a majority of individuals who are under subsidized housing with more than two people living in a two bedroom apartment, unemployed or low wage jobs, and no education or highest level of education is a high school diploma. In addition, the community is filled with violence, drug and drug dealers, and people with self-destruction mindsets that are only focused on living in the moment and little concern for the future. The Behavioral