17640. SHOFPLIFTING AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. After a brief overview of the scope of the problem of shoplifting by adolescents, this paper analyzes social learning with the view that it provides the most appropriate means for explaining the crime of adolescent shoplifting. Adolescent shoplifters learn their behaviors by communicating with and observing peers who shoplift. By contrast, they fail to form the types of social attachments that would be helpful in reducing shoplifting and other criminal behaviors. KEYWORDS: social learning theory shoplifting juvenile crime and delinquency. Written 2005. APA Style. 7 pages, 13 footnotes, 7 bibliographic sources. 1,671 words.