ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the critical gaps in the social learning research by focusing on the ability of the social learning model to account for a more serious behavior enacted in relative isolation from the group context. It investigates the extent to which social learning variables account for the use of violence against an intimate partner. The chapter explores the role of gender in the social learning model. It provides evidence that social learning theory can be applied to violent or aggressive behavior commonly committed outside the presence of the peer group. The chapter indicates that gender differences in a learning environment conducive to courtship violence may partially explain the gender differences people find in the use of physical aggression against a dating partner. It points out that, although social learning theory partially mediates the gender effect on courtship violence, much of the gender effect retains an independent influence on the dependent variable.
