In the book Hothouse: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison by Valeri L. Gindel, Tommy Silverstein is portrayed as having social learning theory: the belief that behavior is learned through interactions with other people in society. Specifically, Silverstein is portrayed as having changed his views and behavior by observing and learning from other inmates. For example, after observing two of his peers in an argument with a guard, he "learned the power of silent, passive resistance" (Gindel 34). Thus, he was able to manipulate guards into giving him what he wanted, instead of acting out.
Silverstein is also depicted as being influenced by the shared values of his prison subculture, which helped him cope with the challenges of prison life. He observed the negative effects of the prison system on his peers, including those in solitary confinement, and learned to adopt a different attitude to better his own situation. He is portrayed as having learned to be both self-sufficient and work within the system to gain privileges.
In addition to social learning theory, Silverstein could be argued as having learned from the symbolic interactionism theory as well. This theory suggests that people's relationship to society is based on their interactions with one another and their interpretation of these interactions: Silverstein is portrayed as having effectively manipulated his peers and guards in order to gain more opportunities. Moreover, he was able to do this through his interpretations and reflexive understanding of his situation.
Finally, Silverstein could also be argued as having learned through discourse theory, which emphasizes the power of language to shape the lives of people. Silverstein is portrayed as having learned to adeptly use language to control certain conversations. For instance, he often rehearsed his conversations with guards in order to convey a sense of confidence. He also learned to use language to gain power over other inmates through negotiation, which in turn gave him power over the guards.
Overall, Tommy Silverstein from Hothouse: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison is portrayed as having social learning theory in order to both adapt to his prison environment and gain power over his peers and guards. However, there are a few other theories that could be argued for him, such as symbolic interactionism, discourse theory, and so on.