Differential Association Theory Flashcards
A set of scientific principles to explain offending
Sutherland (1924) developed a set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending
Individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour through interaction with others - these ‘others; are different from one person to the next
His theory ignores the effect of class or ethnic background, what matters is who you associate with
Offending is learned through interactions with significant others
Behaviour is acquired through the process of learning
Learning occurs through interactions with significant others who the child values most and spends most time with, such as family and peer group
Offending arises from 2 factors:
- Learned attitudes towards offending
- Learning of specific offending acts
Learning attitudes
When a person is socialised into a group they will be exposed to certain values and attitudes
This includes values and attitudes towards the law - some of these will be pro - crime, some will be anti-crime
Sutherland argues that if the number of prop-crime attitudes the person comes to acquire outweighs the number anti-crime attitudes, they will go on to offend
Learning techniques
The would-be offender may also learn particular techniques for committing offences
For example, how to break into someone’s house through a locked window or how to disable a car stereo before stealing it
Mathematical prediction about committing offences
It should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that an individual will commit offences
The prediction is based on our knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of an individual’s exposure to deviant and non-deviant norms and values
Reoffending may be due to socialisation in prison
Sutherland’s theory can account for why so may prisoners released from prison go onto reoffend
It is reasonable to assume that whilst inside prison inmates will be exposed to pro-crime attitudes and also learn specific techniques of offending from more experienced offenders which they can put into practice upon their release
AO3 + The shift of focus
Sutherland moved emphasis away from early biological explanations (e.g. Lombroso) and from theories of offending as the product of individual weakness or immorality
Draws attention to deviant social circumstances and environments as being more to blame for offending than deviant people
This approach offers a more realistic solution to offending instead of eugenics (the biological solution) or punishment (the morality solution)
