differential association theory Flashcards
what is evaluation of differential association theory?
deterministic - many people who have criminal experience do not go on to commit crimes themselves. this theory does not take in account these indivual differences and could cause stereotyping of people based on the criminal history of their family.
generalisability
- this theory can be applied to different types of criminals for e.g w.c criminals or more affluent offenders. it explains why some crimes are more common amongst each class for e.g burglary in w.c communities as share common norms and values.
Mednick (1984) studied 14427 Danish
adoptees and found that the percentage of
adoptees who had a criminal conviction was
highest if they had both a biological and
adoptive parent with a conviction,
demonstrating the importance of family
influence. However, it could be suggested
that genetic influences are also important.
