Differential Association Theory

Question 1

What do individuals learn?

Answer 1

The attitudes, values and motives for criminal behaviour through association/interaction with other people

Question 2

What did Sutherland develop?(scientific basis)

Answer 2

Set of scientific principles that could explain offending - theory discriminates between those who become criminals and those who don’t

Question 3

Crime as a learned behaviour?

Answer 3

Offending may be acquired by learning - occurs through interactions with family/peers

Question 4

Pro criminal attitudes - what happens when you socialise in a group?

Answer 4

You’re exposed to values and attitudes towards the law - some will be pro criminal some anti crime

Question 5

What did Sutherland argue?

Answer 5

If the number of pro criminal attitudes the person comes to outweighs the number of anti criminal, they will go on to offend

Question 6

What does the theory suggest about prediction?

Answer 6

It should be possible to mathematically predict how likely and individual will commit a crime if we have knowledge of frequency and intensity of which they have been exposed to deviant/non deviant norms

Question 7

Farrington et al?

Answer 7

Longitudinal on development of offending
411 males
Deprived area of london
41% males convicted at least one crime by ages 10-50
Important risk factor ages 8-10 was family criminality