Forensics: Differential association theory (DAT)

Question 1

What is hybristophilia (Dahlen and soderland)

Answer 1

• Huge attraction to serial killers either real or fictional.
• Dahlén and Söderlund (2012) found that successful women were more likely to idolise criminals.
• mentally and sexually attracted to dangerous people.

Question 2

Summarise the differential association theory (DAT) (Sutherland)

Answer 2

• DAT: A social learning theory of crime which suggests that crime is learnt just like any other behaviour through relationships and associations.
  -> not genetically inherited.

Question 3

Explain how crime is a learned behaviour

Answer 3

• A child learns whether crime is desirable or undesirable.
• If someone learns pro-criminal attitudes they have the potential to offend.
• Children learn which types of crimes are acceptable and unacceptable in their community, as well as methods for committing crime.

Question 4

What are pro-criminal attitudes and how are they learned

Answer 4

• learned from intimate personal groups – family / peer groups and wider neighbourhood.
• degree to which a local community supports or opposes criminal involvement determines the difference in crime rates from one area to another.
  -> should be able to predict how likely an individual will commit a crime, depending on knowledge of how much they have been exposed to deviant and non deviant values.

Question 5

Summarise the key principles of the DAT

Answer 5

• criminality is learned rather than inherited.
• it is learnt through association with others.
  -> intimate social groups.
• what is learned are techniques, attitudes and motivations.
• if unfavourable attitudes outweigh favourable ones, they become an offender.
• Learning experiences differ in frequency and intensity for each person.

Question 6

List the evaluations for the DAT

Answer 6

Positive:
- explanatory power
- shift of focus
- supporting evidence

Negative:
- undermines biological factors
- Does not explain all types of crime
- difficulty testing

Question 7

(+) Explain how the DAT has explanatory power (Short)

Answer 7

• Ability to account for crime within all sectors of society.
• Supported by Short (1955): 176 school children, using a questionnaire that measured delinquent behaviour and association with criminals.
  -> found a positive correlation.

Question 8

(+) explain how the DAT caused a shift in focus and has applicability

Answer 8

• Dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame than dysfunctional people.
• Such an approach has real world application – learning environments can be altered but genetics cannot.
  -> Therefore offers a more realistic solution to crime.

Question 9

(+) explain supporting evidence for DAT (Alarid)

Answer 9

• Alarid tested 1,153 criminals – found DAT was a good theory of crime – necessary for looking at the context of offending in predicting crime.
• More consistent effects for males.
• found parental attachment is a significantly stronger predictor of female participation in violent crime.

Question 10

(-) explain how there is difficulty testing the DAT

Answer 10

• DAT is difficult to test despite the promise of providing a scientific, mathematical framework to predict future offending behaviours.
• can’t really measure the number of pro-criminal attitudes someone has / is exposed to.
• Assumes offending behaviour occurs simply when pro-criminal values outweigh anti-criminal values.
• science is undermined -> unclear which point someone realises their urge to offend.

Question 11

(-) explain how the DAT undermines biological factors (diathesis-stress model)

Answer 11

• Diathesis-stress model may be a better alternative to differential association theory as it takes into account genetic factors and social factors.

Question 12

(-) explain how the DAT does not account for other types of crime (Newburn)

Answer 12

• Does not explain why most crimes are committed by young people –> Newburn (2002) – 40% of offences are committed by young people under 21.
• Does not explain individualistic crimes such as murder – usually individual and not influenced by others.

Question 13

(+) explain how DAT has explanatory power (Sutherland)

Answer 13

• Sutherland highlighted how white collar (1938) crimes such as fraud can also take place rather than simply focusing on working class crime.
• accounts for middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values.