FP - Psychological explanations of offending behaviour: Differential association

Question 1

What type of explanation is differential association?

Answer 1

Psychological explanation

Question 2

Differential association theory

Answer 2

An explanation of offending behaviour in terms of learning theory, how interactions with other lead to the formation of attitudes about crime (which may be more or less favourable), as well as acquiring specific knowledge about how to commit crimes.

Question 3

Who proposed differential association theory?

Answer 3

Edwin Sutherland (1939)

Question 4

What does differential association theory suggest?

Answer 4

Offending behaviour can be explained entirely in terms of social learning.

Question 5

What is differential association theory regarded as?

Answer 5

A sociological theory.

Question 6

Why is differential association theory regarded as a sociological theory?

Answer 6

Because it suggests that people are socialised into a life of crime.

Question 7

What is the concept of ‘differential association’?

Answer 7

People vary in the frequency with which they associate with others who have more or less favourable attitudes towards crime, and these attitudes influence their own attitudes and behaviour.

Question 8

What did Sutherland believe?

Answer 8

It might be possible to develop a mathematical formula which would predict whether or not someone would turn to crime based on the frequency, duration and intensity of their social contacts.

Question 9

What do children learn in terms of their attitudes towards crime?

Answer 9

Whether it is desirable or undesirable.

Question 10

In terms of differential association theory who is a potential criminal?

Answer 10

Someone who has learned pro-criminal attitudes from those around them.

Question 11

What will children learn about crime besides their attitudes towards it?

Answer 11

Will learn which particular types of crimes are acceptable within their community and also desirable (i.e worth doing).

May also learn about specific methods for committing crimes. Some techniques are quite complicated, whereas others are simple.

Question 12

Who do children learn attitudes and behaviours from?

Answer 12

Intimate personal groups, such as family and/or peer groups.

The wider neighbourhood.

Question 13

How does the wider community lead to children learning attitudes and behaviours about/to crime?

Answer 13

The degree to which the local community supports or opposes criminal involvement (differential social organisation) determines the differences in crime rates from one area to another.

Question 14

What is differential social organisation?

Answer 14

The degree to which the local community supports or opposes criminal involvement.

Question 15

Do a child’s social groups need to be criminals for them to learn their attitudes and behaviours towards crime?

Answer 15

No, they may not be criminals themselves, but they may still hold deviant attitudes or an acceptance of such attitudes.

Question 16

What did Sutherland suggest about how attitudes and behaviours are learned?

Answer 16

Suggested that the frequency, length and personal meaning of such social associations will determine the degree of influence.

Question 17

What didn’t Sutherland specify about how attitudes and behaviours are learned?

Answer 17

The actual mode of learning.

Question 18

What is likely to be the mode of learning attitudes and behaviours of a criminal nature?

Answer 18

Both direct and indirect operant conditioning.

Question 19

How would criminal attitudes and behaviours be learned through direct conditioning?

Answer 19

A child may be directly reinforced for deviant behaviours through praisem or may be punished for such behaviour by family and peers.

Question 20

How would criminal attitudes and behaviours be learned through indirect conditioning?

Answer 20

Role models would provide opportunities to model behaviours and, if the role models are successful themselves in criminal activities, this would provide indirect (vicarious) reinforcement.

Question 21

What do social groups do to define behaviour?

Answer 21

They establish norms by which we define behaviour.

Question 22

What are the 9 key principles proposed by Sutherland?

Answer 22

1. Criminal behaviour is learned rather than inherited.
2. It is learned through association with others.
3. This association is with intimate personal groups.
4. What is learned are techniques and attitudes/motivations.
5. This learning is directional - either for or against crime.
6. If the number of favourable attitudes outweigh unfavourable ones, then a person becomes an offender.
7. The learning experiences (differential associations) vary in frequency and intensity for each individual.
8. Criminal behaviour is learned through the same processes as any other behaviour.
9. General ‘need’ (e.g. for money) is not a sufficient explanation for crime because not everyone with those needs turns to crime.

Question 23

How many key principles were proposed by Sutherland?

Answer 23

9

Question 24

According to differential association theory, criminality arises from what 2 factors?

Answer 24

• Learn attitudes towards crime.

- The learning of specific criminal acts.

Question 25

What are the most powerful sources of learning?

Answer 25

• Personally relevant (especially from role models).
• Long-lasting.
• Salient/extreme.
• During critical period (internal working model).