Lesson 7 - Differential Association Theory (Behavioural approach) Flashcards
What is the Differential Association Theory?
This explanation suggests that offending depends on the norms and value of an offender’s social group where offending is more likely to occur if a social group values deviant behaviour.
Who touched on the idea of pro-crime and anti-crime?
Sutherland (1924)
What did Sutherland suggest about pro-crime and anti-crime?
When a person is socialised into a social group, they will be exposed to the group’s norms and values towards the law where some groups will be pro-crime and some will be anti-crime. Sutherland suggested that if the number of pro-criminal attitudes that a person comes into contact with outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes, they will become an offender.
How is learning linked to Sutherland’s idea of pro-crime and anti-crime?
If a person has learnt more criminality than conformity to the law, they will become an offender.
In what ways can learning occur from criminal peers? (4)
- Vicarious (indirect) reinforcement - operant conditioning to another person which, in turn, influences YOU
- Direct reinforcement - operant conditioning to YOU
- Imitation - copying
- Direct tuition - telling people how to behave
How can we mathematically predict if someone will commit a crime?
If we have the knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of which a person has been exposed to criminal and non-criminal norms and values, we can mathematically calculate the likelihood that a person will commit a crime.
How is crime spread among specific social groups and communities?
As well as learning pro-criminal attitudes, a person may also learn particular techniques for committing a crime for example, lock picking or hot wiring a car, which helps spread crime among the specific social group.
Why do many convicts released from prison got on to reoffend? (Sutherland 1924)
Sutherland suggested that while in prison, inmates will learn specific offending techniques from more experienced criminals which they will then put into practice when they are released.
What are 3 advantages of the Differential Association Theory?
+ This theory is applicable to all sectors of society. Sutherland (1924) recognised that some types of crime such as burglary may be clustered within inner-city, working class communities, but other types of crimes are more prevalent among wealthy groups such as white-collar/corporate crime (a feature of middle-class social groups).
+ The Differential Association Theory by Sutherland successful moved explanations for offending away from biological explanations as it draws attention to dysfunctional social circumstances amend the environment which are potentially more involved in criminality.
+ The Differential Association Theory provides a more desirable and realistic solution to offending behaviour than the biological solution (suggests that we shouldn’t reproduce with people with those genes - eugenics) and the moral reasoning explanation (punishment).
What are 2 disadvantages of Differential Association Solution?
- The Differential Association Theory is difficult to test scientifically as most of the evidence which supports it is correlational. How can we measure the pro-criminal attitudes a person has been exposed to and how can we measure the point at which the urge to offend will trigger a criminal career?
- Not everyone who is exposed to pro-criminal attitudes will go on to commit crime. The danger of the Differential Association Theory is that it stereotypes individuals who are from crime-ridden, impoverished backgrounds as ‘unavoidably criminal’ and ignores free will where people exposed to crime may choose not to offend. For example, perhaps offenders actively seek out social groups with criminal attitudes instead of being passively influenced by them.
