Lesson 7 – Differential Association Theory Flashcards
What is the differential association theory?
Explanation of offending- proposes that offending depends on norms/values of offender’s social group … offending ⬆️ likely to occur when social group values deviant 🏃♂️
Who came up with the differential association theory?
Sutherland (1924)
How many ways can you learn criminality or anything for that matter?
4
What did Sutherland suggest in 1924?
Sutherland (1924)- argues that if no. of pro-criminal attitudes that person comes into contact with out-weigh no. of anti- criminal attitudes then they become an offender
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Learning through observation 👀 of consequences of actions of other people
What is direct reinforcement?
Direct reinforcement occurs when you perform certain 🏃♂️ and are rewarded (➕ reinforcement) OR it -> removal or avoidance of something unpleasant (➖ reinforcement)
What is direct tuition?
Teaching young 👶 how to behave by reinforcing “appropriate” 🏃♂️ and by punishing or otherwise discouraging “inappropriate” 🏃♂️
What is imitation?
Copying another person 👨 👩 or animal 🦒 🦓 🦔
How can criminality, or anything for that matter, be learned?
Learning can occur through:
1) Imitation
2) Vicarious reinforcement
3) Direct reinforcement
4) Direct tuition from criminal peers
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning- learning from consequences of 🏃♂️
When looking at operant conditioning define what the following terms mean?
1) Positive
2) Negative
3) Reinforcement
4) Punishment
1) Positive- ADDING ➕ something GOOD 👍 OR BAD 👎
2) Negative- REMOVING ➖ something GOOD 👍 OR BAD
3) Reinforcement- ALWAYS ⬆️ 🏃♂️
4) Punishment- ALWAYS ⬇️ 🏃♂️
What is positive reinforcement?
Doing a certain 🏃♂️-> ➕ 👍 outcome-> doing 🏃♂️ again in future
What is negative reinforcement?
Doing a certain 🏃♂️-> ➖ 👎 outcome-> doing 🏃♂️ again in future
What is positive punishment?
Doing a certain 🏃♂️-> ➕ 👎 outcome-> ✖️ doing 🏃♂️ again in future
What is negative punishment?
Doing a certain 🏃♂️-> ➖ 👍 outcome-> ✖️ doing 🏃♂️ again in future
Can criminality be predicted using differential association?
Differential association suggests that it should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that someone will commit crime- if we have knowledge of frequency, intensity and duration of exposure to criminal and anti-criminal norms and values
What else may an individual learn apart from pro-criminal attitudes from a pro-criminal social group?
Learn particular techniques for committing crime e.g. picking locks 🔐, hot wire a car 🚗 etc … explains how crime can spread among specific social groups and communities
What are the evaluation points of the differential association theory?
👍- accounts for crime within all sectors of society- Sutherland (1924) recognised some types of crime e.g. burglary clustered within inner-city (working class communities) AND also that white collar (corporate) crimes most prevalent among affluent groups (middle-class social groups) 👍- Sutherland moved emphasis away from early biological 🌱 explanations of crime (i.e. Lombroso- atavistic form)- saw offending being product of individual weakness or immorality- Differential association theory draws attention to role of dysfunctional social circumstances and environments in criminality ALSO Differential association theory offers ⬆️ desirable and realistic solution to offending 🏃♂️ than biological 🌱 solution (eugenics) or morality solution (punishment) 👎- BUT difficult to test scientifically🧪- most supporting evidence is correlational (... ✖️ demonstrate cause and effect)- how can pro-crime attitudes a person been exposed to be measured?- ALSO theory built on assumption that offending 🏃♂️ occurs when pro-criminal values outnumber anti-criminal ones BUT without being able to measure these values- difficult to know at what point urge to offend triggers criminal career 👎- ✖️ everyone exposed to criminal influences goes on to commit crime- danger that theory could stereotype individuals who come from impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds as ‘unavoidably criminal’- ... theory ignores ppl’s free will- INSTEAD offenders may seek out ppl with criminal values rather than being passively influenced by them
What does Sutherland (1924) justify by the idea that individuals learn techniques from social groups?
Sutherland (1924)- why so many convicts released from prison reoffend- reasonable to assume that whilst in prison inmates learn specific offending from ⬆️ experienced criminals- put into practice upon release
