Psychological Explanations: Differential Association Theory Flashcards
What did Edwin Sutherland propose?
Individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal acts through association with different people
What is crime?
A learnt behaviour which occurs mainly through interactions with significant others including parents, siblings and peers
What are people exposed to when they are socialised into a group?
The values and attitudes that the group holds towards crime, some of these values will be pro crime and others will be anti crime
What did Sutherland argue?
If somebody is socialised in an environment whereby they are exposed to more pro crime attitudes they are more likely to commit crime
What does differential association suggest?
It should be mathematically calculable to predict the probability that somebody will commit crime if we had knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of the criminal values
What may offenders learn?
Pro criminal attitudes and specific techniques
What did Farrington et al do?
A longitudinal study of the development of offending anti social behaviour
Who was in Farrington’s study?
411 males in a working class, deprived area of South London when the boys were 8 years old, the study uses both official records and self reported offending up until the participants were 50
What did they find?
41% we’re convicted at least once between 10 and 50. On average criminal careers lasted from 19-28. The most important risk factors were family criminality, daring or risk taking, low school attainment, poverty and poor parenting
What are 3 evaluation points?
- Beta bias: no women in study
- Temporal validity: participants born in 50s and 60s
- Ethnocentic: only white working class
