Psychological Explanations (Differential Association Theory)

Question 1

What did sunderland (1939) propose?

Answer 1

-Sutherland (1939) proposed the differential association theory which suggests that offending is learnt through socialisation.
-Pro-criminal attitudes/behaviours occur through association and interactions with family members, peers and their neighbourhood.

Question 2

Who is offending behaviour learnt from?

Answer 2

-the interactions with family members, peers and the
neighbourhood.
-Through this people learn deviant social norms and values.
-The degree to which the local community provides social acceptance, or opposes criminal
involvement determines the differences in crime rates from one area to another

Question 3

What is learnt and what can this also explain?

Answer 3

-The potential criminal may learn particular offending techniques for committing crime from associating with those around them, and this is often how offending behaviours/techniques are passed on from one generation to another from peers and family.
-can also explain why individuals imprisoned for a minor offence often reoffend when they are released, as associating with other criminals in prison makes them more likely to learn further criminal behaviours.

Question 4

How is offending behaviour learnt?

Answer 4

Sutherland did not specify the actual mode of learning but it is likely that role models who they identify with would provide opportunities to model behaviours.

Question 5

What does the differential association theory suggest? (how it is learnt)

Answer 5

that it should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that an individual will commit crime if we have knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of their associations with deviant and non-deviant norms and values.

Question 6

Why is offending behaviour learnt?

Answer 6

if the role models are successful themselves in criminal activities, this would provide vicarious reinforcement, because the potential offender would see the role model being rewarded for the behaviour (or not being punished), and would then be motivated to gain similar rewards by engaging in similar behaviour.

Question 7

How does reinforcement through operant conditioning also affect offending behaviour?

Answer 7

if the rewards for offending e.g. through praise, are greater than the rewards for not offending, the offending behaviour is likely to be repeated.

Question 8

What are everyone’s associations?

Answer 8

-different (this is why it is called the differential association
theory).
-The expectations/attitudes of those around us (family, friends etc) act to reinforce our criminal or non-criminal behaviours through social acceptance and or
social approval.