differential association

Question 1

Differential association theory

Answer 1

Explanation for offending - through interaction with others, individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour

Question 2

Scientific basis

Answer 2

Sunderland - task of developing set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending
- Conditions which are said to cause crime should be present when crime is present, and shout be absent when crime is absent
- Theory discriminate between individuals who become offenders no matter social class or ethnicity

Question 3

Offending as learned behaviour

Answer 3

Offenders learn attitudes towards offending and also specific offending acts of techniques
Process of learning through interactions with someone child values eg family or peers
Offending arises from two factors - learned attitudes towards offending and learning of specific offending acts

Question 4

Learning attitudes

Answer 4

We will go on to offend if we acquire more pro-crime attitudes than anti-crime attitudes of groups we are socialised into

Question 5

Learning techniques

Answer 5

How to commit offences eg breaking into a house

Question 6

Socialisation prison

Answer 6

Reoffending is high because prisoners associate with each other and learn techniques through imitation and direct tuition
Learning may occur through observational learning and imitation or direction tuition from offending peers

Question 7

EVAL - shift of focus

Answer 7

P - strength as it changed focus of offending explanations
E - Sutherland took emphasis away from early biological accounts of offending eg atavistic
E - Also away from theories explaining offending as product of weakness of immorality. Instead draws attention to deviant social circumstances and environments
L - More desirable because offers more realistic solution to the problem of offending instead of eugenics or punishment

P - Differential association runs risk of stereotypes
E - Such as individuals who comes from impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds - Sutherland took great care to point out that offending should be considered on case-by-case basis
E - Theory suggests exposure to pro-crime values is sufficient to produce offending in those who are exposed to it
L - ignores fact that people may choose not to offend despite such influences, as not everyone who ix exposed to pro-crime attitudes goes on to offend

Question 8

EVAL - wide reach

Answer 8

P - strength as theory can account for offending within all sectors of society
E - Sunderland recognised some types of crime eg burglary clustered in w/c communities and others in more affluent groups
E - interested in white-collar crimes and how this may be a feature of m//c social groups who share deviant norms and values
L - shows not just lower class commit offences and principles of differential association can be used to explain all offences

Question 9

EVAL - difficulty testing

Answer 9

P - limitation as difficult to test predictions
E - Sutherland aimed to be scientific but problem is many of concepts not testable so cannot be operationalised
E - eg hard to see how the number of pro-crime attitudes a person has or have been exposed to - without measuring these we cannot know at what point the urge to offend is realised and the offending career triggered
L - theory does not have scientific credibility

Question 10

EVAL - nurture or nature

Answer 10

P - Response of family crucial in determining whether likely to offend
E - If support offending then major influence - Farrington et al - such intergeneration offending was key feature of findings
E - However - offending can run in families - biological theories
L - particular combination of genes ir innate neural abnormalities