Differential Association Theory Flashcards
What does differential Association Theory propose
This explanation of offending proposes that offending depends on the norms/values of the offender’s social group.
When is offending more likely to occur according to DAT
where the social group values deviant behaviour.
why is offending is more likely to occur
where the social group values deviant behaviour.
When a person is socialised into a social group they will be exposed to the group’s norms and values towards the law. Some groups will be pro-crime, some will be anti-crime.
What does Sutherland (1924) argue about the effect of the number of pro criminal attitudes we interact with
that if the number of pro-criminal attitudes that a person comes into contact with out-weigh the number of anticriminal attitudes then they will become an offender
What process is the same whether the person is learning criminality or conformity to the law (or indeed, any other behaviour).
The learning process
how can learning can occur
through imitation, vicarious
reinforcement, direct reinforcement or direct tuition from criminal peers.
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 what factors
the frequency, intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to criminal and non-criminal norms and values.
how does this theory explain how crime can spread
among specific social groups and communities
in addition to being exposed to pro-criminal attitudes, the potential offender may also learn particular techniques for committing crime. These might include how to pick locks, hot wire a car etc.
how does Sutherland (1924) account
for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend.
It is reasonable to assume that whilst in prison inmates will learn specific offending from more experienced criminals that they then put into practice upon their
release.
+ This theory is able to account for crime within all sectors of society. How?
While Sutherland (1924) recognised that some types of crime, such as burglary, may be clustered within inner-city, working class communities, it is also the case that some crimes are most prevalent among affluent groups. White-collar (sometimes referred to as corporate crime) is a feature of middle-class social groups.
+ Differential association theory offers a more desirable and realistic solution to offending behaviour than what solutions
the biological solution (eugenics) or the morality
solution (punishment)
+ Sutherland was successful in moving the emphasis away from what explanations of crime
early biological explanations of crime (i.e. Lombroso) and those explanations which saw offending as being the product of individual weakness or immorality.
What does DAT draw attention to instead
the role of dysfunctional social circumstances and environments in criminality
Why is DAT not very scientific
difficult to test scientifically bc most of the evidence to support it is correlational
e.g. how can the pro-crime attitudes a person has been exposed to be measured?
-> theory is built on the assumption that offending behaviour will
occur when pro-criminal values outnumber anti-criminal ones. but we can’t measure it so how will we know when the urge to offend will trigger a criminal career.
how does DAT ignore free will, therefore making it a weak explanation
Not everyone who is exposed to criminal influences goes on to commit crime.
-> theory could stereotype individuals who come from
impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds as ‘unavoidably criminal’. the theory ignores the fact that people might choose not to offend despite criminal influences - so ignore people’s free will
