Psychological explanations- Differential association theory

Question 1

Definition of differential association theory.

Answer 1

Explanation for offending, proposes through interaction learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for offending behaviour.

Question 2

How did Sutherland give the differential association theory scientific basis?

Answer 2

-Could explain types of offending.
-Designed to discriminate between individuals who become offenders and those who don’t, whatever social class/ ethnic background.

Question 3

How is offending behaviour acquired?

Answer 3

-Learning occurs through interactions with significant others who child values/ spends most time with.

Question 4

Differential association suggests the possibility to predict likelihood of individual committing crime, how is this done?

Answer 4

Need-to-know frequency, intensity and duration of exposure to deviant and non-deviant norms and values.

Question 5

What 2 factors does offending arise from?

Answer 5

-Learned attitudes towards offending
-Learning of specific offending acts/techniques.

Question 6

Describe learning attitudes as a factor of something offending arises.

Answer 6

-Person socialised into group exposed to values and attitudes towards law. Some values pro-crime, some anti-crime.
-Sutherland- number pro-crime attitudes person comes to acquire outweighs number of anti-criminal attitudes, go and offend.
-Learning process, the same whether person learning offending or conformity to law.

Question 7

Describe learning techniques as a factor which offending arises from.

Answer 7

Would-be offender learn techniques for committing offences.
E.g., how to break into someone’s home through locked window.

Question 8

How does socialisation occur in prisons and how does it affect reoffending?

Answer 8

-Sutherland- theory accounts for why convicts released from prison re-offend.
-Whilst in prison inmates learn techniques of offending, put into practice upon release.
-Learning occur through observational learning and imitation.

Question 9

Give a strength of differential association theory, in terms of the fact that when it was published it changed the focus of offending explanations.

Answer 9

-Sutherland- successful in moving emphasis from bio accounts of offending (Lombroso’s atavistic theory) and theories that explained offending as product of individual weakness.
-Draws attention to deviant social circumstances and environments, more to blame for offending than deviant people.
-Approach more desirable because offers realistic solution to problem of offending instead of eugenics (bio solution) or punishment (moral solution).

Question 10

Counterpoint of a strength of differential association theory, in terms of the fact that when it was published it changed the focus of offending explanations.

Answer 10

-Theory runs risk stereotyping individuals come from impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds as unavoidable offenders- Sunderland took care saying offending considered on individual case-by-case basis.
-Exposure to crime produces offenders.
-Ignores that pp may choose not to offend despite influences, not everyone exposed to crime offends.

Question 11

Give a strength of differential association theory, in terms of the fact that he theory can account for offending within society.

Answer 11

-Sutherland interested in corporate offences, share deviant norms and values.
-Not just lower classes commit offences, theory used to explain all offences.

Question 12

Give a limitation of differential association theory, in terms of the fact that its difficult to test predictions of the theory.

Answer 12

-Sutherland aimed provide scientific framework, so future offending behaviour could be predicted, predictions testable.
-Problem- concepts aren’t testable, can’t be operationalised.
E.g., hard to see how number pro-crime attitudes person has/ exposed to, to be measured.
-Theory built on assumption offending behaviour occurs when pro-crime values outnumber anti-crime values.
-Without measuring these, can’t know when urge to offend realised/ offending career triggered.
-Theory doesn’t have scientific credibility.

Question 13

Differential association theory - AO3 - Shift of focus

Answer 13

P: at the time it was first published, it changed the focus of offendinfg explanations
E: Sutheralnd moved the emphasis from biological accounts (atavistic theory), and away from theories that focus on weakness and immorality.
E: DAF draws more attention to the fact that social and env factors are more to blame.
L: this approach is more desirable and realstic

Question 14

Differential association theory - AO3 - Shift of focus - counterpoint

Answer 14

-risks of stereotyping individuals who come from impoverished, crime-ridden backgrounds as ‘unavoidable offenders’
- ignores free will as people may choose not to offend.

Question 15

Lack of testability -AO3

Answer 15

• Not testable as due to difficulty of disentangling learned and biologically inherited influences
• the difficulty comes from how one measures the effect of number and strength associations on subsequent attitudes
• such as measuring the pro criminal attitudes someone has been exposed to will probably be accompanied by variables such as accuracy of memory
• lack of ability to measure variables undermines the theorys scientific credibility

Question 16

Lacks consideration for biological factors -AO3

Answer 16

• A problem with this explanation is that it downplays the role of genetic differences
• Mednicks adoption study found convincing evidence that an interaction between genetic inheritence and adverse childhood experiences worsen criminal behaviour
• the Diathesis-stress model may offer a better account by combining social factors with biological vulnerability factors
• Social learning clearly contributes to criminal behaviour, its far from a comprehensive explanation

Question 17

Farrington study -AO3

Answer 17

• conducted a longitudinal survey of the devlopment of offending and antisocial behaviour on 411 males
• research when boys were 8, working class, deprived, inner city are of South London,
  -findings describe their criminal careers up to age 50 looking at official and self reported offending
• 41% convicted of atlest 1 offence from 10-50
• most imporant childhood risk factors were family criminality, low school atainment, poverty, bad parenting, risk taking - 3 of which are environmental supporting DAT
• biological factors also run in families and the study only looks at environmental factors , may not support DAT completely

Question 18

What are the 9 propositions of DAT?

Answer 18

1) All crim behaviour is learnt
2) learnt through interactions with others
3) happens in intimate personal groups and relationships
4) process of learning criminal behaviours may be techniques and the motives and rationalisations that would justify criminal activity
5) Direction of motives and drives towards criminal behaviour is learned through interpretations of legal codes in ones area as favourable or unfavourable
6) When number of favourable interpretations that support violating the law outweighs the unfavourable interpretations that dont, one will chose to become a criminal
7) all differential associations arent equal, can vary in frequency, intensity, priority and duration
8) process of learning crim behaviour through interactions with others rely on same mechanisms that are used in learning about any other behaviour
9) crim behaviour can be an expression of needs and values but doesnt explain the behaviour because non crimbehaviour expresses same needs and values

Question 19

What does Da theory account for and what does it not?

Answer 19

• Doesnt account for why someone becomes a criminal
• Accounts for how someone becomes a criminal

Question 20

How can we mathematically predict if people will offend?

Answer 20

We can predict if a person will offend based on the frequency and duration that people are exposed to pro-criminal attitudes