Psychological Explanations of Offending Behaviour: Differential Association Theory

Question 1

AO3 (1) differential association theory

Answer 1

• One strength of differential association theory is its explanatory power
• For example, the theory can account for all crime in all sectors of society. Sutherland recognised some crimes (e.g. burglary) are clustered in working-class communities, but others are prevalent in affluent sections of society
• This is a strength because Sutherland was particularly interested in corporate crime and how this may be a feature of middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values
• CA – doesn’t account for serial killers as they are unlikely to have other people around them who also kill people (no role models), just because someone is working class doesn’t mean they’re going to commit crimes
• Despite this, it is a strength of this theory in that it can help our understanding of different types of crimes
• Thus increasing the external validity of the differential association theory

Question 2

AO3 (2) differential association theory

Answer 2

• A further strength was Sutherland’s overall contribution to criminology
• For example, Sutherland moved the emphasis away from early biological accounts of crime (atavistic theory) and those that pointed to individual weakness or immorality
• This is a strength because differential association theory draws attention to the fact that dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame for criminality than dysfunctional people
• CA – can we ever ignore the biological aspects on criminality?? No because there is scientific research like MAOA gene
• Despite this, the approach is more desirable than others because it offers a more realistic solution to the problem of crime instead of eugenics (the biological solution) or punishment ( the morality solution)

Question 3

AO3 (3) differential association theory

Answer 3

• One limitation is the difficulty of testing the theory
• For example, despite Sutherland’s promise to provide a scientific and mathematical framework for predicting offending behaviour it has proved difficult to test
• This is a weakness because it is unclear how we can measure the numbers of pro or anti-criminal attitudes a person is exposed to – so how can we know what point criminality is triggered?
• CA – Farringdon offers supporting evidence – 41% of young adults that have committed a crime, because of family environment/family pro-crime views. Poverty, family attitude to crime, low attendance in school. Real life application, reduce these variables to reduce crime
• Despite this, the theory does not provide a satisfactory solution to these issues undermining its scientific credibility

Question 4

AO3 (4) differential association theory

Answer 4

• Another limitation is this may be an overly determinist explanation
• For example, not everyone exposed to criminal influences commits crime. Differential association theory may stereotype people from impoverished backgrounds as unavoidably criminal
• This is a weakness because the theory suggests exposure to pro-criminal values is enough to produce offending in those who are exposed and ignores the fact that people choose not to offend despite such influences
• However, it can be argued using SLT that imitation is a powerful factor when children/young adults copy others especially when being praised like the children in the Bobo doll experiment therefore it’s very likely for people to imitate crimes they are exposed to therefore reducing the reliability of this limitation.
• Despite this, this indicates that differential association may be environmentally determinist thus decreasing the internal validity as it does not take into account other factors

Question 5

What does Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory suggest about crime?

Answer 5

Crime is a learned behaviour.

Question 6

Which psychological theory is Differential Association based on?

Answer 6

Social learning theory.

Question 7

Who are the ‘role models’ in Differential Association Theory?

Answer 7

Criminal peers or a ‘criminal university’ such as prison.

Question 8

What does the theory predict about an individual’s likelihood to become criminal?

Answer 8

It can be predicted based on their exposure to pro-criminal vs. anti-criminal attitudes.

Question 9

What do individuals learn through Differential Association?

Answer 9

General attitudes toward crime, plus the skills and knowledge to commit specific crimes.

Question 10

According to the theory, when is an individual most likely to become a criminal?

Answer 10

When their exposure to pro-criminal attitudes is greater in frequency and intensity than exposure to anti-criminal attitudes.