Differential association theory

• who proposed DAT

  Sutherland developed a set of scientific principles that explains all types of offending.
• what is DAT?

  An influential explanation of how individuals learn to become offenders. If an individual experiences repeated attitudes that are positively associated with crime, rather than negatively, then they are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. The way in which a person becomes an offender is through learned attitudes and imitation of criminal acts.
• crime as a learned behaviour

  Offending behaviour is acquired in the same way as any other behaviour : through the process of learning.
• offending arises from which 2 factors? (crime as a learnt behaviour)

  learned attitudes towards offending and learning of specific offending acts
• What are pro-criminal attitudes?

  When a person is socialised into a group, they will be exposed to values and attitudes towards the law (Pro-crime or anti-crime).
• what does Sutherland argue in terms of Pro-criminal attitudes?

  if the number of pro-criminal attitudes outweigh the number of anti-criminal attitudes, then they will go on to offend.
• what is the mathematical prediction theory?

  it should be possible to predict how likely it is for an individual to commit offences.
• what is the mathematical prediction equation?

  frequency+intensity+duration = likelihood of offending
• what is reoffending due to socialisation in prison?

  Sutherland’s theory also accounts for why many convicts released from prison continue to offend. Inside, the inmates learn techniques for offending from more experienced criminals.
• Positive - explanatory power

  Some crimes (burglary) may be clustered within certain inner-city, working-class communities. Also, some crimes are more prevalent amongst more affluent groups in society. Therefore, it has the ability to account for crime within all sectors of society.
• Negative - difficulty of testing

  It is hard to see how the number of pro-criminal attitudes can be measured. This theory doesn’t provide a satisfactory solution to these issues, undermining its scientific credibility.
• What does this theory not account for?

  This theory ignores the effects of class/ethnic background