Differential association:

• Differential association theory:


  proposes that individuals learns the values, attitudes for offending through association and interactions with different people
• Offending as learned behaviour:


  may be acquired in the same way as other behaviour through learning

  • occurs through interactions with significant others who the child values most and spends time with ie family
  • differential association theory suggest it should be mathematically possible to predict how likely it is for the child to offend
  • to do this we need to know the frequency, intensity and duration to exposure to deviant and non-deviant norms
  • offending behaviour arises from learned attitudes towards offending and learning of specific offending acts
• Offending as learned behaviour:

  Learning attitudes:

  • when socialising in a group we are exposed to the attitudes and values towards law
  • Some of the values will be pro-crime and others anti-crime
  • Sutherland argues that if the number of pro-crime is > than number of anti-crime attitudes the individual is more likely to offend

  Learning techniques:

  • exposed to pro-crime attitudes, they may learn techniques for committing offences
• Socialisation in prison:

  Sutherlands theory can be accounted for why people go onto reoffend upon release from prison

  • when inside prison they may share techniques for offences and most experience offenders may put their knowledge to practice upon release
  • learning can occur through observation, imitation and through direct tuition from offending peers