differential association theory

• theory proposes individuals learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour through association and interaction with different people
• scientific basis

  • Sutherland set himself the task of developing a set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending - 'conditions said to cause crime should be present when crime is present, and absent when crime is absent'
• crime as a learned behaviour

  • offending behaviour may be acquired through interactions with significant others that the child associates with
  • two factors: learned attitudes towards crime, and the learning of specific criminal acts
• pro-criminal attitudes

  • when person is socialised into group, they are exposed to values and attitudes towards law, some pro, some anti-crime
  • Sutherland argues if the pro outweighs the ani, they will go on to offend
  • suggests it should be mathematically possible to predict how likely an individual is to commit, based on frequency, intensity and duration of which they are exposed to deviant and non-deviant norms and values
• learning criminal acts

  • may learn particular techniques for committing crime
  • accounts for how crime may breed amongst specific social groups and communities
  • also accounts for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend - learn techniques from other inmates and more experienced criminals - eager to put into practise upon release - may be through direct tuition or through observing and imitating