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Differential Association Theory

Sutherland

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Definition

According to Sutherland: Crime is a

function of a learning process that could

affect any individual in any culture.

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Principals of Differential

Association1. Criminal Behavior is learned.

-Sutherland says that delinquency/criminal behavior is learned in the same way

that any other behavior is learned.

2. Criminal Behavior is learned as a by-product of interacting with others.

-People dont just start doing criminal acts, they learn how to do these actsfrom teachers of crime. Criminal Behavior cant occur without the aid of others.

3. Learning criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.

-The interactions people have with their most intimate social companions,

family, friends, peers, have the greatest influence on their deviant behavior and

attitude development.

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Principals of Differential

Association

4. Learning criminal behavior involves assimilating the techniques of committing

crime , including Motives, Drives, Rationalizations, and Attitudes.

-Young delinquents or novice criminals learn the ways of crime from the people

that they associate with. They also learn how to defend, rationalize, and show

remorse for their criminal acts.

5. The specific direction of Motives and Drives is learned from perceptions of various

aspects of the legal code as favorable or unfavorable.

-This involves what Sutherland calls culture conflict. This is where the

juvenile admires someone who holds a view about the law that is different than the

one of society. In turn the juvenile will start to believe in or alter their perception of

the views of the person they admire rather than those of normal of society.

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Principals of Differential

Association6. A person becomes a criminal when he/she perceives more favorable than

unfavorable consequences to violating the law.

-According to Sutherlands theory, individuals become law violators when they

are in contact with persons, groups, or events that produce an excess of

definitions favorable toward criminality and are isolated from counteracting forces.

7. Differential Associations may vary in Frequency, Duration, Priority, and Intensity.

-Frequency the more frequent the interactions the more likely to have more

influence.

-Duration the longer the duration the greater influence the interaction will

have.

-Priority means the age of the juvenile when they first encounter criminality.Interactions made early in life most likely have more influence.

-Intensity the importance or prestige attributed to the individual or groups for

which they have interactions with.

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Principals of Differential

Association8. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-

criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other

learning process.

-Learning criminal behavior patterns is just like learning any other behavior

pattern, just because it is criminal it doesnt mean that it is just imitated.

9. Although criminal behavior expresses general needs and values, it is not excused

by those general needs and values because non-criminal behavior also expresses

the same needs and values.

-This states that the motives for criminal behavior cant possibly be the same

as those for normal behavior.

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Questions?

Associate coming to college and college

life with the Differential Association

Theory.

Are there any other variables besides the

ones listed in the article that you could link

with the Differential Association Theory?