Differential Association

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION- Edwin Sutherland

Differential Association Association is the most prominent theory of criminal behaviour. Sutherland’s theory can be considered the first truly sociological effort to explain crime. The nine principles specify the process by wh ich a particular person comes to engage in criminal behaviour.

(1 The principle principle that criminal criminal behaviour is learnt learnt provides the foundation foundation for differential association. This! therefore! expressly rules out hereditary! human nature and innovation as causes of o f aberrant behaviour. "eople are taught how to  behave or misbehave in a social context.

(#$% The second and third principles of differential association specify that criminal  behaviour is learnt primarily in interaction with significant significant others such as family of friends. Differential association extends the learning process to the realm of crime. As the associations of youths expand it is expected that conduct initially shaped by  parents will increasingly come under the influence of peers! often arousing concern of  the parents about the company &ept by their children.

(' earning techni)ues of committing crime are said to be much less important than learning the mindset (motives! drives! rationali*ations! attitudes conducive to criminal behaviour. +hile a particular mindset is essential! familiarity with techni)ue relates to the type of crime perpetrated and to success in completing it without detection. Some crimes entail learning complex techni)ues e.g. white, collar crimes or computer hac&ing. -n the other hand! many offenses re)uire little or no, s&ill. earning the motives and drives which result in a relatively constant desire to do illegal things is a re)uisite of criminal behaviour. Similarly! Similarly! criminal behaviours supported by learning rationali*ations and attitudes that desire it as acceptable! e.g. persons may steal or rape because they have been taught specific attitudes and rationali*ations but the s&ills necessary for such crimes are usually minimal.

( Definitions favourable and unfavourable to the violation of the law identify that the fifth element provide the &ey to differential association because they determine the values or mindset of the individual. Definitions favourable to the violation of the law may be learnt by law abiding persons and conversely values supportive of legal codes may be ac)uired from convicted criminals. /hildren usually receive from their parents! some definitions favourable to law violation! e.g. observant parent ignoring speed limits bringing materials home from the wor& place and ways to cheat on tax returns. Accompanying the offenses are attitudes and rationali*ations.

(0 The sixth statement of differential association specifies that an excess of definitions favourable to the violation of the law over definitions unfavourable embodies the theory of differential association. t is the weight of definitions favourable to law violation which may be construed as a ration that determines the learning of criminal patterns. These definitions are virtually limitless and occur throughout life with a person becoming criminal delin)uent when the ration exceeds unity.

(2 All associations do not carry e)ual weight. The theory pro3ects variation in terms of fre)uency! duration! priority and intensity. 4re)uency refers to how often exposure to definition occur and duration refers to the length of each exposure. "riority specifies the time that particular associations are initiated. Definitions absorbed in early childhood are said to have greater impact that those in later life. ntensity reflects the degree of identification with particular associations. The more a child identifies with a person! the more weight would be attributed to the definitions provided by that person.

(5$6 The final two statements of differential association provide further lin&age to general learning principles. They emphasi*e that criminal behaviour is learnt in the same manner as other behaviours as products of similar needs and values. t is meaningless! for example! to attribute theft to a desire for high income because many law abiding persons also aspire to high incomes.

SUMMARY

(1 /riminal behaviour is learnt. (# /riminal behaviour is learnt through interaction with other persons in a process of  communication. (% The principle part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate  personal groups. (' +hen criminal behaviour is learnt! the learning includes7 ,

Techni)ues of committing the crime! which are sometimes very complicated! sometimes very simple$

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The specific direction of motives! drives! rationali*ations and attitudes.

( The specific direction of motives and drives is learnt from definitions of the legal codes as favourable or unfavourable. (0 A person becomes delin)uent because of an excess of definitions favourable to violation of law over definitions unfavourable to violation of law. (2 Differential associations may vary in fre)uency! duration! priority and intensity. (5 The process of learning criminal behaviour by association with criminal and anti, criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. (6 +hile criminal behaviour is an expression of generals needs and values! it is not explained by those general needs and values since non,criminal behaviour is an expression of the same needs and values.