social psychology - differential association theory
- Created by: Elyseee
- Created on: 07-03-21 12:07
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- differential association theory
- Who it is learned from
- attitudes/behaviours learned from intimate personal groups eg) family/peers
- Also learned from wider neighbourhood - degree to which community supports/opposes criminal involvement determines difference in crime rates in each area
- individuals/social groups may not be criminals but may still hold deviant attitudes/acceptance of deviant attitudes
- How it is learned
- Sutherland suggested frequency, length and personal meaning of associations determines degree of influence
- Did not specify mode of earning, likely to be both direct and indirect operant conditioning
- Child may be directly reinforced for deviant behaviours through praise/may be punished for behaviors by family and peers - direct operant conditioning
- Role models provide opportunities to model behaviours, if role models are successful in criminal activity this would be indirect reinforcement (vicarious)
- Social groups establish norms to define behaviour by - creates sense of what’s ‘normal’ for people to do
- Sutherland 1939 - proposed differential association theory, offending behaviour can be explained in terms of social learning - learning from others, observation, imitation
- Considered sociological theory as it suggest people are socialised into crime
- Other’s attitudes towards crime will influence your own attitude towards crime - spending time with those who have favourable attitudes towards crime will influence you to have a positive attitude towards crime, spending time with those with a less favourable attitude towards crime will influence you to have have a more negative beliefs
- Sutherland believed it might be possible to develop mathematical formula to predict whether someone turns to crime based on frequency, duration and intensity of social contacts
- What is learned
- Child learns attitude towards crime - desirable or undesirable
- Potential criminal is someone who has learned pro-crime attitude
- Children will learn which types of crime are desirable eg) burglary is desirable but violent crime is not
- Child may learn about specific methods for committing crime, some are complicated and others aren't eg) robbing a bank vs a corner shop
- Who it is learned from
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