Learning theories of crime: differential association theory

DAT assumes that individuals learn what 4 things through the association & interaction with different people?

• Values

• Attitudes

• Techniques

• Motives for criminal behaviour

Who developed the theory?

Sutherland

What did Sutherland develop to explain all types of offending?

A set of scientific principles

According to DAT, what process is required for offending behaviour to be acquired?

Learning

What two groups of people do most children learn from?

Family members & peer groups

What are the two factors that lead to criminality being learned?

Learned attitudes towards crime & the learning of specific criminal acts

What is meant by learned attitudes towards crime?

Where the number of pro-criminal values a person is exposed to is higher than the number of anti-criminal values, they will go on to offend

What three things are required to mathematically predict future offending based upon DAT?

• Frequency

• Intensity

• Duration of exposure to deviant and non-deviant norms & values

Give two examples of how someone could learn criminal acts

• How to break into someone’s house through a locked window

• How to hotwire a car

How does DAT explain why so many criminals who go to prison go on to reoffend when released?

It is reasonable to assume that prison inmates will learn specific techniques of offending from other, more experienced criminals (e.g. through observational learning & imitation or direct tuition)

What study supports DAT?

Farrington’s Cambridge study in delinquent behaviour

What type of study did Farrington use?

Longitudinal survey

How many people were used in Farrington’s study?

411

Between what ages were the males studied?

8-50

What was one of the main risk factors found to lead to criminality which supports DAT?

Family criminality

What crimes associated with more affluent groups does DAT also explain?

White collar crimes & corporate crimes

According to DAT, why might white collar crimes occur?

Exposure to pro-criminal attitudes amongst a middle class social group who share deviant norms & values

DAT has been argued to be better than which other theory of crime?

Lombroso’s

What is one of the most significant problems with DAT?

It’s difficult to test

Why is DAT difficult to test?

Because it is difficult to count how many pro-criminal & anti-criminal values a person is exposed to without constantly following them around

Why is the scientific credibility of the theory undermined?

Because without being able to measure the number of pro-criminal values a person is exposed to, it’s difficult to test at what point the urge to offend is realised

Not everyone who is exposed to pro-criminal attitudes goes on to commit crimes. As such, DAT does not consider what psychological factor?

Individual differences

Why might DAT stereotype people?

It assumes that people from poor socio-economic backgrounds may go on to commit crimes rather than assuming that they might choose to ignore pro-criminal values they have been exposed to

What other explanation might there be for why crime runs in families?

Biological (genetic)

What was Osborne & West’s finding that is consistent with a genetic explanation for crime?

13% of the sons of the non-criminal fathers had criminal convictions, compared with 40% of the sons of criminal fathers