Sociology
Sociology is the study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, disorder, and change.
Edwin Sutherland
Edwin Hardin Sutherland was an American sociologist. He is considered as one of the most influential criminologists of the 20th century. He was a sociologist of the symbolic interactionist school of thought and is best known for defining white-collar crime and differential association, a …
Full Answer
What are the principles of differential association?
The principles of Sutherland's Theory of Differential Association key points:
- Criminal behavior is learned from other individuals.
- Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication.
- The principle part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.
What are the principles of differential association theory?
Sutherland further explained that there are 9 principles of the differential association theory: 1. Criminal behavior is learned. 2. Criminal behavior is learned from others who may be engaged in such behavior. 3. This process of learning criminal behavior occurs in small, intimate groups.
What type of theory is differential association?
Uses of the association theory
- The theory is useful in explaining why people commit crimes and how social bonds prevent or encourage crime.
- The differential association theory also helps us to understand how people are likely to learn to commit crimes.
- Crime fighters use this theory to understand the factors that make people more likely to commit crimes.
What is an example of differential association?
The three characteristics of differential association theory are:
- One who associates with criminals becomes a criminal.
- One learns criminal behavior from one close to them.
- Young children are more likely to learn criminal behavior than older children.
What is differential association theory?
Sutherland's Differential Association Theory Explained 1 The differential association explanation of offending suggests that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motivation for criminal behavior. 2 We often hear the phrase “Got in with a bad crowd”; our friendship groups can profoundly affect criminality especially during adolescence. 3 Differential associations (number of contacts with criminals over non-criminals) may vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity. 4 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. (behaviorism: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning theory). 5 The principle part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.
Which study supported the differential association theory of offending?
The differential association theory of offending is supported by the Cambridge Study in delinquency development by Farrington et al., 2006. This study followed 411 males who at the beginning of the study they were all living in a working-class deprived inner-city area of South London.
What is the process of learning criminal behavior?
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. (behaviorism: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning theory).
How is criminal behavior learned?
Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication. This communication is verbal in many cases but includes gestures.
Why do people become delinquent?
A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. This is the principle of differential association. When people become criminal, they do so not only because of contacts with criminal patterns but also because of isolation from anticriminal patterns. Negatively, this means that association which are neutral so far as crime is concerned have little or no effect on the genesis of criminal behavior.
What is the specific direction of motives and drives?
The specific direction of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. This different context of situation usually is found in US where culture conflict in relation to the legal code exists.
When did the antisocial behavior study start?
This was a prospective longitudinal study of the development of offending and antisocial behavior in 411 males. The study started when they were 8 in 1961, at the beginning of the study they were all living in a working-class deprived inner-city area of South London.
How does deviance affect social change?
Deviance has several functions: (a) it clarifies norms and increases conformity, (b) it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant, and (c) it can help lead to positive social change. Social ecology. Certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates.
What is the second function of deviance?
A second function of deviance is that it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant. An example comes from the classic story The Ox-Bow Incident (Clark, 1940), in which three innocent men are accused of cattle rustling and are eventually lynched. The mob that does the lynching is very united in its frenzy against the men, and, at least at that moment, the bonds among the individuals in the mob are extremely strong.
Why does deviance increase conformity?
This happens because the discovery and punishment of deviance reminds people of the norms and reinforces the consequences of violating them. If your class were taking an exam and a student was caught cheating, the rest of the class would be instantly reminded of the rules about cheating and the punishment for it, and as a result they would be less likely to cheat.
What is deviance among the poor?
According to Robert Merton, deviance among the poor results from a gap between the cultural emphasis on economic success and the inability to achieve such success through the legitimate means of working. According to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin, differential access to illegitimate means affects the type of deviance in which individuals experiencing strain engage.
Why is gender socialization important?
Gender socialization is a key reason for large gender differences in crime rates. Symbolic interactionism. Differential association theory.
What is the sociological approach to crime?
An important sociological approach, begun in the late 1800s and early 1900s by sociologists at the University of Chicago, stresses that certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods raise the odds that people growing up and living in these neighborhoods will commit deviance and crime. This line of thought is now called the social ecology approach (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008). Many criminogenic (crime-causing) neighborhood characteristics have been identified, including high rates of poverty, population density, dilapidated housing, residential mobility, and single-parent households. All of these problems are thought to contribute to social disorganization, or weakened social bonds and social institutions, that make it difficult to socialize children properly and to monitor suspicious behavior (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008; Sampson, 2006).
What is functionalist sociology?
Several explanations may be grouped under the functionalist perspective in sociology, as they all share this perspective’s central view on the importance of various aspects of society for social stability and other social needs.
How does differential association theory work?
Imagine that a child has parents who are professional art thieves. Under differential association theory, the child will likely learn how to steal art. In addition, they will learn techniques for art thievery from the parents and develop an attitude of acceptance towards thievery.
Who created the differential association theory?
Edwin H. Sutherland created a theory called Differential Association Theory in an attempt to try and explain why certain individuals become criminals. Take a closer look at this theory by studying its definition, Sutherland's nine basic tenants, and specific examples of Differential Association Theory. Updated: 10/09/2021
Why do people become criminals?
A person becomes a criminal because of frequent criminal patterns. For example, if one is exposed to a repeated criminal scenario, this scenario will eventually rub off on others nearby. The differential association theory can differ in frequency, duration, priority and intensity.
Why did the criminologist develop the theory of crime?
The theory is based upon the idea that criminals commit crimes based upon their association with other people. Basically, criminal behavior is learned by associating with other criminal individuals.
Is the learning of criminal behavior by association similar to all other types of learning?
The learning of criminal behavior by association is similar to all other types of learning.
What does it mean when a person violates a norm?
Voiceover: In the last video, we defined norms and outlined some basic ways that a person could violate a norm. When a norm is violated, it's referred to as deviance. And though the word, deviance, seems negative, it's not. It simply means that an individual's behaving differently from what society feels is normal behavior. If a person is deviant from norms, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doing something bad or immoral. As an example, most Americans eat meat on a regular basis, and they feel that doing so is normal behavior. Someone who doesn't eat meat, someone who's a vegetarian, they would be considered deviant. Their behavior is different than what the majority considers acceptable and normal. And just like norms are relative, deviance is relative, as well. It is dependent on the context, individual group, or location in the world. And standards for deviance change, based on those factors. Sociologists often use symbolic interactionist perspective when studying deviance. The perspective basically states that society is a product of everyday social interactions of individuals. This means that looking at how people behave in normal everyday situations, helps us to better understand and define deviance. One view of deviance from this perspective, is the theory of differential association. And differential association states that deviance is a learned behavior that results from continued exposure to others who violate norms and laws. So this situation in individuals who commit deviant behavior learn values and norms that are different from the dominant culture. So you can think of this as monkey see, monkey do. But also the monkey believes this is acceptable behavior. So imagine an elite athlete. This athlete grows up with coaches and teammates that believe that cheating is wrong and to be a successful athlete one must train hard, avoid drugs and alcohol and be respectful to opponents. Now imagine the athlete switches teams and his new team members believe that using steroids, partying, and heckling are the best way to be successful in the sport. From his new team members the athlete learns that drug use, partying, and heckling are acceptable even though they were not acceptable before. The new team members may even show the athlete how to be deviant by demonstrating how to take a particular drug or introducing the athlete to a new type of steroid. The athlete rejects his norms and values, and accepts the new deviant behaviors. With this in mind the theory differential association asserts that the relationships a person forms are very important. If a person forms strong relationships with someone who is incredibly deviant, and provides constant exposure to violated norms, they are more likely to learn deviance. However, if they form relationships with someone who follows norms, they are less likely to learn deviant behavior. Another view of deviance that's supported by this symbolic interaction as perspective in sociology is labeling theory. In labeling theory, a behavior is deviant if people have judged the behavior and labeled it as deviant. So think back on our early athlete. If he uses steroids, is that deviant? Well the answer depends on what is considered acceptable within that specific team, sporting league, or even within the greater society. See using steroids isn't necessarily right or wrong. It is possible that in some situations, steroids are medically necessary. However in the context of professional sports steroid use can be labelled as wrong or unfair. And thus be considered deviant and subject to criticism from others. Society's reaction to and its labels for the deviant behavior and the person who committed the deviant behavior are very important. An act labeled as primary deviance does not have huge consequenceS. This act produces very little societal push back. The reaction to the deviant behavior is very mild and, and doesn't affect the person's self esteem. The individual's able to continue to behave in the same way without feeling immoral or wrong. As an example, imagine that our athlete took steroids and his teammates found out. Since they all use steroids, the athlete is not labeled as deviant and his actions go unnoticed. His deviance doesn't matter. However, an act labeled as secondary deviance can produce more serious consequences. Secondary deviance is characterized by a severe negative reaction that produces a stigmatizing label that can result in even more deviant behavior. So imagine the teammates of our athlete label his behavior as deviant. And they exclude him from practices and tell him that he's a terrible player. The reactions may cause them to feel he needs to continue to use steroids to be a better player. He may even escalate and use steroids more often or try more dangerous forms of the drug. His repeated deviance gives him a reputation and the stigma of deviance stays with him for the rest of his career. And the last theory of deviance that we'll cover is called strain theory. And strain theory suggests that if a person is blocked from attaining a culturally accepted goal, they become frustrated or strained and turn to deviance. So in this viewpoint, individuals in a group are pushed to attain certain goals, but they may not have the means or legitimate a way to achieve success. Though society values a certain behavior, they do not make the opportunity to success available to everyone. In some situations a lack of equal opportunity results in increase access to illegal means to achieve success. So if we think about our athlete example, imagine that he attends a school that doesn't have access to proper training equipment. Or doesn't have access to a qualified coach or solid funding. The athlete becomes frustrated with his inability to become an elite athlete, and so he turns to deviant behavior. Or maybe because the school athletic program lacks the proper resources to be successful, there are more steroid dealers in the area. And our athlete turns to steroids to try to level the playing field. These behaviors are deviant but they provide the athlete with a way to achieve the socially acceptable goal of being a successful, strong, and talented player. So that's the strain theory
Is homosexuality considered a "deviant behavior"?
If someone is gay, and homosexuality is considered "deviant behavior" within a community, then none of these theories provide good explanation for "why" that person may be gay. We don't have control over some of our "deviant" behavior like homosexuality, so there isn't a "why.".
Why is differential association important?
Edwin Sutherland coined the phrase differential association to address the issue of how people learn deviance. According to this theory, the environment plays a major role in deciding which norms people learn to violate. Specifically, people within a particular reference group provide norms of conformity and deviance, and thus heavily influence the way other people look at the world, including how they react. People also learn their norms from various socializing agents—parents, teachers, ministers, family, friends, co‐workers, and the media. In short, people learn criminal behavior, like other behaviors, from their interactions with others, especially in intimate groups.
What is deviant behavior?
People who engage in deviant behavior are referred to as deviants . The concept of deviance is complex because norms vary considerably across groups, times, and places. In other words, what one group may consider acceptable, another may consider deviant. For example, in some parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Muslim Africa, women are circumcised.
What is anomie in social studies?
Anomie refers to the confusion that arises when social norms conflict or don't even exist. In the 1960s, Robert Merton used the term to describe the differences between socially accepted goals and the availability of means to achieve those goals.
Why were the roughnecks perceived as bad?
In other words, while both groups committed crimes, the Saints were perceived to be “good” because of their polite behavior (which was attributed to their upper‐class backgrounds) and the Roughnecks were seen as “bad” because of their insolent behavior (which was attributed to their lower‐class backgrounds).
What is the primary contribution of anomie theory?
The primary contribution of anomie theory is its ability to explain many forms of deviance.
What are deviants?
Today, Americans consider such activities as alcoholism, excessive gambling, being nude in public places, playing with fire, stealing, lying, refusing to bathe, purchasing the services of prostitutes, and cross‐dressing—to name only a few—as deviant. People who engage in deviant behavior are referred to as deviants .
How do gang members learn to be deviant?
Gang members learn to be deviant as they embrace and conform to their gang's norms. Differential‐association theory has contributed to the field of criminology in its focus on the developmental nature of criminality. People learn deviance from the people with whom they associate.
What is deviance in social terms?
deviance comes from not being able to reach goals in socially acceptable ways
How do individuals learn deviance?
individuals learn deviance from those that are close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance
What factors caused crimes and deviance?
social and economic factors caused crimes and deviance
What causes crime in lower class society?
conformity to cultural norms of lower class society causes crime; transferred from generation to generation
Where does deviance occur?
deviance occurs in places with low levels of social control
Who is less likely to be deviant?
those who feel they are part of a society are less likely to be deviant
Does primary deviance affect self-image?
primary deviance does not result in long-term effects on self-image or interactions
Criminal Behavior Is Learned
The Nine Fundamental Principles of Differential Association Theory
Criticism of Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory
Further Reading
Nine Propositions of Differential Association Theory
The Cambridge Study in Delinquency Development, Farrington et al., 2006
- Differential association theory contains nine fundamental principles, and I’ll briefly go through them all. 1. The first principle is that criminal behavior is learned. According to Sutherland, the “born criminal” does not exist. Criminal behavior is not something that is genetic nor do offenders simply come up with criminal behavior. Instead, they...
Critical Evaluation
- But despite its important contribution, Sutherland’s differential association theory has also received its fair share of criticism. Some people think that its concepts are too vague and unspecific. Another criticism has been that the theory doesn’t explain why people who are not surrounded by criminal associations still commit crime or why other people, who aresurrounded …