On This Page:ToggleNine PropositionsThe Cambridge studyExamplesCritical EvaluationReferencesFurther Readings
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Key Takeaways
Nine Propositions
The first explicit statement of the theory of differential association appears in the 1939 edition ofPrinciples of Criminology,and in the fourth edition of it, he presented his final theory. His theory has nine basic postulates.
Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but honest laborers work in order to money.
The Cambridge study
This was aprospective longitudinal studyof 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.
The researchers looked at official records of conviction and self-report of offending up to the age of 50.By the end of the study, 41% of the participants had at least one conviction.
The most significant childhood risk factors at age 8–10 for later offending were family criminality, daring or risk-taking, low school attainment, poverty and poor parenting.
This theory predicts that offenders will come from families and groups who have pro-criminal norms and that the criminal activities in which they are involved are similar to the ones they have learned.
Furthermore, evidence suggests that criminality is concentrated in a small number of families. For example, Walmsley et al. (1992) found that 1/3 of the prison population in the UK also had relatives in prison too. This, again, could be interpreted as support for the influence of genetic factors.
Examples
White-collar crimes generally require immense technical acumen, such as refined accounting skills which can be generally learned only in close contact with educated people in power (Sutherland, 1950).Thus, even when the larger culture of a corporation upholds ethical norms such as honesty and transparency, close association with a select group of people possessing questionable morals can gradually transform an individual.Seeing one’s close associates pilfering office supplies and appropriating company funds can lead one to justify to oneself such transgressions.Subsequently, the same individual may learn how to purloin without detection and may personally engage in white collar crimes.
White-collar crimes generally require immense technical acumen, such as refined accounting skills which can be generally learned only in close contact with educated people in power (Sutherland, 1950).
Thus, even when the larger culture of a corporation upholds ethical norms such as honesty and transparency, close association with a select group of people possessing questionable morals can gradually transform an individual.
Seeing one’s close associates pilfering office supplies and appropriating company funds can lead one to justify to oneself such transgressions.
Subsequently, the same individual may learn how to purloin without detection and may personally engage in white collar crimes.
People tend to join the mafia, often growing up inside its culture (Drew, 2021). Having family members already involved in its structure functions as a potent invitation to potential members.
What bears noting, however, is that despite the influence of the surrounding culture, not all members of mafia families necessarily join the organized crime network.
In fact, even during the peak of the American Mafia during the 1960/70s, the NYPD comprised many Italian-Americans, some of whose close family members were part of the Mafia.
Critical Evaluation
References
Farrington, D. P., Coid, J. W., Harnett, L., Jolliffe, D., Soteriou, N., Turner, R., & West, D. J. (2006).Criminal careers up to age 50 and life success up to age 48: New findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development(Vol. 94). London, UK: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
Sutherland, E. H., Cressey, D. R., & Luckenbill, D. F. (1992). Principles of criminology. philadelphia: Lippincott.
Walmsley, R., Howard, L., & White, S. (1992). The national prison survey 1991: main findings. HM Stationery Office.
Further ReadingsThe Current State of Differential Association Theory
Further Readings
The Current State of Differential Association Theory
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Charlotte NickersonResearch Assistant at Harvard UniversityUndergraduate at Harvard UniversityCharlotte Nickerson is a student at Harvard University obsessed with the intersection of mental health, productivity, and design.
Charlotte NickersonResearch Assistant at Harvard UniversityUndergraduate at Harvard University
Charlotte Nickerson
Research Assistant at Harvard University
Undergraduate at Harvard University
Charlotte Nickerson is a student at Harvard University obsessed with the intersection of mental health, productivity, and design.
