DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AND CRIME

    Edwin Sutherland, a renowned criminologist, once said "criminality is a probabilistic event determined by the frequency and quality of interaction with persons holding definitions favorable or unfavorable to violation of the law" (Source, date, page number). He was the first to introduce differential association and white collar crime in 1939.  Known as the father of criminology, he set the stage for much of American criminology throughout the twentieth century.  While there are numerous theories about the causation of crime, the focus of this paper is on Sutherland's ideas of differential association, differential reinforcement, and copycat crime.

   Differential association is a form of social learning theory.  Social learning theory declares that all behavior is learned in much the same way as other behaviors (Source date).  Criminal behavior is seen as due to a person's social environment, not to innate characteristics of a person.  Sutherland's differential association theory stated that criminality is a learned behavior through association and communication with others who portray criminal values.  People learn to commit crime from other people (Source date).  Criminal behavior is not due to feeble minds or psychopathology, but what people learn (Source date).  According to Sutherland (date), crime is learned in direct or indirect association with those who already practice criminal behavior.  Therefore, people who grow up in a conventional neighborhood learn to attend church and go to school.  Those who grow up in slums learn to roam the street and steal from others (Source date). 

    As the pioneer of white collar crime studies, Sutherland disproves theories of crime based on poverty.  The wealthy, as well as the poor, commit crime.  Pertaining to differential association, people who began as white collar workers became criminals when introduced to criminal activity in business situations (Source date).  If an individual is in an area where groups are organized for crime definitions favoring legal violations, that individual will learn criminal values (Source date).

    There are nine points to differential association (Source date).  The first point is that criminal behavior is learned.  This means that it is not inherited.  Second, criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others in a process of communication.  Communication is often verbal but can also be gestures.  Third, the principal part of learning criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.  Friends and family play an important role in learning criminal behavior, whereas newspapers and magazines play an unimportant role.  Fourth, when criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes techniques of committing the crime, the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.  Fifth, the specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of legal codes as favorable or unfavorable.  People differ in their definitions of legal codes causing cultural conflict.  Sixth, 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. A person becomes a criminal because they are in contact with criminal patterns and are isolated from noncriminal patterns. Seventh, differential associations vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. It is assumed that delinquent behavior learned in early childhood persists throughout life.  Eighth, the process of learning criminal behavior involves all the mechanisms involved in any other learning.  Therefore, learning criminal behavior is not restricted to imitation.  Lastly, Sutherland's ninth point is that criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, but it is not explained by those general needs and values since noncriminal behavior also expresses those needs and values.  For example, thieves steal to obtain money, but honest laborers also work to obtain money (Source date).

    Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers (date) introduced differential reinforcement theory, expanding upon Sutherland's idea of differential association.  They dismissed Sutherland's third point about learning within intimate primary groups. Psychological principles of operant conditioning were integrated, and Sutherland's nine points were reorganized into seven. The first point is that deviant behavior is learned according to the principle of operant conditioning or imitation. Second, criminal behavior is learned in nonsocial situations that are reinforcing or discriminating as well as social situations. Third, the principal part of learning criminal behavior occurs in groups that constitute or control an individual's main source of reinforcement.  Fourth, learning depends on available reinforcement contingencies.  Fifth, the type and frequency of learning depend on the norms by which these reinforcers are applied.  Sixth, criminal behavior is a function of norms that are discriminative for criminal behavior. Seventh, the strength of deviant behavior depends on its reinforcers.  Differential reinforcement theory is based on the idea of rewards for criminal behavior.

    Much violence and criminal behavior can be learned through the media.  Serial killers and terrorists, for example, are influenced by the media (Source date), and David Grossman (date) states that with the introduction of television in the 1950s, long term childhood exposure to television is a causal factor behind approximately one half of all homicides. There are a countless number of copycat crimes.  Copycats are impersonators.  They tend to have role models from which they learn and attempt to become like. The media has a tremendous effect on criminal behavior due to copycats. Movies such as Scream, Taxi Driver, and Child's Play, to name a few, have spawned copycat crime (Source date). The Gurr wave (Source date) also reveals a standard pattern or trend in which copycat crime can be expected.

LITERATURE REVIEW

    What has been the most popular subject of investigation on differential association are the works of DeFleur and Quinney (date), which is both a reformulation of Sutherland's differential association theory and a strategy for empirical verification. DeFleur and Quinney asserted that criminal behavior has a set of motivations, attitudes, and techniques, the learning of which takes place when there is exposure to criminal norms in the interactions of primary groups.  This follows Sutherland's (date) formulation where criminal behavior is learned through techniques of committing the crime, the motivational component.  They also point out that criminal behavior depends on the correlation of learned ability and willingness to perform the deviant act.  Sutherland acknowledged that techniques could be acquired through nonverbal and observational ways of association.  Becker's (date) investigation, among others, have shown that primary group associations and normative definitions explain a great deal of why people commit criminal behavior.

    Becker (date) described three stages of illegal behavior which connect to Sutherland's differential association theory.  Becker observed close personal contacts with more experienced criminals are necessary at every stage.  The core of Sutherland's theory, techniques and motivations, are central to Becker's account for performing a behavior for pleasure.  The technical aspect of learning is incorporated in the first two stages.  Along with mastering the physical techniques, criminals must learn perceptual techniques that crime is pleasurable.  They must see what gratifying experience will follow from the outcome of the act.  The third stage involves the motivational component of differential association theory.  The newfound criminal must learn to enjoy the effects he/she has learned to experience.  Therefore, individuals who have learned the techniques have a positive balance of motives and attitudes, and the expected probability of committing a crime is one hundred percent.  Individuals with a negative balance of motives and attitudes have a zero probability of committing a crime.

    Reports that differential association theory is outdated have not been proven to be true.  Although revised by Burgess and Akers (date), the original theory still has great significance.  It can also be empirically tested.

RESEARCH METHODS

    Differential association theory has been tested in different ways throughout the years. James Orcutt, with the help of Howard Becker, tested differential association and marijuana use with undergraduates attending the University of Minnesota and Florida State University (Source date).. Figure 1 reveals the effects that the number of close friends who use (positive friends) compared to those who don't on a person's own use of marijuana. A person's own use increases with the number of close friends who use. This is an important finding that supports Sutherland's theory. People learn criminal behavior through the direct or indirect association with those that practice it. If a friend uses marijuana, then it is learned and the behavior causes a positive outcome, getting high. Figure 1 also provides statistics on the power of other relationships between variables in the study.

    Figure 2 demonstrates public attitudes toward violence portrayed in the media and its contributions to violence in society. Randomly selected national samples of 1,006 adults aged 18 or older were polled.  According to the table, like Sutherland stated, the media plays a considerable role in the amount of violence in society. Those who watch deviant acts on television may copycat these crime. Television and movies received the highest rate of contribution from the public with 58% and 57%, respectively.  Due to differential association, people believe that television is a huge contributor to crime and violence.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

    There have been numerous theories throughout history that have attempted to explain why people commit crime.  Theories such as crime being due to poverty, mental retardation, and other personal traits do not sufficiently cover why people commit crime.  Those who are rich, mentally retarded, and the like, do not all commit crime, just as gender, race, and age cannot in themselves explain criminal behavior.  Edwin Sutherland proposed that it is the association with others who partake in deviant behavior as a theory in the causation of crime.  Sutherland rejected the idea the deviant behavior is caused by inheritance.  He believed criminals learned their techniques and attitudes from their work with other criminals.  Sutherland stated nine principles that make up differential association theory.  It has been proven to be one of the strongest predictors of involvement with peers and delinquency.  Many other individuals used Sutherland's theory to build upon it and blend it with other theories.

    Ronald Akers (date) expanded on Sutherland's idea and introduced differential reinforcement.  Akers proposed that people are exposed to deviant behavior through differential association. However, differential reinforcement explained how they learn to gain rewards and avoid punishment from the behavior. He used only seven principles to explain differential reinforcement.

    Differential association can be used to explain copycat crime.  A criminal behavior is learned through watching and studying, and it is copied.  The media plays a major role in copycat crime. It portrays crime, sometimes in great detail, in ways that allow others to learn and repeat.  Edwin Sutherland contributed vastly to the field of criminology, and his theory is still used today.

REFERENCES

Becker, H.  (1953).  Becoming a marijuana user.  California: Wadsworth.

Becker, H.  (1963).  Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance. New York: Free Press.

Burgess, R., & Akers, R.  (1966).  A differential association-reinforcement theory of criminal behavior. New York:  Free Press.

DeFleur, M., & Quinney, R.  (1966).  A reformulation of Sutherland’s differential Association theory and a strategy for empirical verification.  Journal of Research In Crime and Delinquency 3.

Goldstein, K.  (Producer), & Enos, L. (Director).  (1998).  Copycat Crimes. [Film]. Loxley Hall Productions.

Jacoby, J.  (1994).  Classics of criminology.  Illinois:  Waveland Press Inc.

Lilly, R., & Cullen, F., & Ball, R.  (1995).  Criminology theory. London:  Sage Publications.

Schmalleger, F.  (2002).  Criminology today.  New Jersey:  Prentice Hall.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, (1999).

Last updated: 11/28/01