Criminal Behavior: Sutherland's Theory Of Differential Association

Sutherland’s theory of differential association is a theory that stated that criminal behavior is “culturally transmitted” meaning that criminal behavior is learned through social relationships. The key to differential association was determining which culture each individual as associated with, a culture with “definitions favorable to violation of law” or a culture with “definitions unfavorable to violation of law.” But Sutherland came to the conclusion that people would come in contact with both types of cultures in their lifetime, but these two sets of cultures helped Sutherland see whether criminal values and influences are stronger than conventional family values and influences in ones life. Sutherland’s theory of differential association went through many forms but the final form was finally ready in 1947. This final form he stated a set of nine propositions, which are now thought of as the most influential statements in criminological history on what causes crimes. These nine propositions stated that criminal behavior is learned, criminal behavior is learned through communication with other people, learning criminal behavior occurs in intimate small groups, the learning of criminal behavior
Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory stated that it was not the individuals in areas that caused criminal behavior but the neighborhood itself. Shaw and McKay discovered that families that resided in more affluent neighborhoods had the means to fulfill the needs of their children, and kept a closer watch on them whereas in less affluent neighborhoods or slums families, schools, and churches were broken by the speed of urban growth, people moving in and out, the vast number of different racial groups residing that area and lastly poverty. In this types of neighborhood young kids were not given the supervision or support for a healthy and safe development therefore there was no stopping them from meeting the wrong kinds of people in such a large