Theory
He was the author of the leading text Criminology, published in 1924, first stating the principle of differential association in the third edition retitled Principles of Criminology (1939:4-8) that the development of habitual patterns of criminality arise from association with those who commit crime rather than with those who do not commit crime. The theory also had a structural element positing that conflict and social disorganisation are the underlying causes of crime because they determine the patterns of people associated with. This latter element was dropped when the fourth edition was published in 1947. But he remained convinced that social class was a relevant factor, coining the phrase white-collar criminal in a speech to the American Sociological Association on December 27, 1939. In his 1949 monograph White-Collar Crime he defined a white-collar crime "approximately as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation."
"Differential Association Theory" 1940 1. Social life is not disorganized but patterned through learned behavior. "how to" skills: how to engage in deviant acts come from legitimate world but used in negative context. "want to" attitude: thrill seeking, power, ego feed" DA = definitions favorable to violations / definitions unfavorable when numerator is larger than denominator = deviance favorable depends on: frequency, duration, priority, intensity
Read more about this topic: Edwin Sutherland
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