DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

a.   Criminal behavior is learned

b.         Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication

c.         The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups

d.         When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes: (1) techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very complicated, sometimes very simple, (2) the specific direction of the motives, drives, rationalization and attitudes

e.         The specific directions of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. In some societies an individual is surrounded by persons who invariably define the legal codes as rules to be observed, while in others he is surrounded by persons whose definitions are favorable to the violation of the legal codes

f.          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.

g.         Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. This means that associations with criminal behavior and also associations with anti criminal behavior vary in those respects

h.        The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti criminal patterns involves all of the mechanism that are involved in any other learning 

i.          While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values, since non criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values. Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but likewise honest laborers work in order to secure money. The attempts by many scholars to explain criminal behavior by general drives and values, such as the happiness principle, striving for social status, the money motive, of frustration, have been, and must continue to be, futile, since they explain lawful behavior as completely as they explain criminal behavior. They are similar to respiration, which is necessary for any behavior, but which does not differentiate criminal from non criminal behavior