SOCIOLOGY THEORIES

Sociology Theories

Sociology Theories

Differential Association

Edwin Sutherland's theory of differential association, the first learning theory of misdeed, continues to stimulate study today. In 1947, Sutherland stated the theory as a set of nine propositions, which introduced three concepts—normative conflict, differential association, and differential group organization—that explain crime at the levels of the society, individual, and group.

The differential association process provides a social psychological explanation of how normative conflict translates into individual criminal acts. Criminal behavior is learned through communication in an intimate group, and the content of learning includes two important elements. First are the requisite skills and techniques for committing crime, which can range from complicated, specialized skills of insider trading to the simple, readily available skills of purse snatching. Such techniques are a necessary but insufficient condition of crime.

Differential social organization—the extent to which a group or society is organized against crime versus organized in favor of crime—explains how normative conflict translates into group rates of crime. Here, Sutherland reconceptualizes Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay's concepts of social disorganization (weak organization against crime) and cultural transmission (strong organization favoring crime). Shaw and McKay observe that disorganization arises in inner cities when rapid urban growth undermines informal social controls by increasing mobility, poverty, family disruption, immigration, and physical deterioration. Residents tend to be transient, fail to develop a sense of community, and consequently, are unable to build strong and linked families, schools, and neighborhood associations. Such social disorganization, in which a community is unable to control local youth, is equivalent to “weak organization against crime.”

Labeling Theory

Labeling theory is a critical theory which argues that the application of a deviant label can have the effect of solidifying a deviant identity for the labeled, thus potentially exacerbating the problem that it purports to address. Labeling theory, therefore, prioritizes the study of social and legal processes by which certain behaviors and individuals come to be labeled as deviant, as well as the impact of such labels.

One of the greatest contributions of labeling theory has been its challenge to the traditional notion of deviance as a fixed, objective category of study, suggesting instead that the application of the label of “deviant” is highly context specific. This suggests that deviance is the result of the labeling process, not a quality intrinsic to certain individuals or actions. For example, a labeling theorist would critique the assumption that an 18-year-old who drinks alcohol is inherently ...