Abstract
Edwin Sutherland's (1947) differential association theory of crime specified three inter‐related concepts explaining crime at three levels of explanation. Normative conflict – the condition of society in which groups disagree over the appropriateness of following laws – explains societal rates of crime. Differential association – in which definitions favorable and unfavorable to crime are learned in primary groups – explains individual acts of crime. Differential social organization – the extent to which a group is organized in favor of crime versus organized against crime – explains group rates of crime. Differential association theory has been supported by empirical research and continues to stimulate contemporary criminological research.
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