Differential Association Theory Essay

1. Differential Association theory would explain the burglars behavior by first looking at at their social structure. Their social structure stand affect everything it can influence their close bloods, open them up to objective opportunities and could be seen as the of import attribute that affects their learning process in behavior. A. Most of the plenty in these interviews are poor, young males with similar social structures. Growing up on the streets and in bad neighborhoods can influence the interactions that each of these people will live with. These interactions can result in definitions favorable to crime because these people are beginning to wall themselves and interact with people who are already doing illegal actions. (Hagan, p.89). In the article it gave an example of how a group of friends may be doing coke and once it runs go forth someone in the group, that has developed their own belief in whats right and whats terms, suggests doing burglary in order to get so me money for more(prenominal) coke. A new person within the group may feel pressure in continuing in order to maintain their status and relationship with the members in the group. Here they are learning new attitudes and accepting new values that are favorable to crime (Hagan, p. 89).The behavior being learned is that burglary can help with any immediate needs and together they rebel a preparest the law. The new member may now start to change what they believe is right and wrong and could begin acting in more frequent illegal actions. These burglars have the belief that burglary is okay because it is a matter of day to day survival. This shows that they have their own interpretation on what they think is right and wrong which is a learned definition favorable to crime. In the interview Wild Will proven this theory by describing that when he is in need of money he thinks to himself, How do I know how to get money quick and easy? He at one point had to have learned that an immediate fix to a bump in the road, which is justified in his mind, is to perform a burglary. Larry Harris would hit when he says that it is just something you have to do to get by. Neither of these men views burglary as something wrong but as something you do in order to survive.B. When it comes to the techniques that people learn in committing crime several burglars said that it is something that you just get better at over time. Wild Will stated that when he goes to intoxicate a house he likes to stake out the house and call it in order to see if someone is home. This may have been a technique he had picked up fromsomeone else that he went and did a burglary with. Several participants in the interview confessed that if they had a friend that had a burglary set up that they would be unbidden to do it with them if given the offer. This is an incident where you could say that a person may have the opportunity to learned new strategies and techniques that have worked for someone else in t he past. some other technique that gets learned on the streets is the ability to maintain and develop status. One of the participants shared that it is mandatory to be perceived as hip. People on the streets learn through interactions with each other what it takes to be hip and be seen as someone with high status. 95% of the participants confessed that they spend the money that they steal on things that give them the image of high-living.During the interview several things were revealed as things to do in order to gain that high status. These burglars can learn these techniques such as doing drugs, having inner partners, the right styles and brands, and a car and car accessories, as things to pursue in order to gain that respected status in the street culture. C. It is already do clear that these burglars live in poor neighborhoods and are living on the streets which give them more objective opportunity than someone that is in a nicer surface off neighborhood. Due to their neigh borhood, it exposes these burglars to people that are promoters to committing crime (Hagan, p.90). Most of these men have also admitted that they are too lazy to maintain a touchable job so sources of income are limited within the household.Because of this most of these participants say that they are acting on illegal action, like burglaries, in order to gain money for food and clothing for their family. As for subjective opportunities not everyone would look at something as an opportunity to commit a crime but Larry William says it trump out in his interview when he is describing what he does when he is in need for money, There it is Theres the house. He automatically looks for a train and sees it as an opportunity to immediately fix his problem whereas another person wouldnt think of that as an option. Another subjective opportunity that these burglars have is the event that their social bonds are also partaking in these acts and so they have multiple opportunities in performi ng a burglary when they are present with more opportunities given by their friends.