User:Luvgorloks/Edwin Sutherland

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'''Edwin Hardin Sutherland (August 13, 1883 – October 11, 1950) was an American sociologist. He is considered one of the most influential criminologists of the 20th century. He was a sociologist of the symbolic interactionist school of thought and is best known for defining white-collar crime and differential association, a general theory of crime and delinquency. Sutherland earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1913.'''

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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. According to Sutherland, individuals learn definitions both favorable and unfavorable to crime from peers, the strength of their relationship determines if they choose to favor anti-criminal or pro-criminal definitions. Within differential association theory, Sutherland also explains that criminal behavior can be learned through peer interaction with older people or more experienced criminals. The amount of time spent with peers who associate themselves with deviance leads to a greater chance of engaging in deviance. Sutherland discussed that the intensity of an individual will also determine if a person will agree with their pro-criminal definitions. The type of feelings an individual associates with someone will help determine if they will follow their definitions, whether they advocate for crime or not. Not every child raised in an environment surrounded by crime will develop into having criminal tendencies. Instead Sutherland's theory suggests that having strong bonds to positive role models increases the chance someone stays away from crime. '''The theory also had a structural element positing that conflict and social disorganization are the underlying causes of crime because they 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 Criminology 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 has been one of the most cited criminological theories since it is applicable for many situations and behavior.