Some Experimental Investigations of the Principles of Differential Association Through Deliberate Manipulations of the Structure of Service Systems

TLDR: The authors reviewed a series of examinations of three key principles of differential association: the contingency principle, the socioemotional principle, and the principle that criminal acts occur as a function of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of the law.

Abstract: The paper reviews a series of examinations of three key principles of differential association: the contingency principle, the socioemotional principle, and the principle that criminal acts occur as a function of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of the law. The studies sampled a variety of correctional clients in a variety of correctional settings and in each there were explicit attempts to exert direct experimental control over the factors of theoretical interest as well as competing factors. In total, the findings support both the causal and the practical significance of differential association while documenting (a) structural effects on the contingencies within the service system, and (b) the effects of those contingencies on the criminal attitudes and behavior of individuals. The discussion critically contrasts such systematic testing of assumptions with related programs which have been operating for years with limited theoretical and practical returns. The paper suggests, in total, that systematic program evaluation provides the tools-and the opportunity-for a bridging of the gaps between general sociology and general psychology and between social science theory and social service.