Edwin Sutherland
Encyclopedia
Edwin H. Sutherland was an American
sociologist. He is considered as one of the most influential criminologists of the twentieth century. He was a sociologist of the symbolic interactionist
school
of thought and is best known for defining differential association
which is a general theory of crime and delinquency that explains how deviants come to learn the motivations and the technical knowledge for deviant or criminal activity. Sutherland earned his Ph.D.
in sociology from the University of Chicago
in 1913.
, and Grand Island, Nebraska
. In 1904 he received the B.A degree from Grand Island College, and after that, he taught Latin, Greek, history, and shorthand for two years at Sioux Falls College in South Dakota
. In 1906 he left Sioux Falls College and entered graduate school at the University of Chicago from which he received his doctorate. He changed his major from history
to sociology
. Much of his study was influenced by Chicago school's approach to the study of crime that emphasized human behavior as determined by social and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic or personal characteristics.
After completing graduate studies he was employed at the University of Minnesota
between 1926 and 1929 and solidified his reputation as one of the country’s leading criminologists. During this period, his focus was on sociology as a scientific enterprise whose goal was the understanding and control of social problems, including crime. In 1930, Sutherland accepted a position as a research professor at the University of Chicago. He then moved to University of Illinois. He finally took a position at Indiana University
where he remained till the end of his career. He became the founder of the Bloomington school of criminology at Indiana University.
During his time at Indiana, he published 4 books, including Twenty Thousand Homeless Men (1936), The Professional Thief (1937), the third edition of Principles of Criminology (1939), and the first (censored) edition of White Collar Crime (1949), which was his masterpiece and remained censored until the unexpurgated original text was finally published in 1983 by Yale University Press.
Sutherland was elected president of the American Sociological Society in 1939, and was elected president of the Sociological Research Association
in 1940. If he had not already become prominent within the sociological profession prior to his introduction of the white-collar-crime concept in 1939, one can only speculate whether that seminal concept would even have been able to be published in any form, but America's largest corporations successfully threatened suits against Dryden Press which were the publishers of Sutherland's 1949 book White Collar Crime, and thus removed from it all references to themselves. When Yale University Press issued the unexpurgated version in 1983, their Introduction by Gilbert Geis asserted that Sutherland's concept of white-collar crime "altered the study of crime throughout the world in fundamental ways."
(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. The theory also had a structural element positing that conflict and social disorganisation are the underlying causes of crime because they determine 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 Crime 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 Theory" 1940
1. Social life is not disorganized but patterned through learned behavior.
"how to" skills: how to engage in deviant acts come from legitimate world but used in negative context.
"want to" attitude: thrill seeking, power, ego feed"
DA = definitions favorable to violations / definitions unfavorable
when numerator is larger than denominator = deviance favorable
depends on: frequency, duration, priority, intensity
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist. He is considered as one of the most influential criminologists of the twentieth century. He was a sociologist of the symbolic interactionist
Symbolic interactionism
Symbolic Interaction, also known as interactionism, is a sociological theory that places emphasis on micro-scale social interaction to provide subjective meaning in human behavior, the social process and pragmatism.-History:...
school
School (discipline)
A school of thought is a collection or group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, cultural movement, or art movement....
of thought and is best known for defining differential association
Differential association
In criminology, Differential Association is a theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposing that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior....
which is a general theory of crime and delinquency that explains how deviants come to learn the motivations and the technical knowledge for deviant or criminal activity. Sutherland earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in sociology from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1913.
Background and Early Education
Edwin H. Sutherland grew up and studied in Ottawa, KansasOttawa, Kansas
Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...
, and Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.Grand Island is home to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center which is the sole agency responsible for training law enforcement officers throughout the state,...
. In 1904 he received the B.A degree from Grand Island College, and after that, he taught Latin, Greek, history, and shorthand for two years at Sioux Falls College in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. In 1906 he left Sioux Falls College and entered graduate school at the University of Chicago from which he received his doctorate. He changed his major from history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
to sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Much of his study was influenced by Chicago school's approach to the study of crime that emphasized human behavior as determined by social and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic or personal characteristics.
Career
Sutherland's historical importance rests upon his having introduced (in a 27 December 1939 speech to the American Sociological Association, titled "The White Collar Criminal") the concept of white-collar crime, a concept which violated existing prejudices that aristocrats can do no wrong (which was famously expressed in the ancient legal view that the king can do no wrong).After completing graduate studies he was employed at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
between 1926 and 1929 and solidified his reputation as one of the country’s leading criminologists. During this period, his focus was on sociology as a scientific enterprise whose goal was the understanding and control of social problems, including crime. In 1930, Sutherland accepted a position as a research professor at the University of Chicago. He then moved to University of Illinois. He finally took a position at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
where he remained till the end of his career. He became the founder of the Bloomington school of criminology at Indiana University.
During his time at Indiana, he published 4 books, including Twenty Thousand Homeless Men (1936), The Professional Thief (1937), the third edition of Principles of Criminology (1939), and the first (censored) edition of White Collar Crime (1949), which was his masterpiece and remained censored until the unexpurgated original text was finally published in 1983 by Yale University Press.
Sutherland was elected president of the American Sociological Society in 1939, and was elected president of the Sociological Research Association
Sociological Research Association
The Sociological Research Association is an honor society of sociological scholars founded in 1936.With more than 400 members, the association's importance comes from the members being leading sociologists who use the SRA's meetings to network and exchange views on the direction of the field...
in 1940. If he had not already become prominent within the sociological profession prior to his introduction of the white-collar-crime concept in 1939, one can only speculate whether that seminal concept would even have been able to be published in any form, but America's largest corporations successfully threatened suits against Dryden Press which were the publishers of Sutherland's 1949 book White Collar Crime, and thus removed from it all references to themselves. When Yale University Press issued the unexpurgated version in 1983, their Introduction by Gilbert Geis asserted that Sutherland's concept of white-collar crime "altered the study of crime throughout the world in fundamental ways."
Theory
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 CriminologyPrinciples of Criminology
Principles of Criminology, authored by Edwin H. Sutherland and Donald R. Cressey, is hailed as the most authoritative work in the field of criminology. The first edition was published in 1934, although it was derived from a previous publication, 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. The theory also had a structural element positing that conflict and social disorganisation are the underlying causes of crime because they determine 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
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
was a relevant factor, coining the phrase white-collar criminal in a speech to the American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
on December 27, 1939. In his 1949 monograph White-Collar Crime he defined a white-collar crime
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
"approximately as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation."
"Differential Association Theory" 1940
1. Social life is not disorganized but patterned through learned behavior.
"how to" skills: how to engage in deviant acts come from legitimate world but used in negative context.
"want to" attitude: thrill seeking, power, ego feed"
DA = definitions favorable to violations / definitions unfavorable
when numerator is larger than denominator = deviance favorable
depends on: frequency, duration, priority, intensity
Works
- Sutherland, Edwin H. (1924) Principles of CriminologyPrinciples of CriminologyPrinciples of Criminology, authored by Edwin H. Sutherland and Donald R. Cressey, is hailed as the most authoritative work in the field of criminology. The first edition was published in 1934, although it was derived from a previous publication, Criminology...
, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. - Sutherland, Edwin H. (1936) With Locke, H.J. 24,000 Homeless Men, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott }}
- Sutherland, Edwin H. (1942) Development of the Theory, in Karl Schuessler (ed.) Edwin H. Sutherland on Analyzing Crime, pp. 13-29. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Sutherland, Edwin H. (1949) White Collar Crime, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
- Sutherland, Edwin H. (1950) The Diffusion of Sexual Psychopath Laws. American Journal of Sociology, Issue 56: pp. 142-8