ior from peer groups. Placing juveniles in a deviant group creates an association which perpetuates deviant behavior. Peer-group pressure stands as the strongest force on the lives of young people and represents the source of most delinquent behavior.
There are several basic principles underlying differential association, as set forth by Sutherland. This theory assumes that the individual becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violations of law over definitions unfavorable to violations of the law. The peer group presents shoplifting as an activity with more definitions favorable to the activity than not, seeing it as an activity that offers a challenge, shows a defiance for authority, enhances the reputation of the offender among the peer group, and perhaps only incidentally involves the acquisition of goods without paying for them.
The offender learns such criminal behavior through interaction with other persons. This fact minimizes the importance of either individual traits or the social environment. Sutherland stated that this learning takes place by means of interaction with other persons in a process of communication, and this means that the individual is active and not passive in the process. This places responsibility on the young person, who is not depicted as a simple receptacle for some outside force. The learning of criminal behavior takes place primarily within
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