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3 J. Res. Crime & Delinquency 1 (1966)

handle is hein.journals/jrcd3 and id is 1 raw text is: The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency VOLUME 3 JANUARY 1966 NUMBER 1 A Reformulation of Sutherland's Differential Association Theory and a Strategy for Empirical Verification* MELVIN L. DE FLEUR Professor of Sociology, University of Kentucky Assistant Professor, 1957-62, Associate Professor, 1962-63, Indiana University B.S. (Psychology), 1949, St. Louis University; M.S. (Psychology), 1952, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1954, University of Washington RICHARD QUINNEY Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, New York University Instructor, St. Lawrence University, 1960-62; Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky, 1962-65 B.A. (Sociology, Psychology), 1956, Carroll College; M.A. (Sociology), 1957, Northwestern University; Ph.D. (Sociology), 1962, University of Wisconsin Relatively few of the many theories developed by sociologists have been stated in other than verbal symbols. Although the supposed advantages of more rigorous formalizations have been discussed at length, many sociologists maintain that the assertion by mathematical model-builders that their approach will actually advance thinking in substantive areas of sociology still remains to be demonstrated. The present paper is an attempt to show some of the ways in which this approach can yield new insights into old theories. First, Sutherland's widely used formulation in criminology is translated into set theory statements. Then, the value of this translation is shown by developing a set of underlying postulates from which the nine major propositions of the theory can be formally derived. Finally, additional propo- sitions are shown to follow as logical consequences of the re- formulated theory in such a way that a strategy for its empirical verification is obtained. Q NE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TRENDS of explanatory systems. Philosophers of in contemporary sociological theory science, long preoccupied with explana- is the increasing attention being given tion, prediction, and theory construction to problems related to the formalization in the physical sciences, have turned I

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