what is the theory of differential association
April 15th, 2015. 'Differential Association theory is a criminology theory that looks at the acts of the criminal as learned behaviors. Edwin H. Sutherland is credited with the development of the Differential Association theory in 1939. Sutherland, a sociologist and professor most of his life, developed Differential Association theory to explain how it was that criminals came to commit acts of deviant behavior.