NCJ Number
10483
Date Published
1972
Length
133 pages
Annotation
THEORIES OF DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AND IDENTIFICATION AS RELATED TO JUVENILE BEHAVIOR ARE DEFINED.
Abstract
THE VARIOUS CLASSES OF POTENTIAL REFERENCE GROUPS ARE ENUMERATED. REFERENCE GROUPS ARE SAID TO AFFECT BEHAVIOR BY TRAINING INDIVIDUALS TO DEFINE THEMSELVES IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE, REQUIRING THAT THEY FOLLOW THE NORMS PRESCRIBED FOR PERSONS WITH THEIR IDENTITY, AND ENFORCING THEIR DEMANDS THROUGH SANCTIONS. THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE A PERSON'S CHOICE OF REFERENCE GROUP ARE HIS SOCIAL POSITION, HIS NORMATIVE ORIENTATION, AND THE SOCIAL DEMANDS PLACED ON THAT PERSON. THE CHAPTER ON CHANGING REFERENCE GROUPS CITES CERTAIN SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLES OF ACHIEVING CHANGE IN PEOPLE THROUGH GROUP DYNAMICS.