ABSTRACT
In 1969, David Matza argued that explanations of deviance can be separated into two distinct categories: theories of affinity and theories of affiliation. The overarching theme of Matza in Becoming Deviant was that the explanations of crime at the time had treated individuals as not humans, but as objects who play no role in the negotiation and interpretation of context. Peers may affect the behavior of individuals differently depending on individual propensity; moreover, peers may influence the propensity to commit crime itself and, in turn, actually influence future peer selection processes. The research literature on peer influence processes has wrestled with two key methodological issues over the years. First, there is the constant question of whether the methodological or modeling procedure allows researchers to infer causality. The second methodological issue that has dominated peer influence research in recent years focuses on measurement.
