It is argued that the work of Reckless and Dinitz concerning the socialization and self-concepts of “good” boys and “potential” delinquents offers the basis for a test and extension of the theory of differential association. This position is based on recognition that these investigators, like Sutherland, emphasized socialization processes; to explain the non-delinquent Reckless and Dinitz rely on the same mechanisms Sutherland employed to explain the delinquent.