Sociological Theories

Question 1

What is functionalism?

Answer 1

Durkeim sees society as a stable structure based on shared normals and values

Question 2

According to Durkeim, what does a stable structured society produce?

Answer 2

Social solidarity/ harmonious unit

Question 3

What is organic analogy?

Answer 3

Institutions helping the society to function like a body

Question 4

Why does crime happen in a stable structured society?

Answer 4

Crime is inevitable
-inadequately socialised
-subcultures have different values
-anomie: shared norms become weakened

Question 5

What important functions does crime preform?

Answer 5

Boundary maintenance
Social change
Safety valve
Warning light

Question 6

What is boundary maintenance?

Answer 6

Society members react to the wrongdooer which reinforced boundaries

Question 7

What is social change?

Answer 7

Individuals with new ideas challenge existing norms

Question 8

What is safety valve?

Answer 8

Anger is let out e.g Davis says that prostitution acts to release sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family

Question 9

What is the warning light?

Answer 9

Deviance indicates that the institution is not functioning properly enough, e.g high truancy rates indicates problems with the education system

Question 10

What is Marxist theory of crime and law?

Answer 10

An unequal capitalist society shapes peoples behaviour and crime is inevitable

Question 11

Whats the ruling class called?

Answer 11

Bourgeoise

Question 12

Whats the working class called?

Answer 12

Proletariat

Question 13

What does Marxist say capitalism causes?

Answer 13

Crime

Question 14

What does Marxist say about law making and law enforcement?

Answer 14

It is biased

Question 15

What does law perfom?

Answer 15

Ideological functions

Question 16

How does capitalism cause crime?

Answer 16

-Exploitation of the working class drives many people into poverty
-Capitalism pushes consumer goods through advertising resulting in utilitarian crimes
-Inequality causes frustration resulting in non-utilitarian crimes

Question 17

How is law making and enforcement biased?

Answer 17

-Law making and enforcement serve the interests of the capitalist class
-Laws are enforced selectively
-Street crimes are more likely to be prosecuted then white collar crimes

Question 18

What are ideological functions of crime and law?

Answer 18

-Selective enforcement makes it look like the working-class fault which creates a divide
-Shifts the attention away from the more serious crimes

Question 19

What is interactionalism?

Answer 19

It sees our interactions with other people as based on meanings or labels

Question 20

What is the labelling theory?

Answer 20

No act is deviant or criminal. It only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to others

Question 21

What is differential enforcement of the law?

Answer 21

Social control agencies (police) label a certain group as criminal and enforce the law on them more

Question 22

What did Cicourel find?

Answer 22

Police use typifications

Question 23

What is typifications?

Answer 23

Working class, ethnic minority, youth

Question 24

What is selective enforcement?

Answer 24

Police have limited resources which affects police prioritisation

Question 25

What did Piliavin and Briar find?

Answer 25

Decisions to arrest are based on stereotypical things

Question 26

What are the sterotypical things?

Answer 26

Dress, gender, time, place, ethnicity

Question 27

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 27

1. Primary deviance- labelling is a cause of crime and deviance
2. Secondary deviance- results from labelling

Question 28

What is the deviant amplification spiral?

Answer 28

An attempt to control deviance through a ‘crackdown’ which leads it to increasing not decreasing

Question 29

What happened in Jock Young?

Answer 29

Hippy cannabis users went undetected by the law then was raided and arrested which led to retreating in closed groups

Question 30

Why does interactionism reject the use of crime statistics?

Answer 30

They argue that statistics measure what the police do rather than the statistics

Question 31

What is left realism?

Answer 31

Against capitalism and a socialist point of view

Question 32

What three causes of crime did Lee and Young identify?

Answer 32

Relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation

Question 33

What is relative deprivation?

Answer 33

How deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others due to cuts in employment, benefits and media inspiring people to buy maternal posessions

Question 34

What is subculture?

Answer 34

A groups way of solving the problem of relative deprivation by turning to crime

Question 35

What is marginalisation?

Answer 35

Groups that lack organisations to represent their interest and lack clearly defined goals

Question 36

What is right realism?

Answer 36

Conservative political view, the best way to control crime is through control and punishment

Question 37

What do Wilson and Hernstein say?

Answer 37

Biological differences make some individuals more likely to commit crime

Question 38

What is inadequate socialisation?

Answer 38

Not being taught correct values and self-control

The nuclear family is the best agency of socialisation but they are being undermined by welfare benefits

Question 39

What does offending is a rational choice mean?

Answer 39

We are rational beings with free will so deciding to commit a crime is based on weighing pros and cons