2.3 sociological theories

Question 1

FUNCTIONALIST – Durkheim theory – made by?

Answer 1

emilie durkheim

Question 2

what is it

Answer 2

– sees society as a stable structure based on shared norms,values and beliefs about right and wrong

Question 3

crime is inevitable

Answer 3

• some people are socialised differently and are likely to deviate
• society contains many social groups with different values so shared rules of behaviour are different,which Durkheim calls Anomie - where shared values become weakened

Question 4

FUNCTIONS OF CRIME - Boundry maintainence (1)

Answer 4

• crime makes a reaction that unites society against the wrongdoer reminding them of the boundry between right and wrong

Question 5

FUNCTIONS OF CRIME - social change (2)

Answer 5

• People with new ideas should challenge existing norms and values in order for society to progress
• at first this will be seen as deviance
• e.g nelson Mandela was jailed for opposing apartheid but then apartheid was overthrown and he became first black president of south Africa

Question 6

FUNCTIONS OF CRIME - safety value (3)

Answer 6

-Davis argues that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family

Question 7

FUNCTIONS OF CRIME - warning light (4)

Answer 7

• deviance shows that an institution is not functioning properly
• e.g high truancy rates could mean that there are problems with the education system

Question 8

(Mertons strain theory) - what is it

Answer 8

• the root cause of crime is bc of the unequal structure of society
• american society values ‘money success’ as the goal that people should pursue and should achieve this by working hard at school

Question 9

blocked opportunities (Mertons strain theory)

Answer 9

• not everyone has an equal chance of achieving success because american society is unequal
• opportunities for working class people are often blocked because of poverty and bad schools
• this creates a ‘strain’ between the goal society says that they should achieve
• causes crime and deviance

Question 10

INNOVATION (Mertons strain theory)

Answer 10

innovators accept the goal but find illegal ways of achieving it by committing utilitarian crimes

Question 11

RITUALISM (Mertons strain theory)

Answer 11

ritualists give up striving for success, they go for a dead end job

Question 12

RETREATISM (Mertons strain theory)

Answer 12

dropouts who reject goals and means, e.g drug addicts,drunkards

Question 13

REBELLION (Mertons strain theory)

Answer 13

they reject existing goals and means replacing them with new ones with the aim of changing society, e.g hippies

Question 14

SUBCULTURAL - albert cohen - status frustration

Answer 14

• sees sub cultural deviance as a group response to failure
• focuses on non utilitarian crimes
• most working class boys end up at the bottom of the schools official status hierarchy
• teachers may regard them as ‘thick’ and put them in lower streams,as a result they suffer from status frustration - a feeling of worthlessness
• offers a solution by providing them with and alternative status hierarchy in which they can win respect from their peers through good actions

Question 15

Cloward and Ohlin - three subcultures (1) - criminal subcultures

Answer 15

arise in areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network
- they select suitable youths for an ‘apprenticeship’ in utilitarian crime and a future criminal career

Question 16

(2) - conflict subcultures (3 subcultures)

Answer 16

• arise where the only criminal opportunities are within street gangs
• violence provides a release for frustration and a source of status earned by winning territory from rival gangs

Question 17

(3) - retreatist subcultures (3 subcultures)

Answer 17

• made up of dropouts who have failed in both the legit and illegitimate opportunity structures
• often based on drug use