crime and deviance functionalist and strain theories Flashcards
(27 cards)
defining crime and deviance
- crime is written rules, law and guidance, a criminal act is punishable by law
- deviance-behaviour that goes against the norms and values of society- its socially constructed
societal deviance
deviance that most members of regard as deviant because they share the same ideas about appropriate and inappropriate behaviour eg.murder
situational deviance
whether or not an act is defined as deviant depends on the context- time, place, culture, situation
social control
- methods used to persuade and/or force individuals to conform to the dominant social norms and values of a society/ social group- controlled by agents of social control
informational social control
unwritten rules that are governed by norms and values and controlled by other members of society
formal social control
written rules- punishments, penalties and negatives sanctions are imposed for breaking them- police, Highway Code, workplace rules
biological and psychological explanations for crime
- biological- LOMBROSSO- people are born criminals- they are throwbacks to a previous stage of human evolution (if male criminals have 5 of his listed features then they are born criminal eg. hawk nose, fleshy lips, third nipple)
- psychologists- link criminal behaviour to genetically based personality characteristics eg. having an extra Y chromosome makes someone more prone to impulsive behaviour
functionalist view
- crime is inevitable and universal
- crime is functional
Durkheim
social solidarity is achieved through two mechanisms - socialisation= shared culture- social control= rewards for conformity, punishments for deviance
crime is inevitable and universal
- crime has always and will always exist in all societies- not everyone can be equally committed to the norms and values- diversity of lifestyles and values
crime is functional
- crime benefits society- creates social solidarity- when there is the right amount of crime
- crime is only dysfunctional if it is too high or too low- state of anomie= formlessness, people are no longer committed to the norms and values eg. London riots
boundary maintenance
crime has a positive function- to prevents values from wasting any people are reminded of right and wrong eg. media sensationalising stories- sparks outrage and unifies public- resorts boundaries of acceptable behaviour and strengthens collective values
adaption and change
some deviance is necessary to allow new ideas to develop and allow society to progress eg. same sex marriage
safety valve
DAVIS- deviance can realise the stresses in society and help prevent anomie eg. protests about discontent avoid more serious challenges to social order
warning device
Cohen- deviant acts tell us that society is not woking properly- can be solved before more serious threats develop eg. high rates of truancy, divorce, drugs
criticisms of the functionalist view
- just because crime rates social solidarity it is not necessarily why it exists in the first place
- what is the right amount of crime?
MERTON- strain theory
- crime arises due to consensus about social goals and the way of achieving them- goals = financial success ‘ the American dream’- means= education and employment
- in an unequal society not everyone has the opportunity to achieve the goal- unemployment, low pay racism- they face stain between the goal and the means- respond through ‘modes of adaptations’
criticisms of the mertons strain theory
- what is the right amount?
- assumes there is a value consensus- that everyone strives for ‘money and success’
- it only accounts for crime for utilitarian gain, and not for non-utilitarian crimes such as violence
- it only explains crime and deviance at an individual level, and not group crime
subcultural theories
- these approaches focus on groups rather than individuals
COHEN- status frustration
- working class youth agree with the goals of mainstream culture- their experience of education/job market= no legitimate way of achieving ‘money success’
- they are denied stays by mainstream society= status frustration- attempt to achieve status through alternative values= delinquent subculture
- delinquent subcultures reverse mainstream norms and values eg. truancy, stealing, vandalism= status
- this gives the working class the opportunity to achieve the status that mainstream society has denied them- get back at society
evaluation of status frustration- Cohen
- helps to explain delinquency as a groups problem and explain non-utilitarian crime
- assumes they accept mainstream goals and values only to reject them when they fail
- it only focuses on lower class crime
CLOWARD AND OHLIN- three subcultures
-built on mertons strain theory- WC youths do not have the same starting point to achieve money and success
- different subcultures emerge because they have different levels of access to legitimate and illegitimate opportunities
- criminal subcultures
-conflict subculture
- retreatist subculture
criminal subcultures
utilitarian crimes such as theft- develop in more stable working class areas- established pattern of adult crime- longstanding and stable criminal culture with an established hierarchy- acts as a legitimate alternative to the job market
conflict subculture
most similar to Cohen- emerge in socially disorganised areas- high rate of population turnover and a low social cohesion- prevent the formation of a stable adult criminal subculture- violence, gang warfare, mugging- violence provides a release for the young mens frustrations at their block opportunities and status gain
