Functionalism and Crime Flashcards
(30 cards)
How do functionalists view society?
As a stable system based on value consensus
What do functionalists think value consensus produces?
Social Solidarity
What are the two ways that society achieves social solidarity?
Socialisation and social control
What is socialisation?
When society instils a shared culture into its members so that they have the same norms and values
What is social control?
When society rewards those who conform and punishes those who deviate
How do functionalists view crime?
As inevitable and universal
What is anomie?
When individuals become increasingly different from one another (normlessness)
What are Durkheim’s two functions of crime
Boundary Maintenance and Adaptation and change
What is boundary maintenance?
When crime produces a reaction from society, uniting its members against the deviant, reinforcing their commitment to the value consensus
What is Adaptation and change?
When individuals with new ideas challenge existing ideas which appears as deviance at first
What did Davis say about the role deviance plays?
Prostitution acts as a safety valve for men’s sexual desires without threatening the nuclear family
What did cohen say about the role that deviance plays?
It acts as a warning light showing that an institution is malfunctioning
What is a criticism of the functionalist explanations of crime?
Functionalism assumes that crime performs a positive function for society as a whole but it ignores the individual victims of crime
Who suggested strain theory?
Merton
What is strain theory?
When individuals become involved in deviant behaviour when they cannot achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means
What 2 factors cause strain?
Structural and cultural
What are structural factors?
unequal opportunities in society
What are cultural factors?
Strong emphasis on success goals and a weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them
What role does the American dream play?
deviance is the result of the strain between the goals a culture encourages individuals to aim for and what the structure of society actually allows them to achieve
What are the 5 deviant adaptations to strain?
Conformity
Innovation
Ritualism
Retreatism
Rebellion
What is conformity?
When individuals accept the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately
What is Innovation?
Individuals accept the money success goal but use illegitimate means to achieve them
What is ritualism?
Individuals have given up on the goal but have internalised the legitimate means and follow the rules for their own sake
What is retreatism?
Individuals reject both goal and legitimate means and drop out of society
