Functionalist Perspective Flashcards
(25 cards)
What are Durkheim’s positive functions of crime?
- Strengthens collective values as people unite in moral outrage.
- Deviant actions can lead to social change (e.g suffragettes)
- Acts as a safety valve to relieve stresses via protests and riots.
- Acts as a warning device to show current social control isn’t working.
What evidence is there for crime acting as a safety valve?
Kingsley Davis (1937) - argued prostitution bolstered monogamous relationships by providing an unthreatening release of sexual energy of married promiscuous males.
Ned Polsky (1967) - made the same claim, but with pornography instead.
What are the evaluations of Durkheim’s positive functions of crime?
- Does not focus on specific crimes - he argues that crime is ‘necessary’ and ‘functional’ but doesn’t distinguish between the different types.
- Marxists and Feminists - not everyone is punished equally and thus crime and punishment benefit the powerful for than the powerless
- Assumes norms and values are universal, Postmodernists argue society is so diverse, there is no such thing as ‘normal’.
What was Merton’s strain theory?
It expanded Durkheim’s anomie to explain that people commit crime to achieve the ‘American Dream’ due to inequality of access.
What were the 5 responses Merton identified?
- Type 1 - Conformism.
- Type 2 - Innovation.
- Type 3 - Ritualism.
- Type 4 - Retreatism.
- Type 5 - Rebellion.
What is Conformism?
Conform by working hard in acceptable channels.
What is Innovation?
Innovate new ways to achieve goals, which may be criminal.
What is Ritualism?
Develop rituals of following rules obsessively as they abandon hope.
What is Retreatism?
Retreat and reject society and success as an aim.
What is Rebellion?
Rebel and create a new set of goals and relationships.
What are the positive criticisms of Merton’s strain theory?
- Recognizes crime arises from societies structure.
What are the negative criticisms of Merton’s strain theory?
- Assumes everyone’s goals are the same.
- Does not explain non-material crimes - e.g graffiti, violence.
What was Hirschi’s theory?
Control Theory.
People break the law due to a breakdown of societal bonds.
What are the 4 elements of Hirschi’s theory?
- Attachment - extent to which we care about others opinions and desires.
- Belief - extent to which we are committed to upholding societies rules and laws.
- Commitment - personal investment we put in our lives. (What we have to lose if we get caught.
- Involvement - extent to which we are integrated into society.
What are the positives of Hirschi’s theory?
- Recognizes the importance of social control.
What are the negatives of Hirschi’s theory?
- Doesn’t explain variety of crime and deviance.
What is Cohen’s sub-cultural theory?
- Cohen - working class boys lacked the values to achieve, which caused status frustration which led them to forming a delinquent subculture in which they inevitably commit crime.
What are the positives of Cohen’s theory?
- Explains non-material crime.
What are the negatives of Cohen’s theory?
- Focuses on male crime.
What is Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?
Working class delinquents seek status through illegitimate career structures.
There are 3 types of delinquent subcultures: Criminal (graduate into career of crime), Conflict (gang violence), Retreatism (alcohol and drugs).
What are the positives of Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?
- Explains different types of working class crimes.
What are the negatives of Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?
- Doesn’t explain why women don’t commit crime.
What is Miller’s theory?
Miller - male working class delinquency is a normal part of macho lower class culture they are socialized into.
What are the positives of Miller’s theory?
- Looks at growing concerns.
