SOCI LECTURE 12

Question 1

What is the functional theory of crime proposed by Durkheim?

Answer 1

• Crime pervades all types of societies
• Crime is constant, however, its form and content may vary
• Crime is a part of a healthy society
• It is impossible to get rid of crimes altogether
• Breaking the rules may bring forward a strong sense of collective statements
• Even if it was possible to get rid of all sources of crime, the crime itself will not be diminished as new sources of crime will emerge
• Even if critical crimes were eliminated, the outrageous reaction to crimes would continue to less serious crimes and the cycle would continue

Question 2

How is crime functional?

Answer 2

• Rigid collective values may prevent society from becoming more just and become static
• Rigid values will stop the emergence of new morals
• Crime fuels a collective consensus that stimulates a new progressive moral order (civil rights movement)

Question 3

Social Structure and Anomie

Answer 3

1. there are culturally defined goals, purposes, and interests held as legitimate objectives (police officers want you to only pursue legitimate objectives)
2. there is a social and cultural structure that defines and regulates and controls the acceptable modes of attaining these goals

Question 4

What is anomie in social and cultural structure?

Answer 4

• there are many ways to achieve social and cultural goals which go against the institutionalized prescribed conduct which leads to anomie
• this anomie generates crime and deviance

Question 5

The value of money in North American Culture

Answer 5

• the goal of monetary success is entrenched in north American society
• the crime of not achieving enough money is criminal and deviant

Question 6

What are the three cultural axioms in the North American Value system?

Answer 6

• We should all strive for the same lofty goals
• present failure is a pit stop to ultimate success
• genuine failure consists only in the reduction or withdrawal of ambition

Question 7

Consequences of cultural goal?

Answer 7

• individuals are blamed for the frequent failure that is based on the social structure
• individuals who succeed and are at the top are always given credit as self-made
• Most individuals will never reach the level of success that is seen at the top
• the pursuit of happiness/ the American dream: cheap solution to a large problem

Question 8

Four ways individuals adapt to a cultural goal?

Answer 8

1. conformity (+/+)
2. innovation (+/-)
3. ritualism (-/+)
4. retreatism (-/-)
5. Rebellion (+/-/+/-)

Question 9

Conformity

Answer 9

• acceptance of the cultural goal
• acceptance institutionalized mean of getting to that goal

Question 10

Innovation

Answer 10

• acceptance of institutionalized goals
• rejection of institutionalized means of getting that goal

Question 11

Ritualism

Answer 11

• rejection of the cultural goal
• acceptance of the institutionalized means of getting the goal (low ambition)

Question 12

retreatism

Answer 12

• rejection of the cultural goal
• rejection of the institutionalized means of getting the goal (drug addicts)

Question 13

Rebellion

Answer 13

• signifies the acceptance and the rejection of the cultural goal
• signifies the acceptance and rejection of the institutionalized means of getting that goal

Question 14

Differential Association Theory (Sutherland and Cressey)

Answer 14

• tells us that deviant behaviour is socially learned
• the more your surrounding intimates engage in deviance, the more you are likely to engage in that behaviour
• it may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity

Question 15

What is Control Theory (Hirschi)

Answer 15

• Control theory looks at how the delinquency of boys occurs due to the weak bonds individuals have with society
• Looks at why people conform

Question 16

According to Control Theory why do people conform?

Answer 16

• Social control resides in the extent to which people develop state conformity and bond to society
• people will less bond and less stake will be more likely to commit deviant act

Question 17

What are the four elements to strengthen bonds to society?

Answer 17

1. Attachment ( caring about what others think)
2. commitment (investment of time, energy, and self in pursuit of something important
3. involvement (occupying free time by being socially involved)
4. Belief (believing in social morals and a common value system)

Question 18

What are the flaws in this theory?

Answer 18

• assumes that conformity is good
• assumes that deviance is bad
• male centric

Question 19

Feminist theory

Answer 19

• women are often criminalized for their survival strategies
• females commit deviance in the traces of patriarchy and abuse of their parental figures

Question 20

What are the two main developments of the constructionist stance?

Answer 20

Berger and Luckman’s The Social Construction of Reality
- through social construction we define what is deviant

Labelling theory

Question 21

what are the criticism of labelling theory?

Answer 21

• LT is too ambiguous about labels identifications, it is not society but elites who shape the deviance
• Feminists argue that LT ignores the victimization of women
• Gay rights activist suggest that they are political minorities and deviants

Question 22

what are the main points of contrutcitonalist domain?

Answer 22

• influences of the evolution of social control of deviance
• what do the powerful claimsmakers assign meaning to and if these claimsmakers are powerful or not