SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES (AC2) Flashcards
explain one sociological theory of criminality (social structure - marxism)
Karl Marx
- capitalists society is set up in the interests of the bourgeoisie
- assumes that being a part of the disadvantaged social class (proletariat) in a capitalist society is a significant factor in criminal behaviour
- crime is largely a result of unfavourable conditions in a community, for example, unemployment, poverty, single-parent families
- crime is seen as something that the ruling class uses as a means of social control and a lack of conformity to these rules results in a punishment (showing this control)
- institutions such as the police and prisons are there to encourage conformity of the working class (proletariat)
- crime is a result of inequality and poverty
- capitalism causes crime
- the crimes of the bourgeoisie, e.g. white-collar crime, are often overlooked
- capitalism encourages crime, encourages us to value material goods, those who cannot afford this, turn to crime
- different classes in society are policed differently, the working class are assumed to be more criminal and as a result are policed more, therefore more of their crimes are detected in comparison to the bourgeoisie
describe one sociological theory of criminality (merton’s strain theory - functionalism)
Merton
- society encourages people to strive for the American Dream (material success)
- however, not everyone has an equal chance of achieving this success legitimately because society is unequal (it is unable to provide the legitimate means for all to achieve success)
- some people find their opportunities are blocked and consequently they experience feelings of anomie.
- opportunities of working class people are often blocked by poverty and inadequate schools
- this creates a strain between what society encourages people to do and the lack of the legitimate opportunities to do so.
so people will respond in one of 5 ways:
conform: simply accepting the situation
innovate: they may adopt criminal behaviour to help them to gain material success
ritualistic: lose sight of the goals
retreatist: drop out of society and reject the goals and the conventional way of getting them
rebel: set opposing goals and values that are different to the ones set by society - those who innovate find criminal ways to achieve the american dream
describe one sociological theory of criminality (interactionism - labelling theory)
Becker
- this theory focuses on the way people in society interact with one another.
- according to Howard Becker, the labelling theory can explain criminality.
- crime is a social construction and, as such, behaviour is punished accordingly.
- once a person is labelled, they then tend to adopt the label and behave as expected.
- their master status then becomes that of the label and hence a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- this label can result in criminality.
his states that no act is deviant or criminal in itself it only becomes so when people
of power create rules and apply them to others- the acts get labelled as deviant - A labelled person is more likely to be marginalised by society and join subgroups that
engages in deviant behaviour.
The self-fulfilling prophecy: - This involves primary deviance and often trivial or go uncaught, these people usually see themselves as criminals.
- This involves secondary deviance where people treat offender differently based on their labels which then become their master status.
- If people are seen as thieves this overrides their other status is like a parent
workmate, homeowner or student - This results in offenders to be rejected by society and to be part of criminals for example being in prison with other criminals gives them an identity and continue their criminal acts
Deviancy amplification spiral: - This is where the attempt to control deviance this led it to increase rather than decrease
- This creates even greater attempts to control it even more deviance in an
esalating spiral
describe one sociological theory of criminality (functionalism - durkheim)
- according to Durkheim, crime is inevitable as not every member of society is committed to the collective sentiments or shares the same values and beliefs.
- crime serves a function and only becomes dysfunctional when the rate is too high or too low.
- crime strengthens social cohesion and the willingness of members of society to cooperate with one another
crime…
- allows youths to vent their anger
- maintains boundaries when societies unite and react to show their commitment to the value consensus
- can influence changes within society (e.g. changes in laws regarding homosexuality
- maintains social solidarity (e.g. Shannon Matthews, Moorside Community)
- example: Shannon Matthews was kidnapped, everyone in the community (Moorside community) was looking for her, this is called community cohesion
describe one sociological theory of criminality (right realism)
- crime is a real problem, not a social construction
- this theory suggests that a breakdown in the moral fabric of society causes crime
- according to Charles Murray, a lack of social bonds can lead to crime
- a growing underclass, such as single parents and boys without a father figure, provide the opportunity for the commission of crime
- people commit crime as a deliberate and rational choice
- the welfare state has created dependency and discourages working for a living (living off benefits)
describe one sociological theory of criminality (left realism)
Lea and Young
- this theory, proposed by Lea and Young suggests several causes of crime, including subcultures, marginalisation, social exclusion, and relative deprivation
- relative deprivation refers to inequality or the idea that people are deprived compared with others in society
- this includes maternal deprivation
- inequality in society is a significant cause of crime
- inequality is also a major contributor to social exclusion, with people feeling that they do not have a stake in society
- this theory suggests that social order will come from fairer, more equal society
evaluate the effectiveness of marxism in explaining criminality (strengths)
- crime can result from inequalities in the social structure, it can be argued that laws are created to protect the ruling class
- capitalism encourages competitiveness
- explains why working class are perceived to be more criminal
evaluate the effectiveness of marxism in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- largely ignores other non-class inequalities such as gender or ethnicity
- overstates the amount of crime occurring in working classes, not all working class people commit crime
- ignores individual motivation to commit crime
- white-collar crime has been prosecuted many times, e.g. Bernie Madoff
- cannot explain violent, sexual crimes that have no financial motive
evaluate the effectiveness of merton’s strain theory in explaining criminality (strengths)
- shows how criminal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goals
- explains why most crimes in statistics is property crime and why working class crime rates are higher
evaluate the effectiveness of merton’s strain theory in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- does not address crimes of the wealthy
- only sees deviance as an individual response
- focuses on utilitarian crime only
evaluate the effectiveness of interactionism in explaining criminality (strengths)
- a strength of labelling theory is that it shows us how controlling deviance can spiral and create further deviance
- is shows official crime statistics are skewed. statistics show that WC people are more likely to commit crime, but labelling theory helps to explain it.
- shows that the law is not a fixed set of rules but socially constructed
- shifts focus onto how police create crime by applying labels
– may explain why some groups are overrepresented in crime statistics - shows how attempts to control can create more deviance
evaluate the effectiveness of interactionism in explaining criminality (weaknesses)
- it suggests that once we are given a label, we will inevitably become criminal
- the offender is given victim status
- it only explains labelling that happens once a deviant act has been committed
- deterministic, assumes we have no choice but to live up to labels
- gives offenders a victim status
- fails to explain primary deviance
- doesn’t say where power to apply a label comes from
- fails to explain why labels are applied
to some groups but not others
discuss how relevant sociological theories account for people having to ‘sleep rough’. (8) (marxism)
marxism: likely to see people who ‘sleep rough’ as a result of a system which favours the interests of the ruling class where homelessness is a consequence of the unequal distribution of resources.
discuss how relevant sociological theories account for people having to ‘sleep rough’. (8) (left realism)
left realism: homelessness occurs due to poverty in a system that protects the wealthy and hence the social structure of society needs to be addressed
discuss how relevant sociological theories account for people having to ‘sleep rough’. (8) (functionalism)
functionalism: a small amount of sleeping rough (deviance) reinforces the norms of society such as
being employed, owning property and being responsible for one’s own home and family. a large amount of deviance would contradict the norms and could result in the breakdown of society. this would result in even further dysfunctional activity if further criminality occurred.
