Sociology - C&D - Theories - Subcultural

Question 1

What are subcultural theories of crime similar to?

Answer 1

Work proposed by merton

Question 2

How are subcultural theories and Mertons work similar?

Answer 2

They both explain the origins of deviance in terms of the position of the individuals within social structures

Question 3

What does Cohen (1955) say about Merton’s work?

Answer 3

Merton failed to account for non utilitarian crime such as vandalism and joy riding as these have no monetary reward

Question 4

What did Cohen (1955) argue about delinquency?

Answer 4

It’s a collective response rather than individual response. delinquents join together and commit crime

Question 5

What did Cohen (1955) focus on in his research on delinquent subcultures?

Answer 5

Young working class boys who have the same goals as the rest of society, (wish to become rich and successful) however they cannot attain these goals.

Question 6

Why do the young working class boys that Cohen researches not become successful?

Answer 6

Due to educational failure and dead end jobs. They suffer from cultural deprivation.

Question 7

Why may young working class boys suffer from status frustration?

Answer 7

They are stuck at the bottom of the stratification system and their avenues to success are blocked

Question 8

Why do young working class boys with status frustration form delinquent subcultures?

Answer 8

Because they develop new values and they do this to achieve their own form of success and prestige through a collective and achievable solution

Question 9

What is a high value placed on in delinquent subcultures?

Answer 9

Activities like stealing, vandalism and truancy

Question 10

What positive rewards can be gained from delinquent subcultures?

Answer 10

Prestige, glory, satisfaction and recognition from peers when they commit crimes.

Question 11

What do the potential positive rewards from delinquent subcultures prove about lower working class boys?

Answer 11

That they use delinquency as a way to solve their status frustration rather than using it as a way to gain monetary reward

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of Cohens theory on delinquent subcultures?

Answer 12

• Box (1981) criticises it - Bordua (1962) criticises it - Matza (1964) criticises it

Question 13

Why does Box (1981) criticise Cohen’s theory?

Answer 13

Because he believes that the delinquent subculture theory could only be applied to a small minority of offenders and it does not explain every single working class young male is a criminal

Question 14

What does Box question about young people’s experiences in failure at school?

Answer 14

Whether young people feel guilt or shame from failure at school. He believes they may feel resentment if they are labelled as failures by teachers and then turn to crime.

Question 15

Why did Bordua (1962) criticise Cohens research on delinquency?

Answer 15

He criticised the use of “lower class subcultures” as this cannot explain crime and offending as working class crime does not necessarily pass from one generation to the next.

Question 16

Why did Matza (1964) criticise Cohen’s work on delinquency?

Answer 16

He doesn’t believe most delinquents are strongly opposed to mainstream values and instead thinks they accept these values and only occasionally commit crimes

Question 17

What do Cloward and Ohlin (1961) think about Merton’s work?

Answer 17

They accepted his views about working class criminal deviance but believed he failed to explain the different types of crime that occurs and why.

Question 18

What did Cloward and Ohlin say Merton failed to address?

Answer 18

He focused on legitimate opportunity structure but failed to address the illegitimate opportunity structure where success can be illegitimately gained

Question 19

What did Cloward and Ohlin focus on?

Answer 19

Working class and their pressure to deviate

Question 20

Why do Cloward and Ohlin think the working class face more pressure to deviate and commit crime?

Answer 20

because they have less opportunity to succeed by legitimate means. there are three possible routes

Question 21

What are the three possible routes that the working class can take to succeed?

Answer 21

Criminal subculture, conflict subcultures and retreatist subcultures

Question 22

criminal subculture

Answer 22

Emerges in areas where adult crime occurs. A learning environment is provided for the young who become exposed to criminal skills and deviant values that are presented by the criminal role models

Question 23

What can happen to those successful in criminal subcultures?

Answer 23

They can rise in the professional criminal hierarchy.

Question 24

What types of crimes are committed in criminal subcultures?

Answer 24

Utilitarian and involve monetary reward

Question 25

Conflict subculture

Answer 25

Emerges in areas where young people have reduced legitimate opportunity structure. There is little organised adult crime to provide an apprenticeship for the young offenders to aspire to. Occurs in areas with high population turnovers and a lack of unity (preventing a criminal subculture)

Question 26

In relation to conflict subcultures, what is the response to legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures being blocked?

Answer 26

The response can be gang violence which releases anger and frustration but also provides prestige in terms of values within the subculture

Question 27

Retreatist subcultures

Answer 27

Some lower class adolescents form a retreatist subculture which can be organised around illegal drug use as the deviant has failed in both legitimate and illegitimate structures (failed criminals or gang members) (double failures)

Question 28

What is the advantage of Cloward and Ohlin's work?

Answer 28

Can be praised as it is a highly sophisticated version of the structural theory by Merton's and subcultural theory by Cohen (would be supported by both)

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of Cloward and Ohlin's work?

Answer 29

- Criticised by Burke (2001) - Criticised by Goldthorpe and Lockwood

Question 30

Why does Burke (2001) criticise Cloward and Ohlin?

Answer 30

Their ideas were based on gangs in Chicago in the 1920s so lacks ecological validity and is outdated in todays society when explaining contemporary crime

Question 31

Why do Functionalist sociologists, Goldthorpe and Lockwood, criticise Cloward and Ohlin?

Answer 31

They based their research on false assumptions that the working class is a homogeneous group when this is incorrect. There are different divisions in the working class so they cannot all be responsible for committing crime.

Question 32

What does Katz (1985) look at?

Answer 32

Cultural criminology and subcultures

Question 33

What does Cultural criminology and subcultures by Katz (1985) look at?

Answer 33

Focuses on the changes that occur from modern to post modern society and the impact this has on working class communities and how this has affected criminality.

Question 34

How does Cultural criminology see delinquent subcultures?

Answer 34

Sees them as methods of expressing identity, resistance and power struggles

Question 35

What does Katz argue about sociological explanations of crime and deviance?

Answer 35

They tend to focus on class, ethnicity and gender but fail to take into account ways that people are drawn into crime and the attraction it has