[1.0] Durkheim's functionalist theory Flashcards
Which mechanisms work together to achieve solidarity?
Socialisation and social control.
How do functionalists see crime?
They see too much crime as destabilising, but see some as inevitable and universal.
How did Durkheim (1893) see crime?
As normal, and as an integral part of all healthy societies.
What are the two reasons that crime is found in all societies?
- Not everyone is equally socialised into the shared norms and values of society.
- Diversity creates a difference in lifestyles and values, leading to the creation of deviant subcultures.
What is there a tendency towards in modern societies?
Anomie, where the rules governing acceptable and unacceptable behaviour become less clear cut.
What causes anomie?
The complex, specialised division of labour in modern societies leads to individuals becoming increasingly different from one another.
What is weakened in diverse societies?
The collective conscience.
What are the two positive functions of crime?
Boundary maintenance and adaptation.
What is boundary maintenance?
When crime is committed, the public react in condemnation of the wrongdoer. This reinforces the boundaries of what is acceptable behaviour and reinforces the shared norms and values of society.
Give an example of boundary maintenance in action.
The court process, which dramatises wrongdoing and publicly shames the offender.
What is adaptation?
Change, which is started by an act of deviance such as protest.
What happens if there is too much crime?
The bonds of society are threatened.
What happens if there is too little crime?
Positive change is stifled.
What does Davis (1961) argue?
He argues that prostitution protects the nuclear family by channelling male sexual frustration away from the home.
What does Polsky (1967) argue?
Pornography channels behaviour away from alternatives such as adultery, which threatens the nuclear family.
