3.1- evauating sociological theories Flashcards
Durkheim
functionalism
strength
he was the first to recognise that crime can have positive functions for society. (give example)
Durkheim
functionalism
weakness
he claims society requires a certain amount of deviance to function but offers no way of knowing how much is the right amount
while crime may be fuctional for some, it is not functional for victims
Mertons strain theory
functionalism
strength
he shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goal. Conformists and innovators both pursue “money success” but by different means
Mertons Strain theory
functionalism
weakness
he ignores crime of the wealthy and over predicts the amount of working class crime
he sees deviance soley as an individual response- ignoring the group deviance of delinquent subcultures
he focuses on utilitarian crimes
labelling theories
lemert
Becker
strengths
It shifts the focus on how the police create crime by applying labels based on their stereotypes (typification). This selective law enforcement may explain why the working class and minority groups are over represented in crime statistics
labelling theories
lemert
becker
weakness
it wrongly implies that once someone is labelled a deviant career is inevitable ( determinsism)
fails to explain why people commit primary deviance in the first place- before they are lablled - or why labels are applied to certain groups
marxism
strength
shows how povert and inequality can cause working class crime, and how capitalist greed encourages upper class utilitarian crime
shows how both law enforcement and law making are biasedagainst the working classand in favour of the powerful
marxism
weakness
it focuses on class, ignoring the relationship between crimeand other inequalittiessuch as gender and ethnicity
. it overpredicts the amount of working class crimes- not all poor people turn to crime
. not all capitalist societies have high crime rates- japan homocide rates are a fith of the USAs
left realism
strength
left realism draws attgention to the importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as the underlying causes of crime
left realism
weakness
it over predicts the amount working class crimes; not everyone who experiences relative deprivation commits crime
makes crime appear a greater problem than it is as it focuses on high crime inner city areas
surveillance
strength
focaults research has stimulated research into surveillance and disciplinary power- especially into the idea of a electronic panopticon (the use of modern day technology to monitor us
surveillance
weakness
foucault exaggerates the extent of control. It is evident that not all prison inmates feel the need to constantly behave due to surveillance
surveillance may not change peoples behaviour as foucault claims. For example, recent studies show CCTV may not be effective at preventing criminal activity as offender soften take no notice.
