A.C. 2.3- SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Question 1

What is a utilitarian crime?

Answer 1

A crime to do with money

Question 2

What is sociology?

Answer 2

The study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociologists are interested in crime and why people commit crime.

Question 3

What are the 3 main sociological perspectives?

Answer 3

Marxism, Functionalism and Interactionism

Question 4

What is Marxism? (social structural theory)

Answer 4

This is a structural theory (the structure of society shapes peoples behaviour, including their criminal behaviour). Marxism, argues that capitalist society is divided into 2 classes; the ruling capitalist class or the BOURGEOISIE- who own the means of production and the working class or the PROLETARIAT- whose labour the capitalists exploit to make profit

Question 5

Who came up with Marxism?

Answer 5

Karl Marx

Question 6

What are the theories about criminal behaviour from Marxism?

Answer 6

Capitalism is crimogenic meaning capitalism encourages criminal behaviour. Capitalism is competitive and encourages us to buy things. If we cant afford them, we might steal them (resort to theft). The law is made by the capitalist elite and tends to work in their interests. All classes commit crime, its not just the working class. Crimes of the capitalist class are more costly than street crime. White collar, corporate crime are more serious and often goes undetected. Working class crime - crime of the ‘street’. Ruling class crime- crime of the ‘suites’. The state practices Selective Law Enforcement. The Criminal Justice System (CJS) mainly concerns itself with policing and punishing the marginalised, not the wealthy and this performs ideological functions for the elite class (young black men are 9x more likely to be stopped and searched than young white men). Capitalism encourages individuals to be materialistic consumers and if capitalism encourages materialism but people cannot afford it, they may resort to theft.

Question 7

What is capatlism?

Answer 7

Unequal society where most of the wealth is in the hands of few. Banks, businesses, production owned by the ruling class.

Question 8

Features of crimogenic capitalism

Answer 8

• The exploitation of the working class drives many people in to poverty and this could mean that crime may be a way of survival (stealing, theft, shoplifting, selling stolen goods or drug dealing)
• Capitalism continuously pushes consumer goods at people through advertising and this results in utilitarian crimes to obtain them
• Inequality causing feelings of alienation and frustration and this results in non-utilitarian crimes (violent crimes/ vandalism etc)
• Capitalism is a dog-eat-dog system and the profit motive promotes greed which encourages capitalists to commit corporate crimes (tax evasion/breaking health and safety laws to gain an advantage)

Question 9

Examples of white collar crime and corporate crimes on large scales

Answer 9

• Corporate crime- VW diesel scandal- VW used a ‘cheating’ device to make emissions seem much lower in car testing than what would actually be emitted in a normal drive
• White collar crime- Fyre Festival- Billy McFarland conned thousands of people into buying tickets for a ‘luxury’ festival. Festival was no luxury and he got jailed for 6 years, for fraud etc and sued by a rapper for $100 million

Question 10

How could Marxism explain a lack of media coverage for white collar crimes?

Answer 10

The elite manage to cover up white collar crime. They do this as they have high up connections (lawyers etc). Marxists would say that the media concentrate on street crimes as these demonise (label people in a negative way) the proletariat.

Question 11

What is false class consciousness (FCC)?

Answer 11

The idea that capitalism society seems better than it actually is, and largely, we accept it instead of trying to change it. For example, health and safety laws on the work place make it seem like we are being protected and valued but in reality, most of them are inadequate and may benefit capitalism by giving it a ‘caring face’. Like flu jabs offered free for teachers

Question 12

What is functionalism? (social structural theory)

Answer 12

Functionalism is a structural theory as it focuses on the structure of society and how it is organised. Durkheim thought that not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments or values and beliefs. He also thought crime is considered to be functional and only becomes dysfunctional when the rate of it is high or low. Functionalists see society as a stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs about what is right and wrong. This produces social solidarity or integration, where all members of society feel they belong to the same harmonious unit. Most people conform to societies shared norms and do not deviate but crime is an INEVITABLE part of society as some individuals will be inadequately socialised and likely to deviate.

Question 13

Who came up with functionalism?

Answer 13

Emile Durkheim

Question 14

What are the 4 functions of crime?

Answer 14

1- Boundary maintenance- crime produces a reaction that unites society’s members against the criminal, reminding them of the boundary (line) between right and wrong
2- Social change- for society to progress, individuals with new ideas must challenge existing norms and values and at first this will be seen as deviance (e.g. gay rights)
3- Safety valve- societies can be frustrating- low level crime helps ‘release’ this excess energy. A sociologist called Davis argued that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustration without threatening their family
4- Warning light- deviance indicates that an institution isn’t functioning properly; for example high truancy rates could indicate problems with education systems

Question 15

What is strain theory? (social structural theory)

Answer 15

This argues that crime occurs when there aren’t enough legitimate opportunities for people to achieve the normal success goals of a society (e.g. it is a consequence of inequality). In such situation, there is a ‘strain’ between the goals and the means to achieve those goals, and some people turn to crime in order to achieve success.

Question 16

Who came up with structural theory?

Answer 16

Robert Merton

Question 17

What are the 5 key responses to this strain?

Answer 17

1- Conformity- pursuing cultural goals through socially approved means
2- Innovation- using socially unapproved or unconventional means to obtain approved goals
3- Ritualism- using the same socially approved means to achieve less elusive, easier goals (more modest and humble)
4- Retreatism- to reject both all cultural goals and try to find a way to escape society
5- Rebellion- to reject the cultural goals and then work to replace them (revolution)

Question 18

What is status frustration? (social structural theory)

Answer 18

This agreed with strain theory but looked at group responses rather than individual responses. Cohen notes that most working class boys end up at the bottom of the schools official status hierarchy. Teachers may regard them as ‘thick’ and put them in lower streams. As a result, they suffer from STATUS FRUSTRATION- feeling worthless. The subculture offers a solution by providing them with an ALTERNATIVE STATUS HIERARCHY in which they can win respect from their peers through delinquent actions. This allows them to find different ways to gain status. INVERSION OF SOCIAL NORMS is the opposite of social norms and that’s what they are doing.

Question 19

Who came up with status frustration?

Answer 19

Albert Cohen

Question 20

Evaluation of social structure theories (functionalism and marxism)

Answer 20

Strengths-
- They encourage us to focus on the way society is structured rather than blaming individuals for crime
- This might lead to social strategies/policies which can affect law and order and levels of criminality
-They can explain why different crime patterns occur in different cultures / societies

Weaknesses-
- If society is to blame- why do we still blame individuals?
- Is it realistic to assume that genes/biology have little to no impact on people’s behaviour?

Question 21

Evaluation of Marxism

Answer 21

Strengths-
- The theory shows how the bourgeoisie are and how they make the laws and enforce them and run the country
- Lots of case studies to support the view that corporate crime is harmful

Weaknesses-
- Crime occurs in non-capitalist (socialist/communist societies)
- Some corporate criminals like Bernie Madoff are prosecuted

Question 22

Evaluation of Functionalism

Answer 22

Strengths-
- Explains how society minimises conflict through socialisation and social control
- Explains how different parts of the social system function to maintain the whole of society
- Shows how society adapts to overcome economic and other changes
- Shows how different institutions operate in complementary manner to produce overall social stability
- Shows the importance of shared culture as the basis of social order

Weaknesses-
- Culture is treated like it is undifferentiated ‘glue’ that everyone shares and which produces harmony; even the functionalist Merton recognised that sharing cultural values could lead to conflict
- It is deterministic (predictable)
- It doesn’t give sufficient weight to human agency
- It is , in effect, an ideological defense of the status quo regarding who has power and who doesn’t
- Conflicting interests are being hidden ideological manipulation
- The whole that is being maintained is capitalism which is a socially and economically unjust society
- Economic changes are caused by the internal contradictions of the present social order; this is why capitalism is doomed
- Social stability is based on false consciousness created by institutions like nuclear family, education, legal and political systems

Question 23

What is interactionism and labelling theory?

Answer 23

Acts only become criminal when they are labelled that way. To label these acts, investigation must happen to look at the interactions between people to see how and when and whom this label is applied. No act is criminal or deviant in itself and it is a function of social rules, norms and values. Integrationists reject stereotypical as it can cause a self-fulfilling prophecy (prediction that comes true). Stereotyping is a widely held but fixed, over-enlarged image or idea of a type of person. Once a particular act/behaviour has been labelled as deviant, the deviant person starts to view themselves as deviant. This becomes their ‘master status’ and can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, which means they start to internalise the label and begin acting and behaving in a way that mirrors the label. In short, the person then becomes the label, in this case deviant or criminal.

Question 24

Who came up with interactionism and labelling?

Answer 24

Lemert

Question 25

What is primary deviance?

Answer 25

Acts which have not been publicly labelled. Those who do these kinds of crimes typically don’t see themselves as criminals.

Question 26

What is secondary deviance?

Answer 26

Results from labelling. Labelled individuals may start acting according to their label and this becomes the master status, over-riding all others

Question 27

What is the deviancy amplification spiral?

Answer 27

This is the idea that the more police attention that is given to a particular crime, the worse it becomes. Interactionists argue that ‘crime crackdowns’ actually lead to more crime. An example of this was studied by Jock Young, and he found that initially, drug use was not central to the hippies lifestyle and went undetected by the law (primary deviance). Once the police attention increased, and labelling started to call them addicts, with raids and arrests occurring, this lead them to retreat into closed off groups. There they are developed into deviant subculture where hard drug use was a central activity (self-fulfilling prophecy). This shows how control processes (the polices actions) aimed at producing law-abiding behaviour instead produces the opposite.

Question 28

Evaluation of interactionism and labelling theory

Answer 28

Strengths-
- It shows that laws are not a fixed set of rules but are social constructs- and so explains why laws change over time and culture
- It shifts the focus on how the police and other institutions ‘create’ crime and emphasises some of the points made by the Marxists theories- also explains why some ‘classes’ behaviours are ‘labelled’ differently to others
- Explains the consequences of labelling
- It shows how deviance amplification spiral might work and identifies the medias influence over them

Weaknesses-
- It suggests that labelling is deterministic- but not everyone accepts their labels
- Assumes offenders are just passive- it doesn’t recognise the role of personal choice in committing crime
- Gives the offender a ‘victim status’- realists argue that this perspective actually ignores the actual victims of crime
- Tends to emphasise the negative sides of labelling rather than the positive side
- Fails to explain why acts of primary deviance exist, focusing mainly on secondary deviance

Question 29

What is right realism?

Answer 29

Considers crime from the perspective of political conversations, with the standpoint of getting tough on crime. They tend to argue that the responsibility for crime lies with individuals. This is associated with the right wing neoliberal government (Margaret Thatcher etc). Right realists reject the idea put forward by Marx, that deeper structural or economic factors such as poverty are the causes of crime- but they do accept that high levels of ‘social disorder’ and low levels of ‘social control’ are associated with higher crime rates. Right realism tends to argue that we need to get tough on criminals (zero tolerance policing) to reduce crime.

Question 30

Where has zero tolerance policing been successful?

Answer 30

In the 1990’s in New York City, crime rates were at their highest until a new mayor came into power called Rudy Giuliani. He introduced zero tolerance policing and crime rates drastically dropped.

Question 31

What are the 3 causes that right realists believe are the causes of crime?

Answer 31

• Biological differences- Some people are genetically predisposed to crime. They might make use of some of the biological / genetic theories of crime
• Inadequate socialisation- Some people have failed to be socialised correctly, in particular as a result of marriage breakdown
• Rational choice- Criminals are assumed to be making ‘rational’ choices to be criminal

Question 32

What is rational choice theory?

Answer 32

The theory that criminals commit crime because they believe that the benefits of that crime outweigh the costs.

Question 33

What does Charles Murray (a right realist) blame for a growth in the underclass?

Answer 33

• An increasing welfare dependency
• A lack of paternal influence
• People becoming too dependant on the state

Question 34

What is the broken windows theory? (a right realist theory)

Answer 34

This is the theory that if there was any visual signs of disorder like graffiti, noise, vagrancy, prostitution, littering etc will send out signals that no one cares. In some places there is a lack of formal social control (the police) and informal social control (the community) and this can be because the police are mainly focused with serious crime and not petty crime so they turn a blind eye, while the community feel helpless and intimidated. Respectable people move out and the place will become a place of deviance (spiral of decline)

Question 35

What is left realism?

Answer 35

Suggests that crime lies in the inequalities by a capitalist society. They tend to argue that society is ultimately responsible for crime. Left realists agree with marxism and that social inequality within capitalism is the main form of crime. They argue that the main victims are often the working class, ethnic minorities and women and the police take crimes against these groups less seriously. They see crime rates as being highest in the areas of unemployment and deprivation.

Question 36

What are the 3 causes that left realists believe are the causes of crime?

Answer 36

• Relative deprivation- The idea that people are deprived (materially or in other ways) compared to others in society
• Marginalisation- Occurs when a person or groups of people are less able to do things or access basic services or opportunities
• Subcultures- Argues that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence

Question 37

Evaluation of right realism

Answer 37

Strengths-
- Has been very influential in shaping policy, especially in neoliberal governments
- Is focused in practical methods rather than theoretical ones- e.g. attempts to reduce crimes like the zero tolerance policy in NYC
- Flood-Page et al (2000) found that male children from single-parent families were more likely to offend

Weaknesses-
- Too focused on crime statistics, which necessarily focus on the kinds of crimes which are recorded
- Ignores structural causes of crime e.g. inequality and assumes the individual is always at fault
- Doesn’t explain white-collar crime

Question 38

Evaluation of left realism

Answer 38

Strengths-
- Explores the role of the victim in more depth than other theories
- Understands complex, multi-casual, nature of crime
- Suggests that crime could be prevented by societal change
- Left realists also acknowledge the importance of other crimes which tend to be emphasized by left-wing and feminist criminologists, and perhaps neglected by the police, e.g. domestic violence, rape, green crimes, prostitution and trafficking

Weaknesses-
- Doesn’t explain why some individuals who experience deprivation do not turn to crime
- Less good at explaining white-collar crime
- Not always clear how to make the necessary structural changes- can be critical without offering solutions to problems

Question 39

What does secularisation mean?

Answer 39

A loss or decline of religion

Question 40

What makes up the ‘dark figure’ of crime?

Answer 40

Unreported and unrecorded crimes