Ac 2.3 - sociological theories of criminality

Question 1

Emile Durkheim ‘Functionalism’ (1895)

Answer 1

Crime is :
- Inevitable
- Universal
- Relative
- Functional

• crime serves social functions and can even have positive effects

Question 2

Emile Durkheim’s - ‘The collective consciousness’

Answer 2

• values and norms of behaviour are shared by the majority of people
• ‘What confers character… is not some intrinsic quality of a given act but the collective conscious lends it’

Question 3

Emile Durkheim’s - Social functions of crime

Answer 3

• a small amount of crime reinforces the social boundaries of norms and behaviour (e.g = employment, owning property)
• changes in society’s collective consciousness lead to changes in criminality ( e.g= abortion , homosexuality)
• state uses formal social controls to punish offenders

Question 4

Boundary maintenance

Answer 4

• when crime produces a reaction from society, uniting its members in condemnation of wrongdoer & reinforcing their commitment to shared norms and values
  
  • reinforces social cohesion - join together to condemn our behaviour
    - collective consciousness reinforced

Question 5

Social cohesion

Answer 5

• prevents anomie (normlessness)
• as it occurs during periods of social change or stress during which collective consciousness becomes less clear
• crime creates positive functions (e.g jobs)
• too much crime results in the breakdown of society(anomie)
  
  • can be prevented by strengthening collective consciousness

Question 6

Functions of crime

Answer 6

• boundary maintenance
• social change
• safety valve
• warning light

Question 7

Social change ( functions of crime)

Answer 7

for society to progress, individuals with new ideas must challenge existing norms and values and it can be seen as deviance first

Question 8

Safety valve ( functions of crime)

Answer 8

Davis argues that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family type

Question 9

Warning light ( functions of crime)

Answer 9

Deviance indicates that an institution is functioning properly. E.g = high truancy rates could indicate problems with the education system

Question 10

Deviance (Emile Durkheim)

Answer 10

• deviance is an essential component of a functional society

has 3 possible effects :

• challenges the perspective and thoughts of the general population,
  
  • leads to social change by pointing out a flaw in society
• support existing norms and beliefs by evoking the population to discipline the actors
  
  • reactions could increase camaraderie (mutual trust & friendships) and social support among the population

Question 11

Merton’s Strain Theory - Robert K Merton (1910-2002)

Answer 11

• the root of the cause of crime lies in the unequal structure of society
• Merton focused on the USA as society values ‘money’ success, wealth and should be achieved through hard work (American dream)
• society can function when most people have a chance of achieving these goals
  
  • poorer people may not achieve these through legitimate socially acceptable means
  • this may be due to education, opportunities, connection etc
• this then causes anomie = individuals may respond by adapting to one of the 5 behaviours

Question 12

Adaptive behaviours in response to crime

Answer 12

• conformity
• innovation
• ritualism
• retreatilism
• rebellion

Question 13

Conformity (adaptive behaviours)

Answer 13

Accepts approved goals and pursues them through approved means (legal means)

Question 14

Innovation (adaptive behaviours)

Answer 14

Accepts approved goals but pursues them using disapproved means (illegal means)

Question 15

Ritualism (adaptive behaviours)

Answer 15

Abandons society’s goals and conforms to approved means

Question 16

Retreatism (adaptive behaviours)

Answer 16

Abandons approved goals and means

Question 17

Rebellion (adaptive behaviours)

Answer 17

Challenges approved means and goals

Question 18

Lea and Young (1984)

Answer 18

• crime is the result of people’s sense of deprivation and marginalisation
  
  1. poor social conditions (low wages) lead to sense of relative deprivation
  2. deprivation creates a sense of marginalisation
  3. Individuals commit crime and form subcultures

Question 19

Elaboration : Young (1999)

Answer 19

Suggested that marginalised individuals may have turned to religon rather than crime. In order to cope with their sense of alienation. So crime and religon is a coping mechanism

Marginalised individuals will commit crime to close the gap between themselves and the rest of the world