Control theories of crime and functionalism studies

Question 1

What were Hirschi’s 4 bonds of attachment?

Answer 1

Attachment, Commitment, Involvement and Belief

Question 2

What did Durkheim say about the role of crime in society?

Answer 2

it is functional for a society to have crime, it becomes dysfunctional if the crime rate becomes either too high or too low

Question 3

What were the positives and negatives of crime identified by Durkheim?

Answer 3

Positives: Collective conscience, Reaffirming boundaries, Changing values and social cohesion
Negatives: Anomie, aka collective conscience may sometimes actually be broken by crime

Question 4

What did Davis (1961) say about prostitution?

Answer 4

it acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s thatsexual frustrations without impacting on the nuclear family.

Question 5

Polsky (1967)

Answer 5

that pornography is good as it ‘channels’ a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery.

Question 6

What did Merton (1938) identify in his strain theory as the 5 ‘strains’ between goals and means?

Answer 6

Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion