Crime And Deviance

Question 1

Whats a defenition of a crime?

Answer 1

Is an act that goes against the law

Question 2

What is a defintion of Deviance?

Answer 2

An act that goes against social norms , sometimes it is an illegal act

Question 3

What is a formal sanction?

Answer 3

A punishment given by a court

Question 4

What is a definition of an informal sanction?

Answer 4

A punishment given from outside a court

Question 5

What did Hirschi (1969) highight in his study ‘causes of delinquency’ ?

Answer 5

He higlighted the importance of social bonds on criminal offences and states that people as less likely to commit crimes if they had strong social bonds

Question 6

What are Hirschi’s 4 types of social bonds highlighted in his study ‘causes of delinquency ‘ (1969)

Answer 6

Belief
Attachment
Commitment
Involvement

Question 7

What did Hirschi and Gottfredson (1990) later add to Hirschi orginal hypothesis?

Answer 7

They said that social bonds were not solely enough to explain why crimes take place and that opportunity to offend was also important

Question 8

What does control theory cover?

Answer 8

It explains the reasons why people don’t commit crimes

Question 9

Which Sociological perspective view on crime did Hirschu’s 1964 study ‘causes of delinquency’ support?

Answer 9

Durkheim and Funtionalism

Question 10

Which Sociological perspectives view on crime was suppported by Hirschi and Gottfredson’s 1990 work ‘general theory of crime’ ?

Answer 10

The New Right

Question 11

What percentage of prisioners reoffend in there first year accourding to gov.uk?

Answer 11

26.5%

Question 12

What is Recidivism?

Answer 12

The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend

Question 13

What did Pearson (1983) Claim in his book ‘Hooligans’

Answer 13

He claimed that all generations look back at ‘the golden age’ with nostalgia

He also claimed that middle-aged to older people are fascinated with crime and this fasination is fed by the media

Question 14

What did Miller and Riley (1994) (Marxist view) claim about Moral Panics?

Answer 14

They claimed Moral Panics are used to soften up public opinion and act as a form of social control (linked to Hall et al)

Question 15

What did Kidd-Hewit and Osborn (1995) (Post-modern view) claim about Crime as a spectacle?

Answer 15

They saw media-reported crimes were increasingly driven by the need for ‘spectacle’

Question 16

What did Kooistra and Mahoney (1999) say about Media coverage of crime?

Answer 16

That it is increasingly a mixture of sensationalism and entertainment (Postman called this Infotainment)

Question 17

What did Furedi (1994) say about the societys development and the media

Answer 17

He said that society has failed to adapt , as a result it has lost control of young people due to older generations being over concerned about loosing values , a problem which is sensationalised via the media

Question 18

What would Feminists say about the media?

Answer 18

They would criticise the media for innacurate and often times glamorous views on crime

Sexism in media (e.g portrayal of women in porn)

(E.g. Movies)

Question 19

What are the three fallacies usually in the media?

Answer 19

Police effeciency fallacy- police being effective

Dramatic fallacy - murder and rape being portrayed over others

Ingenuity fallacy - intelligent criminals on tv, when most criminals are oppertunistic

Question 20

Who wrote about the Police efficiency fallacy?

Answer 20

Smith , Taylor and Elkin (2013)

Question 21

What did Althuser (Neo-Marxist) claim about the media?

Answer 21

He claimed that the media was part of the ideological state apparatus

Question 22

What would Neo-Marxists claim about the purpose of Moral Panics?

Answer 22

They would argue that moral panics are political and that they are used as a defence of moral order for the ruling class and are used to keep everyone on board with the ruling class beliefs

Question 23

What did Stuart Hall et al (1978) find in his study ‘Race, Gender And Class’ about the timings of moral panics? (Neo-Marxist)

Answer 23

He found that Moral panics occur at times of economic, political and ideological crises in capitalist society

Question 24

What did Stuart Hall et al (1978) find in his study ‘Race, Gender And Class’ about the purpose of Moral panics in a capitalist society?

Answer 24

They are used to distract the proletariat from real-life crises by the creation of scapegoats to blame , who are usually powerless

Question 25

What is an example of a powerful group in society being targeted and how was it dealt with?

Answer 25

The 2011 UK media hacking scandal - Newspapers were exposed for hacking celebrities’ phones

It was dealt with by creating a scapegoat of a few individuals, these individuals were prosecuted and the powerful companies were left relatively blameless

Question 26

How do funtionalists view the media?

Answer 26

They view it as a window of the world , which reflects the true image or picture of crime

Question 27

What did Cohen write about?

Answer 27

The deviancy amplification spiral

Question 28

Describe the stages deviancy amplification spiral

Answer 28

Identify the problem
Simplify the issue
Stigimatise the individuals
Media campaign for action
Authorities respond
Repeat