Crime And Deviance Flashcards
What is value consensus
Shred noms and values of society that enable us to co-operate and live harmoniously alongside each other
What are the two key mechanisms that functionalists belie enable us to achieve this solidarity?
- socialisation - into share norms and values
- social control - rewards for conforming and punishments for misbehaving
What is it called when too much crime is too disruptive for society and results in social breakdown?
Anomie - Durkheim sees this as a cause of suicide
What does Durkheim say about crime ?
He argued that crime is normal and healthy for society
What two reasons do functionalists offer for why crime is inevitable for society
- not everyone is equally socialised into shared norms and values, prone to deviance
- different groups develop their own subcultures with their own norms and values
What are Durkheim’s two positive functions for society?
Boundary maintenance - crime reproduces a reaction from society and reinforces the commitment to shared norms and values. Therefore, crime is for reaffirm social solidarity and reinforce society’s shared rules
Adaptation and change - all acts of change start with deviance there must be a reason for something to change
Benefits of prostitution and pornography
Davis - prostitution was functional for society
Polsky - pornography is also beneficial
As they are a safety valve for a release of men’s frustration without threatening the nuclear family
AO3 of Davis and Polsky
Cohen - argued that evidnce could be a key indicator that an institution is not functioning correctly - high truancy rates in schools
Erikson - society is organised in a way to promote deviance and police regulate deviance and keep criminality low rather than getting rid of it
AO3 of functionalism
- Durkheim never explains what is the ‘right’ amount of crime
- Functionalists do not explain why crime exists in first place
- Functionalists explains why crime functions for society but not for the group as a whole
- Crime doesn’t always promote solidarity but may make people more isolated
What is Merton’s strain theory ?
People engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimates means therefore, resort to criminal means
Merton’s developed strain and adapted from Durkheim concept of anomie
Structural factors - unequal opportunity
Cultural factors - strong on the success goals and weaker on using legitimates means to achieve them
What is the American dream?
Success for one and all and that goal can be achieved through self-discipline, study, qualifications and hard work
Issues with the American dream
- many disadvantaged groups are denied opportunities legitimately due to poverty, inadequate schooling and discrimination
What does the strain between cultural goal of money sauces and lack of legitimate opportunities produce?
Cretes frustration and pressure to turn to illegitimate’s means such as crime and deviance to be able to achieve the goal.
Strain to anomie
What are the five types of adaptation to achieving a goal?
- conformity - accepts and strives
- innovation - accepts but illegitimate
- ritualism - give up on the goal but internalised legitimate means
- retreatism - reject both (drop out)
- rebellion - rejects society’s goals but have their own new ones
Strengths of Merton’s theory
- shows both normal and deviant behaviour can arise from same goal
- lower class crime rates are higher due to opportunity
- most crimes are utilitarian
- examines patterns in OS
Criticisms of Merton
- over represent the working class
- too deterministic
- ignores power of the ruling class
- assumes everyone shares the same goal
- ignores violent crime
What is a subcultural strain theory?
See deviance as the product of delinquent subculture with different vale from those of mainstream society
What does Cohen say about deviance ?
That deviance is largely a lower class phenomenon resulting from their inability to achieve socially stressed goals
How does Cohen criticise Merton’s strain theory
- ignores that a lot of deviance is committed by groups eg the young
- focuses on utilitarian crime ignores non-utilitarian where there is no economic motivation
What is status frustration ?
Most part that gaining a status through an alternative set of values but Cohen say that those who are most likely to commit deviance acts with be lower streams at school and live in deprived areas
What does Cohen argue i the key influencing factor for delinquent boys ?
School because it is primary agency of awarding and denying status
Alternative status hierarchy (lower stream boys)
- inverts values of mainstream society
- what society values the delinquent hate
- offers an alternative status hierarchy where they can achieve
- create own opportunity which they can win status from their peers through delinquency
AO3 of Cohen
Cohen assumes that working class boys share the same goals are middle class boys no never actually see themselves as failure