Crime and Deviance

Question 1

Who proposed the social construction of crime and what is it?

Answer 1

Newburn.
Crime is a label attached to certain forms of behaviour which are prohibited by the state and have legal penalties against them.

Question 2

What is the social construction of deviance and what sociologist spoke about ambiguity? Give an example.

Answer 2

Criminal and non-criminal acts.
Downes and Rock.
Suggest ambiguity is a key factor in rule breaking, and deviance is based on what your judgement of the act is.
E.g. swearing at friends VS swearing at a teacher.

Question 3

What is societial and situational deviance and who propsed it?

Answer 3

Plummer.
Societial - acts seen by members of society as deviant.
Situational - acts are only deviant in certain contexts.

Question 4

Give 5 reasons why definitions of deviance can vary.

Answer 4

1. Non deviant crimes such as speeding, cannabis are common.
2. Definitions change over time, cigarette smoking used to be common and popular but is now more frowned upon.
3. Society or culture, deviance is culturally relative. E.g. alcohol in UK vs Islamic countries
4. Social group, e.g. cannabis among teens VS adults.
5. Place or context, e.g. sex in public VS in private.

Question 5

What do biological theories of crime and deviance suggest?

Answer 5

Genetic makeup of criminals makes them more disposed to turn to crime - e.g. born criminal.

Question 6

What do psychological theories of crime and deviance suggest?

Answer 6

Crime is linked to genetically based personality characteristics, such as presence of extra y-chromosome creating neurotic extroverts who are less rational.

Question 7

What functionalist proposed 4 benefits/functions of crime and what are they?

Answer 7

Durkheim.

1. Strengthens collective values, reminds people of morals and right and wrong behaviour.
2. Enables social change by allowing new ideas to develop.
3. Acting as a safety valve to allow stress relief.
4. Acts as a warning device that society is not working properly.

Question 8

What is the strain theory of crime and who proposed it?

Answer 8

Merton.
Social order is based on a consensus around social goals and the approved means of achieving them. In unequal society, we do not have the same opportunities to achieve them so we face strain and anomie (normlessness) leading to crime.

Question 9

What are the 5 forms of deviance proposed in strain theory?

Answer 9

1. Conformity - non-deviant and non-criminal
2. Innovation - turn to crime to achieve goals
3. Ritualism - give up on goals but stick to means until retirement.
4. Retreatism - dropouts and drug addicts
5. Rebellion - reject social goals and make new ones.

Question 10

Name 3 criticisms of strain theory?

Answer 10

1. Assumes people accept the same goals, some may value status or satisfaction over income.
2. Focuses on individual responses and ignores whole groups and links to social class etc.
3. Can’t explain why many people who experience strain do not turn to crime.

Question 11

What are the 3 sub cultural theories?

Answer 11

1. Cohen - status frustration and reactive delinquent subculture
2. Cloward and Ohlin - three working-class delinquent subcultures
3. Miller - independent subculture and concerns of working class life

Question 12

What is status frustration theory and who proposed it? Name a strength and limitation of the theory.

Answer 12

Cohen.
Working class youth believe in the success goals of mainstream culture but experience failure so experience status frustration. They form a delinquent subculture in reaction to (against) accepted behaviour. 
\+Explains working class delinquency as a group response. 
-Assumes working class accept mainstream values as superior and desirable, they may have already had their own goals.

Question 13

What working class delinquent subcultures were found and by who?
Name a strength and limitation of the theory.

Answer 13

Cloward and Ohlin.
1. Criminal subcultures - useful crimes such as theft. Developed in working class areas which provides career opportunities for young criminals. Dissuaded from not useful crimes such as vandalism.
2. Conflict subcultures - socially disorganised areas with lack of social cohesion. Violence, gang warfare and mugging.
3. Retreatist subcultures - lower class youth. Double failures who failed to succeed in crime so turn to drug addiction and alcoholism.
+Explains why working class delinquency takes different forms in different circumstances.
-Exaggerate differences between subcultures as there is overlap.

Question 14

Who proposed the independent subculture and what is it?

Answer 14

Miller.
A distinct working class subculture with emphasis on toughness, masculinity, freedom and search for excitement (through crime) .

Question 15

Name 3 overall criticisms of functionalist-based explanations.

Answer 15

1. Taylor et al. wrong to assume there is some initial value consensus which people deviate from.
2. Do not explain white collar or middle class crimes.
3. Matza. similarity between values of delinquents and normal society. e.g. shoplifting to buy birthday present for Mother shows commitment to mainstream values.

Question 16

What is control theory and who proposed it?

Name a strength and limitation of the theory.

Answer 16

Hirschi.
Social bonds theory, explains why people do not commit crime. There are bonds that allow them to resist temptation to turn to crime.
1. Moral beliefs such as respect.
2. Commitment to conventional acts such as getting a job and raising a family.
3. Involvement in sports, activities and community.
4. Attachment to people around them and sensitive to their needs and interests.

+Recognises important of socialisation and social control in maintaining a cohesive society.
-Doesn’t explain why some crime gangs have tight social bonds.

Question 17

What is criminogenic capitalism?

Answer 17

Crime is built in and a natural growth of capitalist society due to economic self-interest and greed. Crime is a rational response to competitiveness and inequality of life. Social exclusions of proletariat leads to crime.

Question 18

How does the law reflect ruling-class interests and ideology and who said it?

Answer 18

Chambliss.
Protection of private property and ruling class interests. Crimes in interest of ruling class such as oil spills or dangerous products produced by companies are not punished. Capitalist states will only pass laws against capitalist forces when forced to do so by protest.

Question 19

What is selective law enforcement and who proposed it?

Answer 19

Chambliss. 
One law for rich and one law for poor, with working class more likely to be prosecuted.

Question 20

What is the new criminology (neo marxist) and who proposed it?

Answer 20

Taylor et al. 
Crime is political protest against ruling class ideology - takes an interactionist and structuralist approach. 
Crime was used to reassert the dominance of ruling class hegemony when it was under threat. Ruling-class owned media stirred up drama about working class crimes to assert dominance by creating a moral panic.

Question 21

What are 3 criticisms of Marxist/neo theories?

Answer 21

1. Over emphasise property crime and ignores crime such as murder, rape and sexual abuse.
2. Neglect ethnicity and gender.
3. (Feminists) it is male-stream and focuses on male criminality.

Question 22

What are 3 criticisms of labelling theory?

Answer 22

1. Too deterministic - doesn’t account for people who choose deviance, e.g. adopting a gay identity in the past .
   Labelling does not always lead to self-fulfilling prophecy e.g. shoplifter may be caught and never do it again.
2. Ignores important of structural factors in creating deviance (the state - marxist).
3. Assumes an act isn’t deviant until it is labelled as deviant, when many know that their acts are deviant.

Question 23

What does labelling theory focus on?

Answer 23

1. The interactions between deviants and those who define them.
2. The process whereby rules are selectively enforced
3. The consequences of being labelled as deviant
4. The circumstances in which someone is labelled as deviant.
5. An analysis of who has the power to attach deviant labels.

Question 24

What is selective law enforcement and who proposed it?

Answer 24

BEcker proposed it. Agencies of social control use selective judgement on punishing people.

Question 25

What did Cicourel find?

Answer 25

He used a phenomenological approach to understand how law enforcers interpret what they see. Police viewed crimes of different classes differently.

Question 26

What is primary and secondary deviance and who proposed it?

Answer 26

Lemert.
Primary = deviance that is not publicly labelled as such.
Secondary = the deviance as a result of being labelled.
Master status = one feature which displaces all other features.

Question 27

What does Becker suggest about deviant careers?

Answer 27

Labelling can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy and deviant career similar to a normal career.