Crime and Deviance: Functionalist, Strain and subcultural theories Flashcards
Value consensus
Common set of beliefs in society
Culture
Customs/ideas of particular groups
Socialisation
Socialising into norms
Social control
Control behaviour through rewards/sanctions
Why is crime found in all societies?
Inequal socialisation and diversity of lifestyle, subcultures
Why are modern societies experiencing crime?
Anomie - Lack in social standards, rules losing influence, wider division of labour
Two positive crime functions
Boundary maintenance, Adaptation and change
Define Boundary maintenance
Crime produces reactions, social solidarity through stigmatising criminals
Define Adaptation and change
Deviance from new ideas that challenge laws, stopping these halts society
Davis Prostitution function
Prostitution releases male frustration without harming family
Polsky Pornography function
Pornography channels away from Adultery that harms family
A.K. Cohen Institution function
Shows when institutions are underperforming i.e Truancy
Erikson police sustaining and teenage oats function
Police sustain crime rather than getting rid, ‘sowing their wild oats’ to cope with adolescence
Why is Functionalism useful for Crime and Deviance?
Deviance is integral and has hidden functions
3 criticisms of Functionalism (Amount, micro-approach and Isolation)
Durkheim provides no amount of how much crime is needed
Ignores the micro-approach of individuals
May cause isolation i.e. Women being attacked
How do people engage in deviance?
Unable to achieve socially approved legitimate goals
Structural factors
Societies unequal opportunity structure
Cultural factors
Emphasis on success and weaker emphasis on legitimate means
What two factors cause strain for individuals according to Merton?
The goals a culture needs to succeed
What the structure allows legitimately
How do Americans pursue goals?
Legitimate means: self-discipline etc.
What factors prevent pursuing goals?
Poverty, discrimination and schooling
Strain to anomie
Lack of money success = frustration = illegitimate success
Why is there pressure to deviate in America?
Emphasis to win the game rather than playing by rules
Conformity
Accepting approved goals legitimately, MC
Innovation
Accept money success illegitimately, Lower-MC
Ritualism
Giving up but following rules for own sake
Retreatism
Rejection goals and legitimacy i.e. Psychotics
Rebellion
Rejecting goals, replacing with revolutionary change i.e. Hippies and Radicalism
Two crime patterns Merton defines
American crime is utilitarian property based
Lower class crime is higher due to illegitimate means
5 criticisms of Merton (Over-representing, Ruling class, Money consensus, Utilitarian, Groups)
Over-represents WC crime
Ignores ruling class creating laws that forces deviance
Assumes everyone shares money consensus
Focuses on only utilitarian crimes
Ignores group deliquency
Subculture
Cultural group with specific values
What do subcultures offer to members?
Alt opportunity structure to those denied legitimate success
How are subcultures functional to members?
A solution to societies problems
Cohen: WC crime phenomenon
Results from inability to achieve mainstream success legitimately
Cohens criticisms of Merton
Ignores deviance by groups
Focuses on utilitarian crime only
Why do WC boys experience anomie?
Middle class school, suffer cultural deprivation which leads to frustration and rejection MC values
Values of subcultures and comparison to societies values
Hostile and contempt, inverted to societies values
How does subculture offer alternative status hierarchies?
Creation of own illegitimate opportunity which they can gain status through
Criticism of Cohen (Initial ideas)
Assumes all WC boys share initial ideas with MC boys
Not all see themselves as failures.
Criminal subcultures
‘Apprentice’ in a crime career, forms in crime subcultures were youths learn from adult crime hierarchy
Conflict subcultures
High population turnover leads to social disorganisation and prevents crime networks. Illegitimate gangs using violence to release tension created
Retreatist subcultures
Double failures fail illegitimately and legitimately turn to illegal drug use to retreat from the system
Cultural transmission theory
Criminal tradition is transmitted gen to gen
Differential association theory
Deviance is behaviour learned through social interaction
Social disorganisation theory
Product of social disorganisation, population turnover and migration leads to instability and disruption. They fail to control people
Evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin (Wealthy, power, drug trade mixture, reactive, independent, behaviour in subcultures)
They ignore crimes by the wealthy
They ignore power structures created by law enforcers
Drug trade is a mix of disorganised crime and conflict in which subcultures cannot mix
Assumes everyone has the mainstream goal
Independent subculture -
Does not value success and doesnt view themselves as failures
Delinquents drift in/out of subcultures and are not strong committed.
What 3 goals may young people pursue?
Popularity
Autonomy
Treated like adults or real men
Why may middle class youths be delinquent?
Fail to achieve popularity, autonomy or adult respect
Messner and Rosenfelds anomie theory (Winner takes it all, economic goals value, free-market capitalism and welfare spend)
The winner takes it all mindset exerts pressure to be criminal by encouraging an anomic cultural environment in which people are encouraged ‘anything goes.’
Economic goals are valued the most and impacts institutions such as schools
Free-market capitalism and lack of welfare spend means crime will always exist in places such as the USA.
Downes and Hansen evidence towards Messner and Rosenfeld about welfare spend?
Societies that have more welfare spend have less imprisonment
Savelsburg: Rise in crime during post-communist society
Capitalist goals of having money success in 1990’s replaced communist values
