Crime and Deviance- Sociologists Flashcards
1
Q
Durkheim- What crimes have in common
A
They’re all acts that are disapproved of by the society in which they take place.
2
Q
Durkheim Key Functions of Crime
A
Functionalist
- Reminds everyone of boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour
- Creates social cohesion in the unified sense of shock a community feels.
- Safety Valve- for example prostitution saving a marriage if one of the partners sleeps with someone else.
- Adaption and change- creating change in a society- for example people questioned why homosexuality was wrong and it went on to become legal.
3
Q
Criticisms of Durkheim
A
- that many crimes damage communities and harm victims, as opposed to performing a positive role
- that his functions are relevant to a smaller scale society as opposed to large scale, modern, industrial societies
- Marxists would say it ignores the functions of crime concerning power, and how the law functions in the interest of the bourgeoisie.
4
Q
Merton’s Strain Theory
A
A structural theory explaining the causes of crime and deviance in terms of anomie. Culturally defined goals (of economic success)-> Limited opportunities to access the means (opportunities)-> strain and anomie (working class people who don't have the means (opportunities) to succeed through legitimate (socially acceptable) mean, so there is a mismatch between goals and means, leading to a condition of anomie, leading to the person turning to crime to achieve the goals.
5
Q
Anomie
A
a situation of normlessness in which the norms that regulate people’s behaviour break down.
6
Q
Responses to Strain (Merton)
A
- Conformist
- Innovator
- Ritualist
- Retreatist
- Rebel
7
Q
Marxism- Capitalist Values
A
- Materialism- having as much money and possessions as possible
- Consumerism- having the newest stuff
- Competition- that we’re in competition with eachother to have the best stuff
-Media fuels this (adverts etc)
People then think to be the best they have to have the best and newest stuff, so they break the law, eg steal stuff instead.