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AQA A-Level Sociology PHS > Crime - Theories on Crime - 4.1 (Functionalism & Strain Theories) > Flashcards

Crime - Theories on Crime - 4.1 (Functionalism & Strain Theories) Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Define Deviance

A

Actions going against norms and values of a society

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2
Q

Define Crime

A

Behaviour breaking law of a society

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3
Q

Define Social Control

A

How our behaviour is controlled by society to conform to norms & values e.g. government, police, media

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4
Q

Define Social Construction

A

Norms & values are created by society e.g. crime shaped by culture/historical period

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5
Q

General Functionalist view on Crime & Deviance

A

> See society based on value consensus, disrupted by Crime

> But crime inevitable & natural & sometimes good for society.

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6
Q

Functionalism Key Sociologists

A

> Durkheim (Inevitability of Crime, Boundary Maintenance & Change)

> Cohen (Warning)

> Erikson

> Davis (Prostitution)

> Polsky (Porn)

> Merton (Strain Theory)

> Hirschi (Control Theory)

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7
Q

Two Reasons for Inevitability of Crime (Durkheim)

A

> Not all socialised with same values, leading to differences & thus crime

> Anomie common in modernity

> Crime due to diversity and the creation of subcultures with different norms from mainstream society

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8
Q

Two Positive Functions of Crime (Durkheim)

A

> Boundary Maintenance

> Adaptation & Change

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9
Q

Boundary Maintenance (Durkheim)

A

> Crimes unites members to reject deviance, reinforces value consensus & collective conscience

> Society’s rejection of deviance is distinctive from law breaking, we understand behaviours are wrong & shouldn’t be repeated

> Boundary maintenance is good versus evil

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10
Q

Example of Boundary Maintenance

A

e. g. public reaction to Manchester attacks

e. g. public reaction to murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes by his father and step-mother

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11
Q

Adaptation & Change (Durkheim)

A

> All changes begin with deviance, and a need for people to challenge values

> Without deviance there is no change.

> If new ideas are rejected, society stagnates, unable to make the necessary changes.

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12
Q

Examples of Adaptation & Change

A

Votes for women - violent and criminal acts by Suffragettes
Rosa Parks - Civil Rights Movement
Insulate Britain blockading motorways??

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13
Q

Cohen view on Crime

A

Warning signal, something in society is not working properly to policymakers/leaders.

e.g. certain aspect of law needs reform

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14
Q

Erikson view on Crime

A

> Institutions e.g. police actually ensure crime occurs

> e.g. festivals & carnivals rules are relaxed (public drunkeness, drug use) & they turn a blind eye to deviant behaviour.

> So we can let off steam and don’t do darker crimes

> Also eases transition from childhood to adulthood, through sanctioned rule-breaking.

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15
Q

Davis view on Prostitution

A

Safety valve for men’s sexual frustration, not threatening monogamous nuclear family as it’s one off.

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16
Q

Polsky view on Pornography

A

Safe channel for sexual desires, not threatening monogamous nuclear family as adultery would.

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17
Q

General Criticisms of Durkheim’s view

A

> Doesn’t say how much crime there should be

> Causes fear & isolation in individuals e.g. rape so not functional and positive for society

> Crime is functional for society but not for the victims

> Crime doesn’t always create social solidarity, it can divide people

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18
Q

How is Adaptation & Change a flawed idea?

A

Deviance doesn’t always lead to social change e.g. Black Lives Matter

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19
Q

Background to Hirschi’s Theory

A

Not why people do crime but why they don’t do crime.

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20
Q

Reasons For Not Doing Crime (Hirschi)

A

Individuals are controlled by bonds of attachment (to family, job, society etc) so don’t deviate.

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21
Q

Hirschi’s four Bonds

A

Attachment
Belief
Commitment
Involvement

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22
Q

Attachment - Hirschi

A

> People conform to value consensus as criminality could disrupt vital bonds

> e.g. education & family, employment.

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23
Q

Belief - Hirschi

A

Extent of people’s belief in values e.g. crime as morally wrong, stops people doing crime.

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24
Q

Commitment - Hirschi

A

People are committed to society so unlikely to undermine wishes of others.

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25
Q

Involvement -

A

People with extensive commitments, have no time to do crime.

26
Q

Why does Hirschi believe Crime still occurs?

A

Lack of social bonds do lead to crime, but also poor socialisation & integration, impacts on a person’s desire to conform to values.

27
Q

Criticisms of Hirschi

A

> No explanation for why some people don’t integrate into society & how crime is caused?

> Ignores pull factors e.g. peer pressure

28
Q

Why does Merton believe people engage in deviant behaviour?

A

> Unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means.

> Strain between the goals, society encourage us to achieve & what society allows us to achieve (means).

29
Q

Two Factors for Engagement in Deviance (Merton)

A

> Structural; societies unequal opportunity structure

> Cultural: emphasis on success & less emphasis on how to achieve it legitimately.

30
Q

Merton & American Dream as Flawed

A

> Values success, expected to be pursue legitimately

> Belief in meritocracy, but in reality poverty & discrimination block opportunities.

> This leads to stress & pressure to resort to illegitimate means.

> Due to emphasis on success at all costs - anomie

31
Q

Merton’s 5 Responses to Strain

A 
> Conformity
> Innovation
> Ritualism
> Retreatism
> Rebellion
32
Q

Conformity - Merton

A

Accept goals & try to achieve them legitimately e.g. middle class people

33
Q

Innovation - Merton

A

Accept goals & but try achieve them illegally e.g. theft, drug dealing - working class

34
Q

Ritualism (Merton)

A

Give up on goals & simply plod on trying to achieve knowing they never will. e.g. people on minimum wage

35
Q

Retreatism (Merton)

A

Rejects goals & legitimate means & drop out of society e.g. alcohol & drug abusers

36
Q

Define Rebellion with an example

A

Replace existing goals & means with new ones with aim of social change e.g. protests, environmentalists

37
Q

How does Merton’s Theory explain Trends in Crime?

A

> Property Crime is high, as America values material wealth highly.

> Working class crime rates support this, they are higher as they lack chance to succeed legitimately.

38
Q

Merton A03 (KS)

A

> Marxism

39
Q

Marxists - A03 Merton

A

Ignores powers of middle classes, who enforce laws in ways that criminalise the working class not the ruling class

40
Q

How is Merton too deterministic?

A

Takes official crime statistics at face value, the working class experience most strain but don’t all deviate.

41
Q

Outline the General Criticisms of Merton

A

> Assumes that there is value consensus, everyone strives for material success, not all share society’s goals, people have individual motivations - not necessarily the American Dream.
Only focuses on crime for material gain and doesn’t explain crimes of violence, vandalism etc
Explains individual not group deviance.

42
Q

Subcultural Strain Theories - Key Sociologists

A 
> Cohen (Status Frustration)
> Cloward & Ohlin (3 Subcultures)
> Messener & Rosenfeld (Institutional Anomie Theory)
> Savelsberg (Impact of Communism)
> Downes & Hansen
43
Q

Cohen & Reasons for Occurrence of Deviance

A

> Due to status frustration, mainly from working, due to inability to achieve success goals by legitimate means.

44
Q

Cohen - Alternative Status Hierarchy

A

> Working class boys rejected from middle class culture so suffer status frustration

> Form Alternative Status Hierarchy- invert mainstream values winning status from peers through delinquency

> What society praises, the alternative status hierarchy condemns e.g. respect of property, but boys gain status vandalising it.

45
Q

Impact of Alternative Status Hierarchy towards Crime

A

> Leads to criminal behaviour - non utilitarian crime is most common

> e.g. graffiti, anti social behaviour, joy-riding, given status & form of revenge against society.

46
Q

Cohen - Status Frustration & Contemporary Applications

A

> Status frustration can explain an increase in the number of students excluded from school who commit crime

> Crime rates higher among underachievers at school.

47
Q

Criticisms of Cohen

A

> Assumes working class boys shared middle class values initially, but they may have never shared these in the first place

> Rejection from society doesn’t always led to rebellion e.g. retreatism/ritualism

> Focuses only on youth crime

48
Q

Cloward & Ohlin agree with Merton

A

Agree that working class youths frozen out of chances to achieve & deviance comes from this.

49
Q

How do Cloward & Ohlin disagree with Merton?

A

> Not all engage in utilitarian crime e.g property crime.

> Not everyone who fails legitimately, succeeds illegitimately.

50
Q

Cloward &Ohlin & Variation of Crime in different areas

A

Different areas give different illegal chances to learn criminal skills & develop criminal careers.

51
Q

Cloward & Ohlin’s 3 Subcultures

A

> Criminal
Conflict
Retreatist

52
Q

Criminal Subcultures

A

Youths get apprenticeship in crime they learn from experienced members how to do crimes & slowly work their way up the criminal career ladder.

53
Q

Conflict Subcultures

A

Areas of high population with loose ties between individuals fighting for territory to gain status from other gangs.

54
Q

Retreatist Subcultures

A

> People who failed in legitimate & illegal opportunity structures ‘’double failures’’
e.g. drug abusers or alcoholics.

55
Q

Criticisms of Cloward & Ohlin

A

> Ignores powers of ruling class, who make laws to criminalise poor & not rich.

> Too deterministic & overexaggerates extent of working class crime & opportunities available to youth.

> Ignore crimes of wealthy

56
Q

A03 Cloward & Ohlin Key Sociologists

A

> South (Overlap)
Matza (Commitment)
Miller (Subcultures)

57
Q

South Criticisms of Cloward & Ohlin

A

3 subcultures overlap, drug trade is a mixture of disorganised crime & professional mafia style.

58
Q

Matza Criticisms of Cloward & Ohlin

A

Delinquents aren’t really committed to subcultures, but drift in & out of delinquency, membership’s often short lived.

59
Q

Miller Criticisms of Cloward & Ohlin

A

The Working Class have their own subculture & values separate to mainstream culture not valuing success in the first place so not frustrated by failure.

60
Q

Savelsberg - Impact of Fall of Communism on Crime Rates

A

After fall of communism in 1989, crime rates increased in Eastern Europe, due to collective values being replaced by money success goals.

61
Q

Downes & Hansen

A

Countries spending more on welfare had lower imprisonment

62
Q

Messener & Rosenfeld (Institutional Anomie Theory)

A

American dream creates pressure for crime, leading to widespread anomie, where people have anything goes mentality to get wealth, so high crime rates are inevitable.

AQA A-Level Sociology PHS (36 decks)

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