Fuctionalism And Crime Flashcards
What is the functionalist approach to understanding crime (3)
1) don’t consider impact on individual
2) care more about societal effects
3) deviant and harmful behaviour severed a purpose for society as a whole
Durkheim view on crime
1) crime is an integral component of a healthy society
2) some crime and deviance is inevitable
3) people need to test boundaries
What is a value consensus
If too many people have different norms and values society will be in a state of chaos and normlessness where there are no agreed rules
Durkheim’s view on value consensus
Called this a state of anomie which is dangerous to society
What is social solidarity
1) Refers to the sense of cohesion felt in society
2) certain events which bring people together promote social solidarity
What does Durkheim argue about social solidarity
crime causes social solidarity
What is collective conscience
The idea a small community share the same values or what’s right and wrong
Erikson 1966 - public punishments
1) community consents a deviant person who transgresses boundaries in the form of public segregation ceremonies
2) range from public trials to media coverage
3) decline of public punishments e.g. hanging happened at the same time as the development of newspapers which took a similar function
What do functionalists refer to deviance as
A safety valve
Explain deviance as a safety valve
An individual or group can let off steam to prevent worse deviance
Davis 1961 - safety valve
1) men are sexual beings who shouldn’t be sexually limited to his wife
2) supports prostitution as it provides a ‘safe’ outlier. For these sexual tensions in a way which is less threatening to family than an affair as there is no emotional attachment
3 criticisms of Durkheim
1) doesn’t consider negative effects of deviance on people
2) doesn’t explain why different people are deviant in different ways
3)doesn’t explain why some people offend more than others
What is Merton 1938s theory called
Strain theory
Explain strain theory Merton 1938
1) society’s structure leads to deviance
2) argues because some people can’t achieve culturally defined goals a strain is created
What does this strain cause people to do - Merton 1938
1) conform
2) innovation
3) ritualism
4) retreatism
5) rebellion
Explain innovation - strain theory
Accept goals but using unapproved means to achieve them e.g. crime
Explain ritualism - strain theory
1) Abandoning goals
2) adhering to means
3) other judge this person for lacking ambition
4) seen as deviant in a society full of achievers
Explain retreatism - strain theory
1) rejection both goals and means
2) drop out of society
3) self destructing deviant behaviour
Explain rebellion - strain theory
1) Rejecting established goals and means
2) seek to create new ones
3) normally activists
4 criticisms of Merton’s strain theory
1) assumes the goal of financial success is universal
2) an individual may fall into several categories in different aspects of their life
3) people have many different goals such as family or love
4) people have other reasons to commit deviant behaviour
Which Marxist theory critiques Merton’s strain theory
The slot machine analogy
Who’s theory is the slot machine analogy
Laurie Taylor 1971
Explain slot machine analogy
1) social processes are random and unpredictable like a lot machine
2) individual’s pull the lever of societal interactions hoping for a positive result however results are determined by chance and broader societal structures
3) while people exert effort, outcomes are influenced by external factors beyond individual control.
