functionalism

Question 1

what is a value of consensus?

Answer 1

sees members of society as a sharing common culture, values and norms

Question 2

name two key mechanisms that functionalists argue achieves solidarity

Answer 2

socialisation - instils shared culture into members
social control - mechanisms include rewards for conformity and punishments for wrong doings, ensuring individuals behave in ways society expects

Question 3

what does durkheim identify about crime

Answer 3

crime is inevitable
positive aspects helped society change and remain dynamic
negative aspects saw too much crime leading to social disruption

Question 4

what are two reasons why crime is found in all societies?

Answer 4

not everyone is equally socialised into shared norms and values
there is diversity of lifestyles and values meaning different groups develop own subcultures with distinctive norms and values which may be seen as deviant by some

Question 5

what is boundary maintenance?

Answer 5

crimes produce reactions from society, uniting members and reinforcing commitment to shared norms and values

Question 6

what is adaptation and change?

Answer 6

all change starts with an act of deviance
some changes can be positive, making society move forwards

Question 7

give a historical event as an example of adaptation and change

Answer 7

suffragettes, BLM, sarah everard, rights for women, black people and homosexual people

Question 8

what is davies’ safety valve theory?

Answer 8

a safety value allows people to release frustrations without threatening society
argues prostitution acts as a safety valve for realise of mens sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family

Question 9

what is cohen’s warning device theory?

Answer 9

cohen identifies deviance as a warning society isn’t functioning properly

Question 10

what are four criticisms of functionalism?

Answer 10

society requires a certain amount of deviance
crime doesn’t always promote solidarity, maybe making some isolated
no explanation as to why crime happens
looks at society as a while, ignoring how it affects groups or individuals

Question 11

what are merton’s five ways people might respond to the strain of anomie?

Answer 11

conformity
innovation
ritualism
retreatism
rebellion

Question 12

what is conformity?

Answer 12

a most common response where they strive for success through hard work

Question 13

what is innovation?

Answer 13

people from lower classes
ah have less qualifications and time to crime to achieve

Question 14

what is ritualism?

Answer 14

some may abandon the ultimate goal of wealth but continue to do form to middle class respectability

Question 15

what is retreatism?

Answer 15

“drop outs” who have rejected shared values of success and means provided to achieve it

Question 16

what is rebellion?

Answer 16

reject both goals and means and replace them with different ones, creating an entirely new kind of society

Question 17

what is merton’s strain theory?

Answer 17

social inequality can create tension between classes as ruling class has more opportunities; therefore pressuring lower classes into committing crimes to achieve

Question 18

what is anomie?

Answer 18

for durkheim this is a state of normlessness

Question 19

how does merton’s theories link to the american dream?

Answer 19

people expect to achieve through hard work but this may exclude people working classes who were denied opportunities and may turn to crime to be successful

Question 20

what does cohen argue?

Answer 20

merton’s strain theory is limited and doesn’t explain non-utilitarian crimes

Question 21

what is cohen’s status frustration theory?

Answer 21

education socialises all its members with achieving exam success but inequalities in the legitimate opportunity structure in education system only lets a minority achieve this (middle class)

Question 22

what does cohen argue?

Answer 22

boys who were branded as failures at school reacted by forming a subculture with a distinct set of values
boys who suffered status deprivation would win status on eyes of their peers (petty theft/ vandalism)

Question 23

what did cohen’s theory do?

Answer 23

offered an explanation for crimes which had no economic motivation (petty crimes)

Question 24

what are cloward and ohlin’s three types of deviant subcultures?

Answer 24

criminal
conflict
retreatist

Question 25

what is criminal subculture?

Answer 25

occurs in areas where an established underworld already exists
eg. mafia or kray twins
there becomes opportunities for employment in crime

Question 26

what is conflict subculture?

Answer 26

loosely organised gangs that form using violence providing a release for young men’s frustration

Question 27

what is retreatist subculture?

Answer 27

aspire to criminal or conflict subculture but don’t succeed
“double failures”
resort to drug/alcohol use and petty crime

Question 28

what do cloward and ohlin argue?

Answer 28

agrees with merton and cohen that working class males are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve money success and therefore turn to crime

Question 29

what does miller argue?

Answer 29

crime arises through values of working class subcultures as they are seen as tough, violent which may lead to crime

Question 30

what are miller’s six focal concerns?

Answer 30

trouble
toughness
smartness
excitement
fate
autonomy

Question 31

why does matza criticise miller?

Answer 31

memberships to subculture are often short lived as not everyone in working class are criminals

Question 32

do cloward and ohlin overpredict working class from?

Answer 32

yes
they ignore wider power subculture

Question 33

what is hirschi’s bond theory?

Answer 33

looks at why people don’t commit crime and what forces them to hold peoples behaviour in check

Question 34

why does criminal behaviour occur?

Answer 34

this occurs when peoples attachment to society is weak which depends on four social bonds

Question 35

what are the four social bonds?

Answer 35

attachment - what extent a person cares about another’s wishes, stopping people commit crimes
commitment - personal investments we make in our lives onto communities (if we have nothing to lose, more likely to be criminal)
involvement - referring to how busy we are (more involved in society then less likely to commit crimes)
belief - meaning strength of a persons sense that they should obey rules in society

Question 36

what are some criticisms of hirschi’s theory?

Answer 36

doesn’t explain why some people have weaker or stronger bonds
there are criminals who appear to have strong bonds to society yet still commit crime
doesn’t explain specific crimes
suggest by nature that humans are bad and society stops crimes

Question 37

what does matza argue?

Answer 37

claimed delinquents are similar to everyone else

Question 38

what does matza suggest about male delinquents?

Answer 38

that they are committed to same values as others in society but society has a strong hold on them to prevent them from being criminal, noting they often express remorse and regret at what they’ve done

Question 39

what are matza’s two levels of values?

Answer 39

conventional values (roles and occupation)
subterranean values (sexuality, greed and aggression, which can be controller)