Functionalism Flashcards
Durkheim - 3 key ideas about crime and deviance
1) Crime is inevitable and necessary
2)Crime has multiple positive functions for society
3) Too much crime is bad for society
Durkheim - inevitability of crime
Durkheim argues that crime is present in all societies that exist and it always will be, he does however say that crime in more industrialised societies is higher than pre-modern, but this is of course going to happen.
The reason for this is because, not everyone is equality committed to the collective conscience and the collective sentiments in modern societies.
Durkheim - crime and deviance as necessary
Durkheim argues that all social change begins with some form of deviance. In order for changes to occur, yesterday’s deviance becomes today’s norm. We can see this in small ways such as tattoos and piercings. Or in larger ways such as the abolition of slavery.
Erikson - publicity function of crime
Erikson (1966) has pointed out for example, the dramatic setting of the courtroom where the lawyers and judges dress in special clothes, and where there is a ceremony, which condemns a person’s actions in a public arena. In contemporary society newspapers also help to perform the publicity function, with their often-lurid accounts of criminal acts. In effect, the courts and the media are ‘broadcasting’ the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, warning others not to breach the walls of the law (and therefore society).
Cohen - crime acting as a warning device
Cohen also suggests that certain deviant acts are a useful warning device to indicate that an aspect of society is malfunctioning. This may draw attention to the problem and lead to measures to solve it. Thus truants from school, deserters from the army or runaways from Borstals may ‘reveal unsuspected causes of discontent, and lead to changes that enhance efficiency and morale’.
Durkheim - too much crime
The result of too much crime according to Durkheim, was the development of a state he called anomie. In essence, this means that people regard as unimportant the social expectations to respect the rights and the needs of others and prefer to look after their own interests even at their neighbours expense. They return to their natural state of greed and self-interest which results in the long term collapse of order and harmony. Anomie, then, is dangerous and harmful to all.
Merton - strain theory
Merton’s strain theory - argued that crime increased when there was a strain (or gap) between society’s success goals (achieving material wealth) and the available opportunities to achieve those goals through legitimate means (having a well-paying job). Merton called this imbalance between goals and the ability to achieve them ‘anomie’.
Merton argued that crime was higher among the working classes because they had fewer opportunities to achieve material success through legitimate means and were thus more likely to adopt innovative cultural responses in order to achieve material success through criminal means – through burglary or drug dealing, for example.
Merton saw crime as a response to the inability of people to achieve material wealth, emphasising the role of material or economic factors.
Merton - typology of crime and deviance
Conformity involves the acceptance of the cultural goals and means of attaining those goals.
Innovation involves the acceptance of the goals of a culture but the rejection of the traditional and/or legitimate means of attaining those goals.
Ritualism involves the rejection of cultural goals but the routine acceptance of the means for achieving the goals.
Retreatism involves the rejection of both the cultural goals and the traditional means of achieving those goals.
Rebellion is a special case wherein the individual rejects both the cultural goals and traditional means of achieving them but actively attempts to replace both elements of the society with different goals and means.
Hirschi - why people DON’T commit crime
> Attachment
Attachment is concerned with the extent to which we care about other people’s opinions and wishes. For example, psychopaths are characterised by lack of concern for the welfare or views of other people.
> Commitment
Commitment refers to the personal investments that each of us makes in our lives. The person with less to lose is the one more likely to turn to crime.
> Involvement
Involvement describes a person’s level of activity or business interests. A person who is extremely busy with a wide range of legitimate activities may be too preoccupied to engage in deviancy.
> Belief
Belief refers to a person’s conviction that they should obey the rules of society.
