functionalism

Question 1

What does Durkheim say about crime ?

Answer 1

Crime is healthy for society, therefore crime be functional.
Crime is inevitable and normal

Question 2

What are the 3 functions of crime?

Answer 2

Boundary maintenance
Safety valve
Warning sign

Question 3

Boundary maintenance

Answer 3

crime helps remind people of right and wrong. When someone breaks the rules, society reacts to reinforce shared values and keep order.

Question 4

Warning sign

Answer 4

high levels of crime can signal deeper social problems, showing that something in society needs to change.

Question 5

Safety Valve

Answer 5

small crimes or deviant acts help release social pressure, preventing bigger problems or conflicts in society.

Question 6

What does Davis say about the safety valve?

Answer 6

safety valve, allows people to express frustrations in a way that prevents more serious disruption. He suggested that prostitution exists as a way to release men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the stability of the family.

Question 7

What is Merton’s strain theory?

Answer 7

people commit crime when they want success but can’t achieve it legally, so they find other ways.

Question 8

What are the 5 responses to strain?

Answer 8

Conformity
Innovation
Ritualism
Retreatism
Rebellion

Question 9

Conformity

Answer 9

Accepting goals and using legal means to achieve them.

Question 10

Innovation

Answer 10

Accepting goals but using illegal means (e.g., fraud, theft).

Question 11

Ritualism

Answer 11

Rejecting both goals and means (e.g., drug addiction).

Question 12

Rebellion

Answer 12

Rejecting and replacing societal goals and means (e.g., political activism).

Question 13

Evaluation of the strain theory

Answer 13

Over exaggerates the
importance of monetary
success.
• Underestimates the amount of
crime committed by those
who have achieved societal
goals.
• Doesn’t explain why groups
choose the response they do.
• Fails to explain non-utilitarian
crime

Question 14

Eval of the positive functions

Answer 14

Marxism – Ignores the role that the powerful have in shaping what is criminal and deviant as well as the role of social
inequality..
• Durkheim ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims instead focuses on the impact on society.
• Doesn’t quantify how much crime is beneficial to society.
• Crime doesn’t always lead to solidarity but can cause isolation of both victim and criminal.