Functionalism and crime

Question 1

Durkheim

Answer 1

Crime is present in all societies and is inevitable and needs to happen for society to function well

Question 2

Formal and Informal sanctions

Answer 2

Used to reward those who conform, and punish those who deviate

Our shared disproval of deviant behaviour strengthens our social solidarity

Question 3

Why does Durkheim say crime happens in industrial societies more than premodern?

Answer 3

People lack collective sentiments, which promotes individualism, thus means people assimilate with different collective sentiments (shared values and norms)

Question 4

Society of Saints

Answer 4

Durkheim argues deviance would still occur in a “society of saints” as any behaviour against the expected norms and value would be extremely punished

Question 5

Too much crime?

Answer 5

Would lead to anomie, which is the collapse of order and harmony

Question 6

Evaluating Durkheim

Answer 6

Realists: criticise the idea that crime is both normal and functional, crime is a real problem for victims and should inform policy makers how to prevent it

Question 7

Merton’s strain theory

Answer 7

Argued that crime increased when there was a strain between society’s success goals and the available means of achieving them

Merton argues crime is more common between working class individuals because they had fewer opportunities to achieve material success through legitimate means

Question 8

Innovation (Merton’s theory)

Answer 8

Working class more likely to adapt innovative cultural goals through criminal means e.g. burglary or drug dealing

Question 9

Evaluating Merton

Answer 9

Marxists: argue this theory serves capitalist interests and promotes bourgeois ideology, socialised into believing the best way to achieve goals is working for bosses.

Does not ensure social solidarity, but rather capitalist ideology or hegemony

Question 10

Hirschi

Answer 10

Focuses on why most people choose not to commit crimes (bonds of attachment)

Question 11

Bonds of Attachment

Answer 11

Attachment - the extent to where we care about peoples opinions
Commitment - personal investments, the person who has less to lose is more likely to commit crimes
Involvement - A person who is busy is less likely to commit a crime
Belief - a person’s conviction that we should obey the law

Question 12

Evaluating Hirschi

Answer 12

His theory that absence of the bonds of attachment suggest criminality is useful
His theory has influenced policymakers in promoting attachment to reduce deviancy

Hirschi does not address why some members of society have a stronger bond than others and why others are marginalised