functionalist and subcultural theories Flashcards
Durkheims functionalist theory
society has a stable structure
crime is inevitable
what is anomie
normlessness
shares norms and values weakened
what 4 important functions does crime perform
boundary maintenance
social change
safety valve
warning light
what is boundary maintenance
crime provides reaction that unites societies members against wrongdoers reminding them of right and wrong
what is social change
for society to progress people with new ideas have to challenge old ideas and at first this is seen as deviant
what is safety valve
(Davis)
e.g Davis- argues prostitution acts to release mens sexual frustrations without threatening nuclear family
what is warning light
deviance indicates an institution isn’t functioning properly
e.g high truancy rates indicates failing education system
what is Mertons strain theory
root cause of crime lies in unequal structure of society
what does american society value according to Merton
‘money success’
what are blocked opportunities
not everyone has equal chance of achieving e.g w/c blocked because of poverty
what are the 5 different groups in society that Merton identified
conformists
innovators
ritualism
retreatism
rebellion
what are conformists
achieve societies goal legitimately
what are innovators
accept goals but find illegal ways to achieve them
what are ritualists
give up striving for success
what are retreatists
reject both goals and means
what are rebellions
reject existing goals and means and replace them with new ones with the aims of changing society
what is subcultural theory of crime
subcultures enable members to gain status in illegitimate ways
Albert Cohen - status frustration
deviance results from w/c failure to achieve legitimate means
it is a groups response to failure
Cloward and Ohlin - 3 subcultures
note different neighbourhoods give rise to different types of deviant subcultures
criminal subcultures
conflict subcultures
retreatist subcultures
when do criminal subcultures arise
areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network
where do conflict subcultures arise
where only criminal opportunities are within street gangs
where do retreatist subcultures arise
made up of dropouts who have failed in both legitimate and illegitimate opportunity subculture
