Functionalist and subcultures theory on Crime & Deviance

Question 1

What is crime?

Answer 1

According to Newburn, crime is a label attached to behaviour which is prohibited by the state and has some legal penalty against it .

Question 2

What does it mean if a crime is socially constructed?

Answer 2

This means that an act only becomes a crime when the label is attached to it , this could be determined by culture, time and societies .

Question 3

What are the types of deviance identified by Plummer?

Answer 3

Societal deviance - acts that most members of a society regard as deviant because they share similar ideas about approved and unapproved behaviour.

Situational deviance- acts where whether or not they are seen as deviant depends on the context and location in which they take place.

Question 4

Why does Durkheim believe crime occurs?

Answer 4

1) Organic change- society has evolved from pre-industrial society to industrial society.
2) Growth of urbanisation and industrialistion-has led to social changes from organic to mechanical solidarity.
3) Experiences of modern life have impacted social cohesion of society- has led to the development of anomie.

Question 5

What are Durkheim’s main points for crime/deviance?

Answer 5

Crime s a part of a healthy society & performs a function for society.

Crime is inevitable, there need to be an optimal amount of crime for society to function.

Crime has positive and negative functions for society

Question 6

What is Boundary maintenance?

Answer 6

Durkheim describes this as a positive function of crime.

• This is because it reinforces a value consensus and a collective conscience(society’s moral code).
• > As people join to condemn the wrong doers, it leads to collective agreement that the behaviour is wrong and should not be repeated.
  e. g. 2011 riots->public condemnation of rioting & looting.

Question 7

What is Adaptation & Change?

Answer 7

Durkheim describes this as a positive function of crime.

• This is because deviant behaviour can often lead to change of norms & values in society.
  e. g. gay rights movement accelerated after stonewall riots, led to equality for all. & BLM protests

Question 8

What are other positive functions of crime

Answer 8

+crime acts as a saftey valve
->reflects that issues in society need to be addressed
+Polsky & Davis- Crime and Deviance can act as a release
->prostitution and pornography can reduce tension.

Question 9

What are the evaluation of Durkheim’s theory?

Answer 9

+Relevant to contemporary society

• It is difficult to measure the optimal amount
• some crimes are not functional/positive for the victim e.g. Dv and rape
• Durkheim believes that crime occurs only due to frustration /doesn’t look at other factors e.g. class, gender, ethnicity

Question 10

What is Merton’s view on C&D?

Answer 10

Merton believes that crime and deviance is a product of dysfunction in society and looks at :
Strain to anomie & American dream as an explanation to why people commit crime

Question 11

What is conformity?

Answer 11

An adaptation to strain where- individuals accept the socially accepted goal, work hard towards it, through legitimate means.

Question 12

What is Innovation?

Answer 12

An adaptation to strain where-individuals accept the socially approved goal, however they have blocked opportunities soo turn to illegitimate means to achieve this goal.

Question 13

What is Ritualism?

Answer 13

An adaptation to strain where-individuals accept their status and conform to society’s norms, even though they are not able to achieve the socially approved goals.

Question 14

What is retreatism?

Answer 14

An adaptation to strain where-individuals reject the socially approved goals and reject society’s norms and drop out.

Question 15

What is Rebellion?

Answer 15

An adaptation to strain where-individuals challenge society’s norms and reject legitimate means and have adapted alternative methods to achieve these socially approved goals.

Question 16

What are the evaluations of Merton’s strain to anomie?

Answer 16

+ Recognises structural inequality/ the lack of opportunity available to some groups
+offers an explanation to utilitarian crimes
-doesn’t explain why non utilitarian crimes occur
-not everyone may have this socially approved goal/american dream
-an individuals strain may be dependent on something else

Question 17

What are Hirshi’s main points on crime and deviance/social control ?

Answer 17

Hirshi argues that social control is maintained through socialisation.
-Hirshi looks at why people do not commit crime
Hirshi believes that several social bonds control people from committing crime.

Question 18

What is Hirshi’s concept of attatchment?

Answer 18

(Bond of attachment)Attachment looks at how people have goals and activities they do to achieve these.
For example, employment , education and family life.
->These things cannot be interrupted by criminal activity.
This causes people to conform to norms/values soo they don’t lose future opportunities.
e.g. a criminal record can affect careers/ committing crime can mean a mother may be absent in her children’s lives.

Question 19

What is Hirshi’s concept of Belief?

Answer 19

Belief is a bond of attachment- it is dependent upon socialisation into a value consensus.

An individuals belief that criminal activity is wrong, will influence them into not committing crimes.

Question 20

What is Hirshi’s concept of Commitment?

Answer 20

Commitment is a bond of attachment- it looks at an individuals interactions with members of the community.
Those that are committed to society would not go against its wishes, as they want to protect the interests of others e.g. not committing crimes as it would shame the family.

Question 21

What is Hirshi’s concept of Involvement?

Answer 21

Involvement is a bond of attachment - it looks at an individuals opportunity to commit crime.
Being aware of potential damage crime could cause in a community may make you not want to commit crime.

Question 22

How does crime occur according to Hirshi?

Answer 22

Crime occurs due to

• absence of controlling factors
• opportunity of crime/lack of social bonds
• lack of integration/inadequate socialisation, which means they wont seek for good in society.

Question 23

What are the evaluations of Hirshi’s theory?

Answer 23

+shows everyone under different circumstances have the potential to commit crime

• little explanation as to how crime is caused or the specific nature of criminal behaviour
• assumes social bonds mean the same to all individual/doesn’t explain why some choose to integrate in society.

Question 24

What is Miller’s theory(subcultural) on c&d?

Answer 24

Miller believes that w/c norms and values are not a reaction to blocked opportunities.
He believes that the w/c have developed their own set of norms and values, through which they gain status.These are called FOCAL CONCERNS, they occur with w/c males.

Question 25

What does the focal concern excitement refer to?

Answer 25

Excitement refers to how w/c males crave excitement in their leisure time.
e.g. sexual encounters, fighting and drinking.The night life of w/c males often leads to antisocial behaviour/ drunken disorders.

Question 26

What does the focal concern of toughness refer to?

Answer 26

Toughness refers to how status is awarded for displaying masculine characteristic e.g.strength,criminal acts like assault and gbh in conflict situations.
->there are higher levels of convictions for w/c males for violent crimes.

Question 27

What does the focal concern of smartness refer to?

Answer 27

Smartness refers to the ability to outwit others through gambling and gaming e.g. low level fraud allows w/c men to assert their smartness. This is shown through participation in gambling and sports betting.

Question 28

What does the focal concern of trouble refer to?

Answer 28

Trouble refers to w/c being aware that their values may lead them into trouble e.g. subcultural values of fatalism and collectivism.

• w/c males accepted that they needed the support of friends and families in times of conflict.
• links to gangs and subcultural behaviour in school.
• collectivism leads to anti-school subculture

Question 29

What does the focal concern of autonomy refer to?

Answer 29

Autonomy refers to how anti-autonomy views of w/c males led to them dealing with issues themselves rather than alerting authority e.g. retribution for being wronged was dealt by individuals rather than by the police.
-lower levels of reporting incidents in w/c areas & reluctance to informing police on others that have committed crime as that would be viewed as ‘snitching.’

Question 30

What does the focal concern of fate refer to?

Answer 30

Fate refers to how w/c males have fatalistic attitudes which lead them to believe that they have little agency in life e.g. the behaviour of w/c males is not moderated because they believe actions today do not impact the future as it is already decided.

• > evident in Paul willis ‘learning to labour’
• > fatalistic attitudes about university-archer, reay

Question 31

What are the evaluations of Miller’s subcultural theory?

Answer 31

+Influences ideas of an underclass, Charles Murray

• Marx argues that w/c values are subcultural due to the ruling class control on social instituitions
• focal concerns are based on w/c males and is deterministic

Question 32

What is Cohen’s subcultural theory on C&D?

Answer 32

Cohen believes that crime and deviance occurs as a result of status frustration leading to an alternate status hierarchy due to blocked opportunities.

Question 33

What is status frustration?

Answer 33

Status frustration is a response to educational failure and the inability to achieve status legitimately.

Question 34

What is an alternate status hierarchy?

Answer 34

Alternate status hierarchy is a way of achieving status illegitimately in subcultural groups.
e.g. (social norms ->subcultural norms)
employment->delinquency
obedience to authority->challenging authority
This links to the high percentage of excluded pupils that commit crime.

Question 35

What are the evaluations of Cohen’s subcultural theory of status frustration?

Answer 35

-Merton argues that not all will conform and commit crimes, some will retreat and become ritualists.
-Matza argues that young people drift in and out of deviant behaviours before they conform.
-Only provides an explanation for petty crimes(cloward&ohlin)
+Highlights that w/c can suffer from blocked opportunities which makes them commit crime, evident in society.

Question 36

What is Cloward & Ohlins theory on opportunity subculture?

Answer 36

Cloward & Ohlin believe that subcultures are formed due to the opportunity to commit crime in geographical areas.
-there are different opportunities to commit crime in different areas.
He identified 3 variations of subcultures.

Question 37

What are criminal subcultures?

Answer 37

According to Cloward & Ohlin criminal subcultures are in areas with an existing structure of criminal behaviour.

• mostly utilitarian crimes, young men employed in low level positions
• > those with the right skills and attitudes progressed through the organisations- alternative to legitimate pathways.

Question 38

What are conflict subcultures?

Answer 38

Conflict subcultures are in areas of transition where social organisation was lower and had less social cohesion.Rival gangs with conflict were present.

• the frustration of being unable to succeed is displayed unto ‘others’
• status was awarded for violent and criminal acts towards members of other groups.

Question 39

What are retreatist subcultures?

Answer 39

Retreatist subcultures are subcultures that retreat from social integration due to not fitting into a social norm.

• substance abuse & petty crimes to escape rejection from society
• > evidence of networking through connections with other users but limited opportunities for status
  e. g. gang cultures in low income areas.

Question 40

What are the evaluations of Cloward and Ohlin opportunity subcultures?

Answer 40

• they assume people follow norms and values of society in the first place
• Matza argues that subcultures are a phase of young adulthood.