Functionalist explanations of crime Flashcards
How does Erikson say that social control is enforced?
Members of a community will participate in confrontations with a deviant person, which could be in the form of public degredation ceremonies
What is Davis’s fourth function of crime (the first 3 were created by durkheim)
it’s role as a safety valve (an outlet for tension to prevent worse deviance being commited)
Durkheims ideas about anomie in society have been very influential, but he doesnt explain:
- why people commit crime
- why some people commit more crimes than others
- why deviant people are deviant in different ways
Durkheim saw crime as an integral part of functioning society:
- some crime and deviance was inevitable
- teaches people how to function harmoniously
value consensus and durkheim
value consensus is vital for society to function effectively and for social order to be maintianed. If this does not occur then society will remain in a state of anomie , which is damaging for society
social solidarity
refers to the sense of cohesion felt in society. Certain events can promote this:
- royal weddings/births
- football world cup
- olympics
Merton strain theory
There are goals and there are clearly defined means to achieve them
- 5 modes of adaptation
Cloward and Ohlin - illigitimate opportunity structure
- deviance is a problem a reaction to problems in achieving the values of mainstream culture
- cant achieve high value goods legitimately so improvise/innovate
- crime is not available to all youths so they turn to violence
,.,,,,
Miller - ‘focal concerns’
- w/c have their own ‘focal concerns’ eg excitement
- can lead to deviant behaviours
- differs from middle class
- could explain difference in offending rates
Winlow - Badfellas
modern era- sunderlands youth pushed towards violence as they had no access to organised crime or legitimate means
postmodern era - young w/c men find themselves asserting masculinity in other ways as traditional means decline
