functionalist, strain and subcultural theories (functionalism)

Question 1

in a nutshell

Answer 1

• crime is inevitable in society
• poor socialisation and inequality result in the absence of norms and values being taught
• believe crime is positive for society because it allows boundary maintenance and allows for adaptation and change.

Question 2

what were durkheim’s beliefs about crime and its functions?

Answer 2

1. crime is inevitable
2. crime is positive- ‘boundary maintenance’
3. adaptation and change
4. reaffirming the boundaries
5. changing values
6. social cohesion

Question 3

what were durkheim’s beliefs about the inevitability of crime?

Answer 3

• poor socialisation results in not everyone being taught the same norms and values
• the inevitability of crime stems from the inequality that exists in society

Question 4

what were Durkheim’s beliefs about boundary maintenance?

Answer 4

• crime is positive- ‘boundary maintenance’ is the concept that crime is functional in society when there is the right amount. when people are punished for committing crimes, it teaches the rest of society not to go against norms and values, in turn strengthening boundaries and preventing further crime

Question 5

what were Durkheim’s beliefs about adaptation and change?

Answer 5

• some crimes can be functional for society because it allows social adaptation and change; this means that for society to have norms and values that change as a form of rationalism, criminal acts must take place

Question 6

what were Durkheim’s beliefs about reaffirming the boundaries?

Answer 6

• every time a person breaks the law and is taken to court, resulting in a court ceremony, and publicity in newspapers, it publicly reaffirms the existing values

Question 7

what were durkheim’s beliefs about changing values?

Answer 7

• functional rebels: deviant individuals who help to change the collective conscience and laws based on it, for the better, anticipating and helping to produce changes that will help society function more effectively and fairly

Question 8

what were Durkheim’s beliefs about social cohesion?

Answer 8

• when particularly horrific crimes have been committed, the entire community draws together in a shared outrage, and the sense of belonging to a community is thereby strengthened

Question 9

what is collective conscience?

Answer 9

• society’s conscience- shared beliefs about what was right and wrong. individuals cannot change society’s values at will.

Question 10

what is anomie?

Answer 10

anomie- when there are periods of great social change or stress and the collective conscience becomes unclear. without new norms and values the old ones come under stress and there is the uncertainty of what behaviour should be seen as acceptable

Question 11

what is egoism?

Answer 11

• when the collective conscience becomes too weak to restrain the selfish desires of individuals.
• occurs in industrial societies where there are many specialist jobs so people have very different roles in society.

-soldiers and nurses, for example, have to have very different values to carry out their jobs successfully. if individuals are not successfully socialised to accept collective values, they can end up putting their selfish interests before those of society as a whole and committing crime

Question 12

how does davis agree with durkheim?

Answer 12

• agrees with Durkheim in that crime can be positive, but in a different way.

-he believes prostitution provides positive functions because it allows men to express sexual frustration without threatening the nuclear family

Question 13

what is Merton’s strain theory?

Answer 13

• merton’s ‘ strain theory’ states that crime is caused by the failure to achieve the goals of the American dream through legitimate means.
• did not agree that all aspects of society were always beneficial
• for Merton, crime and deviance were evidence of a poor fit (or a strain) between the socially accepted goals of society and the socially approved means of obtaining those desired goals- the resulting strain led to deviance.

Question 14

what is the status frustration theory?

Answer 14

• cohen
• a sense of personal failure and inadequacy.

Question 15

how can anomie and egoism be countered?

Answer 15

-according to Durkheim, by strengthening the collective conscience, for example, by teaching moral values in education, but when this is not done effectively, crime rates can become excessive, preventing the healthy functioning of society

Question 16

functional vs dysfunctional parts of society

Answer 16

functional:
- helps society to run more smoothly and harmoniously and/or helps the collective aims of society to be achieved (the aims might include economic growth, the reduction of conflict, inequality or poverty, or improving public health).

dysfunctional:
- has the opposite effect, preventing society from running smoothly or making it harder for collective goals to be achieved.

Question 17

Merton- American dream

Answer 17

• argued that all societies set their members certain goals and, at the same time, provide socially approved ways of achieving these goals
• Merton saw the main goals as wealth and power, as represented in ‘The American Dream’
• this claimed that even the poorest had opportunities to reach the highest levels of society.
• Americans believed they could go from log cabins to the white house if they had the talent and were willing to work hard enough

Question 18

Merton- reality of the American dream

Answer 18

• Merton was aware that not everyone had the same opportunity to achieve these goals
• in an unequal, class-based society, those in higher classes had more opportunity to succeed than others
• they had, for example, access to better schools and more wealth to back them if they wanted to start a business.
• Merton believed that the system only worked well as long as there was a reasonable chance that a majority of people were able to achieve their goals
• however, in a very unequal American society, many among the population were unable to achieve the socially set goals, and they became disenchanted with society and sought out alternative (often deviant) ways of behaving
• Merton used Durkheim’s term ‘anomie ‘ to describe this situation

Question 19

what are merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain theory?

Answer 19

1. conformity
2. innovation
3. ritualism
4. retreatism
5. rebellion

Question 20

merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain theory- conformity

Answer 20

• accepting the goals and legitimate means to achieve them
• the individual continues to adhere to both goals and means, despite the limited likelihood of success. this was typical of most people

Question 21

merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain theory- innovation

Answer 21

• subscribe to the goals of the American dream but use illegitimate means to achieve them
• the person accepts the goals of society but uses different ways to achieve those goals; criminal behaviour is included in this response. this was more common in lower social classes because they had less chance of succeeding than higher classes, partly because they did not have the same chances of success in education as middle and upper-class children.
• to Merton, opportunities were genuinely not equal because the better off had advantages over those on lower incomes.

Question 22

merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain theory - ritualism

Answer 22

• reject the goals but conform to the means
• a ritualist is a person who immerses him- or herself in the daily routine and regulations of their job but has lost sight of the goal of material success.
• an example is the bureaucrat who goes through the motions of doing their job but has given up on trying to get promoted or become rich and powerful

Question 23

merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain between goals and means- retreatism

Answer 23

• reject both the goals of the American dream and subscribe to illegitimate means
• the individual fails to achieve success and rejects both goals and means. the person ‘drops out’ and may become dependent upon drugs or alcohol

Question 24

merton’s 5 different behaviours as a result of the strain between goals and means- rebellion

Answer 24

• replace the goals and means with their own
• both socially sanctioned goals and means are rejected, and different ones are substituted. this is the political activist or the religious fundamentalist, who has decided society no longer works well and needs to be radically changed

Question 25

deviant behaviour and the lower classes- merton

Answer 25

• Merton thought that deviant behaviour was particularly common among those from lower classes who were frustrated by their lack of achievement and turned to crime to get money (innovation) or success or who dropped out of the ‘rat race’ (retreatists)

Question 26

deviant behaviour and the upper classes- merton

Answer 26

• there was no upper limit on success in society’s goals- even the well-off could be greedy for more- there were some middle and higher-class criminals too, although they were less common than working-class offenders

Question 27

evaluation of merton

Answer 27

• Valier argues that there are a variety of goals that people strive to attain at any one time. for example, people might prioritise altruism or happy family life or leisure over financial success and power.
• some sociologists such as Taylor, Walton and Young, think that he underestimates the amount of middle and upper-class crime while overestimating working-class crime
• failed to explain crimes that do not produce material reward, and ignored the role of subcultures and illegitimate opportunities in crime and deviance

Question 28

what is a subculture?

Answer 28

• groups within wider social groups whose attitudes, lifestyles and values are shared by the subculture members, and are significantly different from those in wider society.
• this might include, for example, different tastes in music, leisure activities and clothing or different attitudes towards groups of authority
• they do share much in common with others in wider society/culture but they are sufficiently different to be seen by themselves and/or others be a separate subculture

Question 29

what is the illegitimate opportunity structure?

Answer 29

• Cloward and Ohlin

-Suggested that there’s another chance for people to succeed outside of the legal system, known as the “illegitimate opportunity structure.”

• This means that certain social groups have access to a path where illegal activities are seen as a normal way to achieve society’s goals, like earning money, gaining power, or attaining status.
• In places where organised crime exists, such as protection rackets, drug trade, or prostitution, young individuals might view engaging in criminal activities as a way to build a successful career.

Question 30

how did Cloward and Ohlin agree and disagree with Merton?

Answer 30

• agreed with Merton that the lack of opportunity in the legitimate opportunity structure was a cause of crime.
• argued that Merton failed to appreciate that there was a parallel opportunity structure to the legal one, called the illegitimate opportunity structure.

Question 31

Cloward and Ohlin-
3 possible adaptations or subcultures of the illegal opportunity structure

Answer 31

1. criminal
2. conflict
3. retreatist

Question 32

the possible adaptations or subcultures of the illegal opportunity structure- criminal

Answer 32

• In neighbourhoods where there’s a strong group of successful criminals, young people may be drawn to a life of crime because they see others like them who have risen through the ranks and achieved success in the criminal world.
• These role models make a criminal career seem appealing, with the potential for advancement in the criminal hierarchy

-Often recruited when young and if prove to be resourceful they are given further opportunities to take their criminal careers further

Question 33

the possible adaptations or subcultures of the illegal opportunity structure- conflict

Answer 33

• no local criminal subculture to provide a career opportunity but territorial gangs exist which recruit or press-gang young people in the neighbourhood into their service
• these gangs often engage in violence against one another because violence is a means for ‘respect’ or status for young people.
• this respect may be a substitute for qualifications or a well-paid job, either in mainstream employment or in criminal organisations

Question 34

the possible adaptations or subcultures of the illegal opportunity structure- retreatist

Answer 34

• this tends to occur where individuals have no opportunity or ability to engage in either of the two subcultures or to achieve success in legitimate ways.
• they are ‘double failures’ and the result is a retreat into alcohol and drugs, spending their time with others who have dropped out of society in a similar way

Question 35

what is status frustration?

Answer 35

• cohen
• a sense of personal failure and inadequacy.

Question 36

what causes status frustration?

Answer 36

• lower-class boys strove to emulate middle-class values and aspirations, but lacked the means to attain success.
• their upbringing did not equip them to succeed at school, so they found it difficult to get status from exam success
• working-class boys in schools who fail to succeed in middle-class environments, and in turn, form delinquent subcultures that go against middle-class norms and values.
• working-class boys try to succeed within subcultures by trying to rise in the hierarchy, which they have more chance of succeeding in. this explains why people commit non-utilitarian crimes