functionalist, strain and subcultural theories

Question 1

what is Durkheim’s view on society?

Answer 1

crime is an inevitable part of society; not everyone is socialised correctly into the shared norms and values of society (value consensus), modern societies have a complex division of labour which leads individuals to become increasingly different and have different views - this weakens the shared collective conscience and thus results in a higher level of deviance

Question 2

what are the positive functions of crime?

Answer 2

boundary maintenance and adaptation and change

Question 3

what is boundary maintenance?

Answer 3

crime unites its members and reinforces the shared norms and values; this may be done through the rituals of the courtroom by publicly shaming the wrongdoer and stigmatising them

Question 4

what is adaptation and change?

Answer 4

all change starts with an act of deviance; in order to challenge and change existing norms at first, behaviour will appear deviant e.g religious visionaries

Question 5

overall, what are functionalist views on crime and deviance?

Answer 5

too much crime threatens social stability but too little crime means that society is repressing and controlling its members

Question 6

what does Davis argue?

Answer 6

prostitution acts as a safety valve that enables men to release their sexual frustration without threatening the monogamous nuclear family

Question 7

What does Cohen argue?

Answer 7

acts as a warning that an institution isn’t functioning properly e.g if there are high rates of truancy at school, there must be a problem with the education system and policy makers need to make a change

Question 8

what does Erikson argue?

Answer 8

society is organised to promote deviance e.g young people are able to ‘sow their wild oats’ and so given leeway to cope with the transition from childhood to adulthood

Question 9

what are FOUR criticisms of Durkheim’s view?

Answer 9

• Durkheim argues that a certain amount of deviance is needed for society to succeed but he offers no way of knowing what the right amount is
• they argue that crime strengthens social solidarity but this doesn’t mean crime has the intention of doing so
• they argue that crime benefits society as whole but this idea is too vague
• crime doesn’t always lead to social solidarity and instead may lead to people becoming isolated

Question 10

what is Merton’s strain theory?

Answer 10

deviance is a result of a strain between the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve and what society allows them to achieve

Question 11

what is the american dream?

Answer 11

puts emphasis on educational success, wealth and the nuclear family; implies that society is a meritocratic one so anyone should be able to achieve this dream by legitimate means
however, poverty and inadequate schooling prevents individuals from achieving this dream and the strain to achieve may lead to frustration and creates a pressure to deviate

Question 12

what are the FIVE ways individuals adapt to the strain to achieve?

Answer 12

• conformity; individuals accept the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately
• innovation; individuals accept the goal of money success but strive to achieve them by illegitimate means (theft)
• ritualism; individuals give up on trying to achieve the goals but have internalised the legitimate means
• retreatism; individuals reject the goals and the legitimate means
• rebellion - individuals reject both the goals and legitimate means and instead create their own goals (hippies)

Question 13

what are FOUR criticisms of Merton’s view?

Answer 13

• deterministic; although the working class experience the most strain, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they all deviate
• assumes that society is based on a value consensus; not all individuals strive for money success
• only accounts for utilitarian crime
• ignores the role of group deviance

Question 14

how does Cohen critique Merton?

Answer 14

• Merton views deviance as individuals response to strain which ignores group deviance
• only focuses on utilitarian crimes

Question 15

what does Cohen say about status frustration?

Answer 15

focuses on deviance among working class boys; argues that they face anomie in the middle class dominated school system - the inability to achieve due to cultural deprivation means that they are unable to achieve status within the education system and as a result, they reject mainstream values and turn to boys in a similar position to them in order to gain status from somewhere else

Question 16

what is alternative status hierarchy?

Answer 16

instead of upholding regular school attendance and respecting property in the delinquent subculture, boys truant a lot and vandalise property in order to gain alternative status

Question 17

what are Cloward and Ohlin’s three subcultures?

Answer 17

• criminal subcultures - arise in neighbourhoods with a stable criminal culture, teaches youths how to commit utilitarian crimes
• conflict subcultures - arises in areas with high population turnover, meaning that there are high levels of social disorganisation and prevents a stable criminal network from developing (e.g. loosely organised gangs)
• retreatist subcultures - based on illegal drug use for those who fail to achieve both by legitimate and illegitimate means

Question 18

what are FOUR criticisms of Cloward and Ohlin (Miller, Matza)?

Answer 18

• assumes that delinquent subcultures form from individual failure to achieve mainstream goals but this is likely not the case
• they argue that individuals can only belong to one subculture but individuals may obtain characteristics of more than one of the subcultures
• Miller argues that the working class have their own independent subculture and thus don’t value success in the first place
• Matza argues that delinquents merely drift between delinquency

Question 19

what is Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory?

Answer 19

high crime rates are inevitable; they argue that America’s obsession with money success exerts pressure towards crime by encouraging an anomic cultural environment in which individuals are encouraged to adopt an anything goes mentality in the pursuit of wealth

Question 20

What were the THREE findings from the Chicago school?

Answer 20

• cultural transmission theory; some neighbourhoods form a criminal culture that is transmitted form generation to generation
• differential association theory - deviant behaviour is learnt through social interaction by someone who is deviant
• social disorganisation theory - social instability leads to deviance (cost of living crisis)