Functionalist, Strain and Subcultural theories Flashcards
(Durkheim-F) what do functionalists say are the 2 key mechanisms to achieve solidarity
- socialization: instils the shared culture into society’s members so that the have the same norms + values
- social control: conformity to the status quo is rewarded, deviance is punished. this ensures inds behave the way society expects
(Durkheim-F) outline the inevitability of crime
- while functionalists see too much crime as destabilizing society, they also see crime as inevitable + universal - every society has crime in some form
(Durkheim-F) what are the 2 reasons of why crime + deviance is seen in every society
1) not everyone is equally + effectively socialized into the shared norms + values
2) in complex modern societies, there is diversity of lifestyle + values. diff groups develop their own subcultures with their own norms + values which deviate from the mainstream
(Durkheim-F) define anomie
- anomie = when modern societies’ rues governing behaviour become less clear cut
- this is due to the complex + specialised division of labour which weakens the shared culture, resulting in higher levels of deviance
(Durkheim-F) what are Durkheim’s 2 positive functions of crime
- boundary maintenance
- adaption and change
(Durkheim-F) outline boundary maintenance as a positive function of crime
- crime produces a reaction from society - uniting its members and reinforcing shared norms + values
- D says this explains the function of punishment - to reaffirm society’s shared rules + reinforce social solidarity
- e.g. the rituals of the courtroom dramatize the crime + publicly shame the offender, thus discouraging rule breaking
(Durkheim-F) what does Cohen say about boundary maintenance
- the media plays an important role in this ‘dramatization of evil’ in which media coverage of crime often creates ‘folk devils’
(Durkheim-F) outline adaption and change as a positive function of crime
- D says that all change starts with deviance - inds with new ideas/ values mustn’t be suppressed by social control
- initial challenge to any way of living will be seen as deviant
- if those with new ideas are suppressed, society will stagnate and will be unable to make necessary adaptive changes
(Durkheim-F) outline an example of adaption and change as a positive function of crime
- authorities often persecute religious visionaries who talk about a new ‘message’ or value system
- however, in the long run their values may give rise to a new culture + morality
(Durkheim-F) state the repercussions of having too little or too much crime in society
- too much crime: threatens to tear the bonds of society apart
- too little crime: means that society is repressing + controlling its members too much, stifling individual freedom + preventing change
(Durkheim-F) outline other functions of crime
- Davis: prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear fam
- Cohen: deviance acts as a warning that an institution isn’t functioning properly - e.g. high rates of truancy - issue with education system
- society manages + regulates rather than eliminating deviance. e.g. through demonstrations, carnivals, festivals which licence misbehaviour that is unacceptable that in other contexts is punished
(Durkheim-F) what did Erikson talk about
- Erikson developed Durkheim’s idea that crime is inevitable and argues that if it is a positive function, then society is organised to promote deviance
- the true function of agencies like the police is to sustain a certain level of crime rather than to rid society of it
(Durkheim-F) outline AO3 criticisms of Durkheim’s functionalist view of crime
- D doesn’t specify how much deviance is necessary for society - only that is it necessary
- just because crime performs these functions isn’t necessarily why it exists in the first place - e.g. strengthening social solidarity for example
- F ignores the negative functions crime performs - e.g. prostitution may act as a safety valve for men, but it isn’t functional for the illegally trafficked sex worker
- crime doesn’t always promote social solidarity + may have the opposite effect - leading people to become more isolated, e.g. women staying indoors to avoid attacks
(Merton-St) outline Merton’s strain theory
- deviance is the result of strain between 2 things: the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve and what the institutional society allows them to achieve legitimately
- Merton adapted Durkheim’s concept of anomie
(Merton-St) what 2 factors does Merton’s explanation combine
- structural factors: society’s unequal opportunity structure
- cultural factors: strong emphasis on success goals + the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them
(Merton-St) outline an example of a society where strain occurs
the American Dream:
- Americans are expected to pursue this material goal through legitimate means; self-discipline, educational qualifications + hard work in their career
- the ideology of the ‘American Dream’ entails meritocracy where anyone who makes an effort can get ahead + equal opportunity for all
- the reality is that many disadvantage groups are denied opportunities to achieve legitimately - e.g. inadequate schools + discrimination in the job market can block opportunities for EMs + WC
- furthermore, the AD puts emphasis on achieving success at ANY price - this produces frustration/ the strain to anomie leads to committing crime
(Merton-St) outline deviant adaptations to strain
- M says how an individuals position in the social structure affects the way they adapt/ respond to the strain
- there are 5 types of adaptation depending on if an individual accepts/ rejects or replaces approved cultural goals and the legitimate means of achieving them
(Merton-St) what are the 5 types of adaptation
CIRRR
1) Conformity
2) Innovation
3) Ritualism
4) Retreatism
5) Rebellion
(Merton-St) outline conformity as a type of adaptation
- individuals accept the culturally approved goals + strive to achieve them legitimately
- this is mostly among MC individuals who have good opportunities to achieve - Merton sees it as the typical response of Americans
(Merton-St) outline Innovation as a type of adaptation
- individuals give up trying to achieve material success legitimately, so use illegitimate means such as theft or fraud to achieve it
- those at the lower end of the class structure are under the greatest pressure to innovate
(Merton-St) outline Ritualism as a type of adaptation
- individuals give up on trying to achieve material success, but have internalized the legitimate means and so they follow the rules for their own sake
- this is typical of lower-middle class office workers in dead end, routine jobs
(Merton-St) outline Retreatism as a type of adaptation
- individuals reject both the goals + legitimate means and become dropouts
- e.g. psychotics, outcasts, tramps, drug addicts, vagrant (a person without a settled home/ job)
(Merton-St) outline conformity as a type of adaptation
- individuals reject the existing society’s goals + means, but replace them with new ones in a desire to bring about revolutionary change + create a new society
- e.g. political radicals, counter cultures like hippies
(Merton-St) outline AO3 evaluations of Merton + his strain theory
- Merton and his strain theory take official stats at face value, which often overrepresent EMs + WC - so M sees crime as a mainly WC phenomenon
- Marxists: it ignores the power of the ruling class to make + enforce laws to criminalize the poor
- it assumes a value consensus - that everyone strives for material success
- it only accounts for utilitarian crimes for monetary gain, but not crimes of violence, vandalism, state crimes
(Cohen-Sub/St) outline Cohen’s subcultural - strain theory
- they see deviance as the product of a delinquent subculture with different values from those of mainstream society
- they provide an alternative opportunity structure for those who are denied the chance to achieve it by legitimate means (mainly WC)
- subcultures offer a solution + are functional for their members - but not for wider society
- subcultural - strain theories both criticize + build on Merton’s strain theory
(Cohen-Sub) does Cohen agree with Merton on status frustration
- yes, Cohen agrees with Merton that deviance is a largely WC phenomenon resulting from the inability to achieve mainstream success goals through legitimate means - such as educational achievement
- BUT, Cohen criticises Merton’s explanation of deviance on 2 grounds
(Cohen-Sub) what are Cohen’s 2 criticisms of Merton’s explanation of deviance
1) Merton sees deviance as an individual response to strain, which ignores the fact that much deviance is committed in groups, esp amongst the young
2) M focuses on utilitarian (money) crimes committed, like theft or fraud. this ignores crimes such as assault or vandalism which may have no economic motive
(Cohen-Sub) what is Cohen’s own view of status frustration
Cohen:
- he focuses on deviance among WC boys, who face anomie in the MC dominated school setting - they suffer from cultural deprivation
- their inability to succeed leaves them at the bottom of the status hierarchy
- this results in status frustration, in which they resolve their frustration by rejecting mainstream MC values + turning to boys in the same situation, e.g. forming a delinquent subculture
(Cohen-Sub) outline the alternative status heirarchy
- Cohen says that the values of a delinquent subculture are hostile to those outside of it
- the delinquent subculture’s values are vice versa to mainstream - e.g. regular school attendance is values in MS whilst truancy is valued in DS for status
- the subcultures function is that it offers boys an alternative status hierarchy in which they can achieve through their created illegitimate opportunity structure from which they win status
(Cohen-Sub) what is a strength of Cohen’s status frustration theory
- it offers an explanation for non-utilitarian deviance
- unlike Merton, Cohen’s ideas of status frustration, value inversion + alternative status frustration explain non-economic delinquency like truancy
(Merton+Cohen-Sub) what is a limitation of both Merton and Cohen’s status frustration theories
- they both assume that WC boys start off sharing MC mainstream success goals, only to reject them when they fail
- they ignore the possibility that they didn’t share these goals in the first place + so never saw themselves as failure
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) what do Cloward and Ohlin say about subcultures
- like Cohen, Cloward + Ohlin base their ideas off Merton’s ideas
- they agree that WC youth are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve material success + their deviance stems from this
- C+O notes that not everyone in this situation reacts with deviance (innovation) - e.g. some will turn to drugs
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) what do they say different subcultural responses occur
- the key reason isn’t only unequal access to the legitimate opportunity structure (as Merton + Cohen say), but its the unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures
- e.g. different neighbourhoods provide different illegitimate opportunities for young people to learn criminal skills + develop criminal careers
- there are 3 types of deviant subcultures (criminal, conflict, retreatist)
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) name Cloward and Ohlin’s 3 types of deviant subcultures
- criminal subcultures
- conflict subcultures
- retreatist subcultures
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) outline the criminal subculture
criminal subculture:
- this provides youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crime
- they arise in neighbourhoods with a long term + stable criminal culture with an established hierarchy of professional adult crime
- this allows the young to associate with adult criminals who select those with the right abilities to provide them with training for the criminal career ladder
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) outline the conflict subculture
conflict subculture:
- arise in areas of high population turnover
- this results in high levels of social disorganisation + prevents a stable professional criminal network from developing
- this means the only illegitimate opportunities are within loosely organised gangs - in which provide a release for young men’s status frustration
- this subculture is most similar to the one described by Cohen
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) outline the retreatist subculture
retreatist subculture:
- in any neighbourhood, not everyone who aspires to be a professional criminal/ gang leader succeeds - as like in the legitimate opportunity structure, where not everyone achieves a well paid job
- the people who fail to get a well paid job or a professional criminal career turn to a retreatist subculture based on illegal drug use
(Cloward + Ohlin-sub) outline AO3 evaluations of Cloward and Ohlin
- like Merton + Cohen, they agree that most crime is WC, which ignores crimes of the wealthy - their theories over-predict WC crimes
- their 3 types of subcultures are too distinctualized; in reality people belong to more than one of these subcultures - e.g. the drug trade is both the conflict + criminal subcultures
- Miller: the WC has its own independent subculture separate from mainstream culture with its own values, and so wouldn’t feel status frustration from ‘failure’ to meet mainstream norms
(strain) outline recent strain theories
- recent strain theorists argue that young people may pursue a variety of other goals than material success - e.g. popularity among peers, freedom from parents etc
- like earlier strain th. they argue that failure to achieve these goals may result in delinquency and that MC youth also have issues with achieving the mainstream goals, which explains MC delinquency
(Strain) outline the institutional anomie theory
- like Merton, Messner + Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory focuses on the American Dream
- its obsession with material success pressures people towards crime by encouraging an anomic cultural environment where people are pushed to adopt a mindset of achieving material success at any cost which undermines other institutions
- M + R say that in any free market capitalist countries + with weak welfare provisions, like USA, crime is inevitable
(Strain) outline an A02 example of Messner + Rosenfeld’s institutional strain theory
- Savelsberg: found that in post communist countries, such as in Eastern Europe, there was a high rise in the crime rate after the 1989 fall in Communism
- he attributes this rise to Communisms collective values being replaced by new Western capitalist goals of individual material success
