Functionalist, Strain and Subcultural Theories Flashcards
Who is the main Functionalist Sociologists?
Durkheim
What are Durkheim’s two positive functions of crime? What do they mean?
Boundary maintenance
- Reaffirms societies shared values
Adaption and Change
- Deviant acts can contribute to societal advancement
What does Davis argue about prostitution?
It acts as a safety valve for mens sexual frustration without threatening the monogamy of the nuclear family
What does Polsky argue about pornography?
It channels desires away from things such as adultery that threatens the monogamy of the nuclear family
What does Erikson argue about social control agencies?
They promote a maintain a certain level of deviance within society
Why does society maintain and regulate deviance according to Functionalists?
It acts a venting system for those discontented in society
How is Functionalism criticised?
It doesn’t state who deviance is functional for. Murder creates solidarity between people but also kills one
What are the two elements in Merton’s strain theory?
- Structural factors
- Cultural factors
What is Merton’s key trigger of strain?
The strain between what culture wants people to achieve and what the system legitimately will let them achieve
What’s Merton’s key example of strain theory? Why?
The American Dream, they’re told America is meritocratic but things such as discrimination and inadequate schooling reduces the meritocracy in society.
What are Merton’s five adaptions to strain?
- Conformity - People achieve things through the allowed means
- Innovation - People achieve things through illegitimate means such as fraud
- Ritualism - People internalise the legitimate means but give up on success, dead end jobs
- Retreatism - Individuals reject both the means and goals of achievement, dropouts
- Rebellion - Individuals reject the goals and means but adopt new ones, revolutionary ones
Why is Merton’s use of crime statistics criticised?
They’re taken at face value which means the working-class are over emphasised
How do Marxists criticise Merton?
They argue it ignores the power of the bourgeoisie
How is Merton’s use of value consensus criticised?
It assumes there is one present in society
How is Merton’s use of Utilitarian crimes criticised?
He only uses utilitarian crimes, ignoring white-collar crimes
How is Merton’s use of individuals adaption criticised?
It ignores group deviance such as delinquent subcultures
Who proposed Status Frustration?
K. Cohen
How does K. Cohen criticise Merton?
- Merton sees deviance as individual, Cohen points out it’s committed by groups
- Merton focuses on utilitarian crime, whereas things such as vandalism and assault may have no economic motive
What class and gender is K.Cohens status frustration directed at?
Working-class boys
What are the values of the alternative status hierarchy?
The inverse of mainstream society
According to K. Cohen, what do boys create that allows them to fulfil aspects of the alternative status hierarchy?
Illegitimate opportunity structure
What is an advantage of K. Cohen’s status frustration theory?
It offers an explanation of non-utilitarian deviance
What is a disadvantage of K. Cohen’s status frustration theory that’s shared with Merton’s strain theory?
It assumes that working-class boys start off with the same goals as middle-class boys
Who proposed the three subcultures?
Cloward and Ohlin
Why does Cloward and Ohlin argue different subcultural responses occur?
Unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures
What are the three subcultures proposed by Cloward and Ohlin?
- Criminal
Longstanding criminal order, youths become apprentices - Conflict
High population turnover, no established crime hierarchy - Retreatist
‘Double failures’ that suck at both legit and illegit opportunities, junkies.
Why is Cloward and Ohlin’s use of the working-class criticised?
It over-predicts working-class crime
How would a Marxist criticise Cloward and Ohlin?
It ignores the wide power structure in society
What’s an advantage of Cloward and Ohlin’s explanation for working-class deviance?
It distinguishes between the types by placing them into subcultures
How does South’s research into the drug trade criticise Cloward and Ohlin?
He found that the drug trade consists of all three, kingpins, henchmen and users. People can be more than one on the hierarchy but in Cloward and Ohlin’s theory they could only belong to one
What have strain theories been called? Why?
Reactive theories, they explain subculture formation as a result of the failure to achieve mainstream success
How are reactive theories criticised?
They assume everyone starts with the same goals
What did Messner and Rosenfeld propose? What does this refer to?
Institutional anomie theory, it focuses on how deviance is inevitable in free-market capitalism because it’s an ‘anything goes’ mentality
How does Savelsberg (1995) support Messner and Rosenfield?
Post-communist societies in Europe saw a rise in crime rates due to the replacement of communist values with western ones
