Functionalist Theories Flashcards
5 reactions to strain
conformity, ritualism, retreatism, innovation and rebellion
which theorists are associated with the safety valve theory of criminality?
Davis + Moore
3 subcultures
status frustration, focal concerns, illegitimate opportunity
4 social bonds which prevent people from committing crime
belief, attachment, involvement and commitment
focal concerns sociologist
miller
2 examples of w/c focal concerns
excitement and fate
utilitarian crime
a crime that gets rewarded
durkheim mean by anomie
a breakdown in social norms or when social change happens
example Polsky gave to help explain the idea of crime being a safety valve
accessing pornography can prevent more serious sexual crimes
safety valve
some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can prevent more serious crimes
4 Positive functions of crime
- Boundary Maintenance and Social Cohesion
- Adaptation and Change
- Warning Sign
- Safety Valve
Function 1: Boundary Maintenance and Social Cohesion - Durkheim
reinforce what is acceptable behaviour in society as the public nature of the punishments show people what will happen for breaking the rules
Function 2: Adaptation and Change - Durkheim
some social deviance is necessary to allow society to move forward and progress, without some deviant and criminal behaviour society will become stagnant and die
Function 3: Warning Sign - Cohen
an increase in a certain type of crime or deviant behaviour can be an indication that something in society is not functioning as it should be and a change needs to occur
Function 4: Safety Valve - Davis/Polsky
some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can prevent larger more serious crimes e.g. Polsky suggests that accessing pornography can prevent more serious sexual crimes
Evaluation of positive functions
- Marxism = ignores the role that the powerful have in shaping what is criminal and deviant as well as the role of social inequality
- Durkheim = ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims instead focuses on the impact on society
- Doesn’t quantify how much crime is beneficial to society
- Crime doesn’t always lead to solidarity, can lead to isolation
Merton’s Strain Theory (American Dream)
crime is a response to the strain placed on people to achieve the goals and values of society
Merton’s Strain Theory (American Dream)
Evaluation
- over exaggerates the importance of monetary success
- underestimates the amount of crime committed by those who have achieved societal goals
- doesn’t explain why groups choose the response they do
- fails to explain non-utilitarian crime
Sub-Cultural Theories: Status Frustration (Cohen)
young people get frustrated by their inability to achieve social goals which lead to status to turn to crime to achieve status
EVALUATION:
- Willis = w/c boys do not share same ideas of status as m/c boys
- Only discusses youth crime
Sub-Cultural Theories: Illegitimate Opportunity (Cloward and Ohlin)
Criminal subcultures = socialise young people into criminal activity
Conflict subcultures = little social cohesion
Retreatist subcultures = who fail to gain access to the other two
EVALUATION:
- Assumes official stats are accurate
- Over exaggeration of criminal opportunities to the young
Sub-Cultural Theories: Focal Concerns (Miller)
w/c have a different set of values or FC to the rest of society which include hyper masculinity which can lead to criminal behaviour appearing normal
EVALUATION:
- not all w/c are criminals
- Matza = sub culture membership is often short lived
Control Theory: Hirschi
asks not why people commit crime but why they don’t commit crime, strong bods with society stops people from committing crime
Control Theory: Hirschi
EVALUATION
- Assumes all people are naturally bad and it is society that keeps people good
- Doesn’t explain why the bonds are weak or strong, or how they become so
- You can have strong bonds but still be deviant
