lesson 13 : functionalist & new right explanations for deviancy

Question 1

which sociologist focused on socialisation?

Answer 1

talcott parsons

Question 2

what are the two specialised institutions that youth are segregated into?

Answer 2

• education

- training

Question 3

what are the 3 important functions of youth culture?

Answer 3

1. provides support
2. collective solution to problems and provides a sense of power and control
3. can develop stable personalities and adopt adult responsibilities

Question 4

which sociologist conducted research on status frustration?

Answer 4

cohen

Question 5

what is status frustration?

Answer 5

a feeling felt by mainly working class youth. this group tend to have ambitions, but often fail at them. this results in them not gaining the status or respect from society. this leads to them being resentful toward upper classes.

Question 6

why did matza criticise cohens work?

Answer 6

he opposed the idea that delinquents are strongly opposed to mainstream values. his research found that many delinquents actually accepted mainstream values and only occasionally committed crime. delinquents were not fully committed to the criminal subculture like cohen thought they were.

Question 7

what did working class children not care about according to miller?

Answer 7

suggests that they dont care about what the middle class think of them. so, this means delinquency isnt actually a reaction to middle class contempt.

Question 8

give four evaluation points for functionalists viewpoint on deviant subculture.

Answer 8

1. great deal of support and evidence. many studies that support idea of youth and delinquent subcultures such as “american dream” by merton in which people want to be rich and successful. (+)
2. viewpoint is too general and does not look at delinquency in terms of age, class, ethnicity or location. issues are important as youth and culture varies with these factors. eg. research evidence seems to show young males from a white background living in urban areas are more likely to be delinquent. (-)
3. criticised as they imply that youth culture is cut off from rest of society, however not the case. youth part of society and interact with both children and adults. must be taken into consideration when examining youth culture. (+)
4. see delinquent youth culture as having a function. other sociologists would disagree. marxists would focus on conflict and exploitation of youth and that is why they become forced to join delinquent subculture. (-)

Question 9

how do working class children find a sense of belonging according to miller?

Answer 9

join a delinquent gang which provides them with status if they express lower class values

Question 10

according to the new right, what have youths in deviant subcultures not received?

Answer 10

appropriate socialisation into value consensus

Question 11

according to the new right, what are two norms and values that are associated with deviant subcultures?

Answer 11

• dependency

- criminality

Question 12

what is the greatest indicator of criminality according to the new right?

Answer 12

growing up in a single parent household

Question 13

what was willis’ “learning to labour” research?

Answer 13

research about working class males who formed an anti school subculture, dropped out of school and faced problems with employment and their bosses

Question 14

give four evaluation points for new rights viewpoint on deviant subculture.

Answer 14

1. new right agrees with functionalism about idea of “consensus”. both theories agree youths go against social consensus more likely to become delinquent and commit crime. both believe they should be punished as they pose a threat to society. (+)
2. new right emphasises that generous welfare state can increase delinquency and crime rates. however, sweden has generous welfare system but crime rate is extremely low. so, cannot be correct for new right to assume that generous welfare state leads to increased crime rates. others factors need to be considered such as primary socialisation stage. (-)
3. willis “learning to labour” research supports idea of working class boys forming anti-school subcultures. willis found that working class males didnt do well in school and dropped out. had problems in employment and often challenged authority. (+)
4. new right can be supported by labelling theory and interactionist approach as young working class negatively labelled and stereotyped by society. more likely to be seen as problematic and therefore increases chance of being stopped and searched than middle or upper classes. (+)