sociological theories Flashcards
FUNCTIONALISM
what is boundary maintenance?
crime produces a reaction that unites societies members against a criminal, reminding them of the boundary and reaffirming shared rules
FUNCTIONALISM
what is social change?
for society to progress, individuals must challenge existing norms and values, and at first, this will be seen as deviant
FUNCTIONALISM
what is a safety valve?
Davis (1937) argues that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustration without threatening the nuclear family
FUNCTIONALISM
what is a warning light?
deviance indicates that an institution is not functioning properly; for example, high truancy rate indicate problem with the education system
MERTON’S STRAIN
what are conformists?
they achieve society’s goal legitimately
MERTON’S STRAIN
what is innovation?
innovators accept the goals, but find illegal ways of achieving it by committing utilitarian crimes
MERTON’S STRAIN
what is ritualism?
they give up striving for success
MERTON’S STRAIN
what is retreatism?
dropouts who rejected both goals and means
MERTON’S STRAIN
what is rebellion?
rebels who reject the existing goals and means, replacing them with new ones with the aims of changing society
SUBCULTURAL
describe cohen’s status frustration
Cohen (1955) agrees with Merton that deviance results from the lower classes’ failure to achieve by legitimate means.
however, he sees subcultural deviance as a group response rather than an individual one. he focuses on non-utilitarian crimes, such as
vandalism
SUBCULTURAL
criminal subcultures
these arise in areas where there is a long-standing professional criminal network
SUBCULTURAL
conflict subcultures
these arise where the only criminal opportunities are within street gangs
SUBCULTURAL
retreatist subcultures
these are made up of dropouts, who have failed in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structure
INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
no act is…
criminal or deviant in itself, it only is when we create rules and apply them to others
INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
to understand criminality, we must…
focus on how certain actions and people get labelled as criminals in the first place
INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
differential enforcement of the law
interactionists argue that social control agencies (police) label certain groups as criminals
INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
cicourel (1968) found that
police us typifications of the ‘typical delinquent’
- working class and ethnic minority youth are likely to fit the typification and be stopped, arrested, and charged
INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
lemert (1972)
argues that labelling is a cause of crime and deviance as being labelled as such means society encourages them to become more so
INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
primary deviance
acts that haven’t been publicly labelled
INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
secondary deviance
results from labelling
INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
as a result of this…
offender may be rejected by society, forced into the company of other criminals, join a deviant subculture
INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
extra example
prison - offender excluded from normal society and placed with others who confirm their criminal identity, providing them with a role model and teach them criminal skills
LEFT REALISM
definition
Left wing, socialist political outlook and see inequality in capitalist society as the root cause of crime. The main victims are the disadvantaged groups (working-class, ethnic minorities and women
LEFT REALISM
Crime rates are …
Highest in areas there are higher where levels of unemployment and deprivation. This is evidence that the police take crimes against these groups less seriously
LEFT REALISM
Propose to…
Reduce crime by making society fairer
LEFT REALISM
Lea and Young (1984) - 3 related causes of crime
Relative deprivation. Subculture, and marginalisation
LEFT REALISM
Relative deprivation definition
how deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others
LEFT REALISM
2 factors increasing people’s sense of relative deprivation
- media pumps messages out urging people to aspire having materialistic possessions, promoting what young calls a culture hooked on Gucci, BMW Nikes’
- society is Becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits unemployment job insecurity and low pay
LEFT REALISM
what does Young (2002) say that there is now also?
‘Relative deprivation downwards’: People who are better off feel resentment against those who are worse off. 
May explain hate crimes against powerless groups such as asylum seekers
LEFT REALISM
left realists believe a subculture…
Is a groups way of solving the problem of relative deprivation
LEFT REALISM
What do some sub cultures do?
turn to crime to solve the problem
- criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goal, but as legitimate opportunities are blocked, they resort to crime
LEFT REALISM
what do lea and young (1984) say about marginalisation, with an example
-marginalised groups lack organisations to represent their interests and lack clearly defined goals
- unemployed youth
LEFT REALISM
unlike workers…
who have clear goals and organisations to give voice to their grievances (i.e trade unions), jobless youths have no clear goals or any organisations to represent them
LEFT REALISM
instead…
they have a sense of powerlessness, frustration, and resentment of injustice, which they express through crime such as violence and rioting
MARXISM
they assume
- behaviour is affected by being apart of an unequal, capitalist society
MARXISM
ruling class
- bourgeoisie
- made up of the capitalists
MARXISM
working class
- proletariat
- members are exploited by the ruling class, so they can make profit
MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
crime is…
- inevitable in a capitalist society as capitalism is a criminogenic system
MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
the ___ of
- exploitation of the working class drives many people into poverty, meaning crime is their resort to survive
MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
inequality…
- causes feelings of alienation and frustration, resulting in utilitarian crimes such as violence and vandalism
MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
capitalism causes …
- crime among the capitalists themselves
- dog eat dog system and the profit motive promotes greed
- encourages them to commit corporate crimes (tax evasion) to gain an advantage
MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
marxists…
- see both law making and law enforcement as serving the interests of the capitalist class
MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
W…
- William Chambliss (1975)
- laws are made to protect the private property of the rich
- laws against the homeless of squatting in empty houses , but none about the rich owning several houses
MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
marxists also state…
- the law is enforced selectively against the working class but not the upper class
MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
white collar…
- crimes and corporate crimes of the rich are less likely to be prosecuted than working class street crimes
MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
marxists…
- argue that ideas about crime and law are an ideology - a set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society
MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
selective…
- enforcement makes it look like crime is the working class’ fault
MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
this divides…
- the working class, encouraging workers to blame working-class criminals for their problems, rather than capitalism
