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criminology > sociological theories > Flashcards

sociological theories Flashcards

1
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
what is boundary maintenance?

A

crime produces a reaction that unites societies members against a criminal, reminding them of the boundary and reaffirming shared rules

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2
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
what is social change?

A

for society to progress, individuals must challenge existing norms and values, and at first, this will be seen as deviant

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3
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
what is a safety valve?

A

Davis (1937) argues that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustration without threatening the nuclear family

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4
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
what is a warning light?

A

deviance indicates that an institution is not functioning properly; for example, high truancy rate indicate problem with the education system

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5
Q

MERTON’S STRAIN
what are conformists?

A

they achieve society’s goal legitimately

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6
Q

MERTON’S STRAIN
what is innovation?

A

innovators accept the goals, but find illegal ways of achieving it by committing utilitarian crimes

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7
Q

MERTON’S STRAIN
what is ritualism?

A

they give up striving for success

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8
Q

MERTON’S STRAIN
what is retreatism?

A

dropouts who rejected both goals and means

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9
Q

MERTON’S STRAIN
what is rebellion?

A

rebels who reject the existing goals and means, replacing them with new ones with the aims of changing society

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10
Q

SUBCULTURAL
describe cohen’s status frustration

A

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

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11
Q

SUBCULTURAL
criminal subcultures

A

these arise in areas where there is a long-standing professional criminal network

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12
Q

SUBCULTURAL
conflict subcultures

A

these arise where the only criminal opportunities are within street gangs

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13
Q

SUBCULTURAL
retreatist subcultures

A

these are made up of dropouts, who have failed in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structure

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14
Q

INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
no act is…

A

criminal or deviant in itself, it only is when we create rules and apply them to others

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15
Q

INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
to understand criminality, we must…

A

focus on how certain actions and people get labelled as criminals in the first place

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16
Q

INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
differential enforcement of the law

A

interactionists argue that social control agencies (police) label certain groups as criminals

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17
Q

INTERACTIONISM - LABELLING
cicourel (1968) found that

A

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

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18
Q

INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
lemert (1972)

A

argues that labelling is a cause of crime and deviance as being labelled as such means society encourages them to become more so

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19
Q

INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
primary deviance

A

acts that haven’t been publicly labelled

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20
Q

INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
secondary deviance

A

results from labelling

21
Q

INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
as a result of this…

A

offender may be rejected by society, forced into the company of other criminals, join a deviant subculture

22
Q

INTERACTIONISM - SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
extra example

A

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

23
Q

LEFT REALISM
definition

A

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

24
Q

LEFT REALISM
Crime rates are …

A

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

25
Q

LEFT REALISM
Propose to…

A

Reduce crime by making society fairer

26
Q

LEFT REALISM
Lea and Young (1984) - 3 related causes of crime

A

Relative deprivation. Subculture, and marginalisation

27
Q

LEFT REALISM
Relative deprivation definition

A

how deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others

28
Q

LEFT REALISM
2 factors increasing people’s sense of relative deprivation

A
  • 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
29
Q

LEFT REALISM
what does Young (2002) say that there is now also?

A

‘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

30
Q

LEFT REALISM
left realists believe a subculture…

A

Is a groups way of solving the problem of relative deprivation

31
Q

LEFT REALISM
What do some sub cultures do?

A

turn to crime to solve the problem
- criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goal, but as legitimate opportunities are blocked, they resort to crime

32
Q

LEFT REALISM
what do lea and young (1984) say about marginalisation, with an example

A

-marginalised groups lack organisations to represent their interests and lack clearly defined goals
- unemployed youth

33
Q

LEFT REALISM
unlike workers…

A

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

34
Q

LEFT REALISM
instead…

A

they have a sense of powerlessness, frustration, and resentment of injustice, which they express through crime such as violence and rioting

35
Q

MARXISM
they assume

A
  • behaviour is affected by being apart of an unequal, capitalist society
36
Q

MARXISM
ruling class

A
  • bourgeoisie
  • made up of the capitalists
37
Q

MARXISM
working class

A
  • proletariat
  • members are exploited by the ruling class, so they can make profit
38
Q

MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
crime is…

A
  • inevitable in a capitalist society as capitalism is a criminogenic system
39
Q

MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
the ___ of

A
  • exploitation of the working class drives many people into poverty, meaning crime is their resort to survive
40
Q

MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
inequality…

A
  • causes feelings of alienation and frustration, resulting in utilitarian crimes such as violence and vandalism
41
Q

MARXISM - capitalism causes crime
capitalism causes …

A
  • 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
42
Q

MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
marxists…

A
  • see both law making and law enforcement as serving the interests of the capitalist class
43
Q

MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
W…

A
  • 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
44
Q

MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
marxists also state…

A
  • the law is enforced selectively against the working class but not the upper class
45
Q

MARXISM - law making, enforcement biased
white collar…

A
  • crimes and corporate crimes of the rich are less likely to be prosecuted than working class street crimes
46
Q

MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
marxists…

A
  • argue that ideas about crime and law are an ideology - a set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society
47
Q

MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
selective…

A
  • enforcement makes it look like crime is the working class’ fault
48
Q

MARXISM - ideological functions of crime and law
this divides…

A
  • the working class, encouraging workers to blame working-class criminals for their problems, rather than capitalism

criminology (13 decks)

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