sociological theories Flashcards
functionalism
everything in society has its function even crime
how does society work according to functionalism?
society works best when everyone follows the social norms
socialisation in functionalism
norms need to reinforced
you need to be socialised to avoid crime
the less socialised you are the more likely to be anti-social
learn through family
law reinforces values
collective conscience in functionalism
a collective conscience is shared in society but criminals do not share the same values
what happens when proper socialisation does not occur
an anomie will occur (moral confusion)
crime is inevitable what does that mean?
too much crime is bad
no crime means society won’t develop
how does crime affect society?
adaption and change
boundary maintenance
‘safety valve’
what does functionalism not give?
does not explain why crime happens
strain theory
based on the American dream
what are the 5 strategies developed when looking at strain theory?
conformity
innovation
ritualism
retreatism
rebellion
conformity
comply to the rules and use legitimate means to achieve goals
innovation
develop illegitimate means which leads to deviance or crime
ritualism
going by rules but not expecting to succeed
retreatism
giving up on goals
rebellion
giving up on mainstream goals and creating their own
American dream and strain theory
everyone wants to succeed and do better creating competition and strain
what is Marxism
looks at the society and social class division
bourgeoisie
the ruling class
what are the 2 class divisions
bourgeoisie
proletariat
proletariat
the working class
what are the 3 explanations of crime for Marxism
capitalism is criminogenic
selective law making and enforcement
ideological function of the law/state
capitalism is criminogenic
inequality and poverty causes vandalism as well as creating envy and greed
selective law making and enforcement
law reflects the ruling classes the higher classes are under-policed and the lower classes are over-policed
ideological function of the law/state
ideological status appears and defined by ruling class means social control so benefits themselves
labelling theory
looks at why actions are deviant not why groups commit crimes
what are the 3 main consequences of labelling
deviancy amplification (crime increases by public reaction)
self-fulfilling prophecy (expecting someone being criminal can push them to do it)
deviant careers and ‘master status’
deviant careers and ‘master status’ steps
1) public labelling can lead to social rejection
2) may encourage further deviance
3) accepting label - deviant career may emerge
4) the label can become a master status and may ignore others not in a deviant group
right realism
supports capitalist views and believe crime is due to people and aim to make crime harder to commit
what are right realisms explanation of crime
biological factors
socialisation
rational choice
solutions for crime according to right realism
situational crime prevention
environmental crime prevention
target hardening
zero tolerance
biological factors (right realism)
blame the individual and blame crime as a mix of biological and social factors
socialisation (right realism)
blames the lower classes for not socialising their children properly
rational choice (right realism)
people think rationally about why they commit crimes so criminals foresee little risk of being caught and weak punishments
left realism
blames society to be divided by capitalism
what are the 3 explanations of crime? (left realism)
relative deprivation
marginalism
subculture
relative deprivation (left realism)
crime is caused by poverty itself due to the media people can see just how poor they are and can lead to resentment
marginalism (left realism)
certain groups find themselves on the edge of society and may feel powerless
subculture (left realism)
groups in society possess their own values so they may form a deviant subculture
2 main solutions (left realism)
intervention
community based approaches
