sociological theories - exam questions

Question 1

describe how one SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY accounts for criminality (6 MARKS)

Answer 1

• marxism is a sociological theory which suggests that capitalism is the main cause of crime
• marxists believe that there is an unequal society between the bourgeoisie upper class and the proletariat lower class
• the bourgeoisie oppress the proletariats which leads them to turn to crime to retaliate and express their anger, as well as trying to get what they want
• the bourgeoisie gain more power and get richer whereas the proletariat are oppressed and taken advantage of
• the bourgeoisie commit white collar crime to earn money and stay in power and the proletariat resort to petty crime, like vandalism, to try and express their anger towards being oppressed by the bourgeoisie
• the bourgeoisie use crime as a way to stay in power and having social control by convicting proletariats of such small offences and giving harsh sentences to show the bourgeoisie are in control

Question 2

evaluate the effectiveness of one SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY in explaining the causes of criminality (6 MARKS)

Answer 2

• marxism suggests capitalism is the main cause of crime
• not all upper class people oppress the working class so marxism is very stereotypical and assumes all upper class treat working class the same
• society is built around the ruling class and is made to keep them rich and in power which is supported by the fact people in power come from upper class families in modern day society
• most crimes are also committed by working class which suggests marxists are right about them being oppressed and resulting to crime
• marxism only talks about what causes crime and not treatments for crime
• marxism highlights how the law reflects differently in power between the classes and how inequality in society can lead to crime
• marxism doesnt take other social factors into account like gender or ethnicity when explaining crime and only talks about social class

Question 3

describe BECKER’S theory of criminality (6 MARKS)

Answer 3

• Becker is a labelling theory sociologist that believes in interactionism
• Interactionists believe that labelling is the cause of criminality
• Labelling theorists argue that people become to identify and behave based upon how people label them
• Labelling theorists claim that what makes an act criminal, or deviant is the way society responds to it
• Becker argues that labelling things and society’s reaction to criminals can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, therefore creating a ‘career criminal’
• When someone is labelled as a criminal, that becomes their ‘master’ or main label and they are seen as a criminal rather than someone’s mother, daughter, etc.
• Becker also argues that agents of social control, e.g. police and judges, use selective judgement in deciding whether and how to deal with criminal behaviour
• Police operate with pre-existing conceptions/bias and stereotypes, which influence how they deal with crime they come across

Question 4

evaluate BECKER’S theory of criminality (6 MARKS)

Answer 4

• Labelling theorists argue that people become to identify and behave based upon how people label them
• Labelling theorists claim that what makes an act criminal, or deviant is the way society responds to it
• Becker argues that labelling things and society’s reaction to criminals can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, therefore creating a ‘career criminal’
• Becker argues that agents of social control use selective judgement in deciding whether and how to deal with criminal behaviour
• Becker’s theory is valid as it highlights the negative effects that labelling can have on people as well as highlighting the problems within law enforcement such as police bias
• The weaknesses of Becker’s theory are that not every criminal has a “criminal” label when they first offend, for example, like the James Bulger killers
• It is also unethical and immoral to label someone as “criminal” or any other negative label as this leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy which then leads to criminal behaviour
• Becker’s theory also doesn’t into account the fact that someone who has been labelled a criminal might not stick with the criminal career path and may try and change their ways