socioloigcal theories

Question 1

what are the functionalist theories?

Answer 1

• Morton’s strain theory
• cohens status frustration
• Durkheims functionalist theory

Question 2

Merton’s strain theory

Answer 2

• society encourages us to subscribe to the goals of materialistic successes but society is unable to provide the legitimate means for us all to achieve such successes
• working class people more likely to be denied these benefits, blocked opportunities
• experience feelings of strain and frustration
• response may lead to criminality to reach goals

Question 3

If people cannot achieve their goals according to mertons strain theory, what do they do?

Answer 3

• confirm and accept the situation and don’t commit crime
• innovate by adopting non-conventional or criminal ways to gain material success
• become ritualistic, where sight of goals is lost
• become retreatists, drop out of conventional society
• become rebels, who set alternative, opposing goals rather than those promoted by society

Question 4

Cohens status frustration

Answer 4

• agrees with Merton that deviance results from lower classes’ failure to achieve by legitimate means
• most working class boys end up at the bottom of the schools status hierarchy.
• teachers may think of them being thick and out them in lower sets
• suffer from status frustration = feelings of worthlessness
• win respect from peers by committing crime

Question 5

Durkheims functionalist theory

Answer 5

• crime is inevitable, some individuals inadequately socialised and likely to deviate
• provides four important functions =
  1. boundary maintenance - crime reminds people of the boundary between what is right and wrong
  2. social change -for society to progress, existing norms and values must be challenged
  3. Safety valve - acts such as prostitution allow men to release their sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family
  4. Warning light - deviance indicated that society isn’t functioning properly

Question 6

Marxism - capitalism causes crime

Answer 6

• unequal structure of capitalist society shapes people’s behaviour
• crime is inevitable as working class exploitation drives people into poverty, commit crime to survive
• capitalism constantly pushes consumer good at people through advertising, theft to attain them
• inequality between classes causes feelings of frustration
• capitalism is a dog-eat-dog system and the profit motive promotes greed, commit white collar crimes
• assumes that the disadvantaged social class is a primary cause of crime and criminal behaviours begins in youth

Question 7

Marxism - law making + enforcement

Answer 7

• laws serve the interest of the capitalist class and that law is enforced selectively
• white collar and corporate crimes less likely to be prosecuted compared to working class crimes
• out of 200 companies who had broken safety laws, arson found that only three were prosecuted
• bhopal disaster

Question 8

Interactionism - labelling

Answer 8

• refers to how people in society interact with one another
• once a behaviour has been labelled as deviant/criminal,the person starts to view themselves as criminal
• becomes ‘master status’, can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
  -start to internalise the label and begin behaving in a way that mirror the label
• media can contribute, demonise people creating moral panic, deviance amplifications, can lead to stereotyping

Question 9

Left realism

Answer 9

• inequality as main cause of crime, reduced if fairer
• relative deprivation = how deprived someone feels compared to others.Lea and Young argue two factors increase it: the media (continually pumping out messages of urging to aspire to material possessions) and society (becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits, unemployment)
• subculture = criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goals but because legitimate opportunities blocked, resort to crime, discriminated against due to poor education e.g.
• marginalisation = marginalised groups in society often feel powerless, resentment and frustration = expressed through crime such as violence or rioting

Question 10

Right realism - biological factors

Answer 10

• biological differences make some individuals more likely to commit crime, personality traits are linked to crime e.g. aggressiveness, risk-taking are innate

Question 11

Right realism - inadequate socialisation + underclass

Answer 11

• effective socialisation can reduce chances of someone offending by teaching self control and correct values
• see nuclear family as the best for socialisation
• being undermined by generous welfare benefits
• welfare dependency = underclass who fail to socialise children properly
• absent m father means boys lack discipline, turn to delinquent role models
• young men gain status through crime

Question 12

Right realism - offending is a rational choice

Answer 12

• committing crime is a choice based on rational calculation of the consequences: basically, weighing risks and costs against the rewards and benefits
• if rewards outweigh the risks and don’t expect a severe punishment, likely to offend

Question 13

Right realism components

Answer 13

• biological factors
• inadequate socialisation + the underclass
• offending is a rational choice
• best way to tackle crime is through punishment rather than tackling causes

Question 14

Left realism - components

Answer 14

• inequality of capitalist society is cause
• relative deprivation
• subcultures
• marginalisation