Subcultural Approach Flashcards
What are the two subcultural theories?
1) Cohen - youths join subcultures as a response to status frustration
2) Cloward & Ohlin - illegitimate opportunity structures& the nature of criminal activities within subcultural groups can vary
What is Cohen’s theory called?
Status frustration
What did Cohen believe motivated youth crime?
A desire to achieve status rather than motivated by financial or material gain
How does Cohen believe working class youth are viewed (in terms of status)
Cohen argues that working class youths are viewed as having a low social status in mainstream society but like everyone else dossiers respect from others
What are Cohen’s chain of events that cause young people to behave in a deviant way in pursuit of status?
1) inadequate socialisation > cultural deprevation & Burnstiens elaborate & restricted code
2) poor experience of schooling > education = tailored towards middle class
3) achievement through deviant activity (status frustration) > anger that they are disrespected by mainstream society so create their own status within a deviant subculture
What is meant by Cohen’s alternate status hierarchy?
Subcultures invert the values of mainstream society - what society socially condemns the subculture praises
For Cohen what is the function of an alternate status hierarchy?
It allows boys to access an alternate status hierarchy in which they can achieve having failed in the legitimate opportunity structure.
In evaluation of Cohen, what did Willis study and find?
Willis conducted a study called ‘learning to labour study’ in which he found working class boys did not have the same goals as middle class boys e.g defined educational failure as success as they wanted jobs in the local car factory and therefore they misbehaved and did not conform in school because they didn’t see the point in qualifications not because they were frustrated.
1st general evaluation point of Cohen
Most working c boys did confirm even when they leave school with few qualifications most do not break the law or join gangs
What do Marxists say about Cohen’s findings
Marxists think that Cohen should ask why boys who have been treated so badly in society do actually conform most of the time to the rules of school and society.
2nd general evaluation point of Cohen
The theory ignores the experience of working class girls, it’s gender blind suggesting that crime and decency are only a male phenomenon
What is Cloward and Ohlin’s theory called?
Illegitimate opportunity structures
What did C& O conclude in terms of attraction to subcultures
They concluded that social organisation particularly in regard to class structures are the main reason why young boys may be attracted to different sub cultures
What is a key difference between Cohen’s and Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?
Cohen does not look at how some youth crime may be influenced by a desire to achieve material success
What are c&o’s three type of subcultural group?
Criminal subcultures, territorial gangs and retreatist subcultures
Describe a criminal subculture
Provide youths with an apprenticeship in utilitarian crime, only occur in neighbourhoods with longstanding and stable criminal culture with an established hierarchy of professional adult crime and the young can associate with these and act as role models
Describe a territorial gang
Neighbourhoods with high population turn overreact on dis organisation and prevent a stable professional criminal network to development. Illegitimate opportunities are available in loosely organised gangs and violence can release frustration at blocked opportunities and to earn status they win turf
Describe a retreatist subculture
Can occur in any neighbourhood. Not everyone who aspires to be a professional criminal or gang lead succeeds - those who fail in doing as are refered to as double failures (those who fail in the legitimate and the illegitimate opportunity structure)
Who’s study was in support of Cloward and Ohlin?
Shaw and McKay
What was shaw and Mckay’s study?
A study in 1942 and they identified that crime was more common in the inner city rather than rural areas and concluded that the characteristics of the inner city enabled criminal activity to occur.
Who came up with cultural transmission theory?
Shaw and McKay
What is cultural transmission theory?
The idea that some neighbourhoods develop a criminal tradition transmitted from generation to generation
Who came up with differential association theory?
Edwin Sutherland
What is differential association theory?
The idea that deviant behaviour is learnt through social interactions with others who are deviant
Who came up with social dis organisation?
Park and burgess
What is coil dos organisation theory?
The idea that social disorganisation (changes e.g rapid population turnover, migration) create instability and disturb family and community structures resulting in no social control over individuals and therefore deviance occurs
An evaluation point of Cloward and Ohlin (in relation to class)
Over focus on the working class crime and ignore crimes of the wealthy - and ignore the fact that some middle class people are involved in gang related crime
An evaluation point of Cloward and Ohlin in terms of goals
The assume that crime is a reaction to failure to achieve societies goals, not everyone is motivated by these goals in the first place
Who puts forward an alternate theory to Cloward and Ohlin
Miller
What does Miller argue
Miller argues that the working class in itself is a subculture which holds values that are in conflict to those of mainstream society and that makes them prone to crime - he calls this focal concern
What are millers focal concerns?
Excessively masculine traits, thrill seeking, being street smart, fatalistic attitudes and autonomous from authority.
