Subcultural Approach

Question 1

What are the two subcultural theories?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is Cohen’s theory called?

Answer 2

Status frustration

Question 3

What did Cohen believe motivated youth crime?

Answer 3

A desire to achieve status rather than motivated by financial or material gain

Question 4

How does Cohen believe working class youth are viewed (in terms of status)

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What are Cohen’s chain of events that cause young people to behave in a deviant way in pursuit of status?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

What is meant by Cohen’s alternate status hierarchy?

Answer 6

Subcultures invert the values of mainstream society - what society socially condemns the subculture praises

Question 7

For Cohen what is the function of an alternate status hierarchy?

Answer 7

It allows boys to access an alternate status hierarchy in which they can achieve having failed in the legitimate opportunity structure.

Question 8

In evaluation of Cohen, what did Willis study and find?

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

1st general evaluation point of Cohen

Answer 9

Most working c boys did confirm even when they leave school with few qualifications most do not break the law or join gangs

Question 10

What do Marxists say about Cohen’s findings

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

2nd general evaluation point of Cohen

Answer 11

The theory ignores the experience of working class girls, it’s gender blind suggesting that crime and decency are only a male phenomenon

Question 12

What is Cloward and Ohlin’s theory called?

Answer 12

Illegitimate opportunity structures

Question 13

What did C& O conclude in terms of attraction to subcultures

Answer 13

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

Question 14

What is a key difference between Cohen’s and Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?

Answer 14

Cohen does not look at how some youth crime may be influenced by a desire to achieve material success

Question 15

What are c&o’s three type of subcultural group?

Answer 15

Criminal subcultures, territorial gangs and retreatist subcultures

Question 16

Describe a criminal subculture

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Describe a territorial gang

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Describe a retreatist subculture

Answer 18

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)

Question 19

Who’s study was in support of Cloward and Ohlin?

Answer 19

Shaw and McKay

Question 20

What was shaw and Mckay’s study?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Who came up with cultural transmission theory?

Answer 21

Shaw and McKay

Question 22

What is cultural transmission theory?

Answer 22

The idea that some neighbourhoods develop a criminal tradition transmitted from generation to generation

Question 23

Who came up with differential association theory?

Answer 23

Edwin Sutherland

Question 24

What is differential association theory?

Answer 24

The idea that deviant behaviour is learnt through social interactions with others who are deviant

Question 25

Who came up with social dis organisation?

Answer 25

Park and burgess

Question 26

What is coil dos organisation theory?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

An evaluation point of Cloward and Ohlin (in relation to class)

Answer 27

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

Question 28

An evaluation point of Cloward and Ohlin in terms of goals

Answer 28

The assume that crime is a reaction to failure to achieve societies goals, not everyone is motivated by these goals in the first place

Question 29

Who puts forward an alternate theory to Cloward and Ohlin

Answer 29

Miller

Question 30

What does Miller argue

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What are millers focal concerns?

Answer 31

Excessively masculine traits, thrill seeking, being street smart, fatalistic attitudes and autonomous from authority.