Subcultural Strain Theories Flashcards
Explain Subcultural strain theories ?
-Subcultural strain theories see deviance as the product of a delinquent subculture with different values from those of mainstream society
- They see subcultures as providing an alternative opportunity structure for those who are denied the chance to achieve by legitimate means
-From this point of view , subcultures are a solution to a problem and therefore functional for their members , even if not for wider society
-Subcultural strain theories criticise Merton and build on his theory
How does Cohen criticise Merton on 2 grounds ?
- Merton sees deviance as an individual response to strain , ignoring the fact that much deviance is committed in groups , especially among the young
-Merton focuses on utilitarian crime committed for material gain such as theft or fraud and he largely ignores crimes such as assault and vandalism , which may have no economic motive
Cohen Subcultural strain theory - what did cohen find from focusing on deviance among working class boys ?
-Cohen found that the working class boys were unable to achieve status by legitimate means such as education which resulted in the boys suffering from status frustration
-In Cohens view , they resolve their frustration by rejecting mainstream middle class values and instead turn to other boys in the same situation , forming or joining delinquent subcultures
What does cohen believe is the function of the boys delinquent subcultures ?
Cohen argues that the subcultures function is that it offers the boys an alternative status hierarchy in which they can achieve status from their peers through their delinquent actions
What is a strength of Cohen’s theory ?
One strength of cohen’s theory is that it offers an explanation of non utilitarian deviance , unlike Merton whose concept of innovation only accounts for crime with a profit motive
Cohen’s ideas of status frustration , alternative status hierarchy help to explain non economic delinquency such as vandalism and truancy
What is a Criticism of Cohen’s strain theory similar to Merton ?
-Like Merton , cohen assumes that working class boys start off sharing middle class success goals , only to reject these when they fail , he ignores the possibility that they didn’t share this goals in the first place
What is cloward and ohlin’s view on how deviance stems with working class boys ?
Cloward and Ohlin take mertons idea as their starting point , they agree that working class youths are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve money success and that their deviance stems from the way they respond to this situation.
They not that not everyone in this situation adapts by Turing to innovation but different subcultures respond in different ways
What are the 3 types of deviant subcultures that Cloward and Ohlin believe are as a result of unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures ?
-criminal subcultures
-Conflict subcultures
-Retreatist subcultures
Cloward and Ohlin - Criminal subcultures ?
Criminal subcultures - provide youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crime . They arise only in neighbourhoods with a longstanding and stable criminal culture with an established hierarchy of professional adult crime . This allows the young to associate with adult criminals who can provide them with training and act as role models as well as opportunities for employment on the criminal career ladder
Cloward and Ohlin - Confict subcultures ?
Conflict subcultures - in areas of high population turn over . This results in high levels of social disorganisation and prevents a stable professional criminal network developing . Its absence means that the only illegitimate opportunities available are within loosely organised gangs . In these violence provides a release for young men’s frustration at their blocked opportunities as well as an alternative source of status from winning territory from rival gangs
Cloward and Ohlin - Retreatist subculture ?
Retreatist subculture - in any neighbourhood , not everyone who aspires to be a professional criminal or a gang leader actually success - just as the legitimate opportunity structure where not everyone gets a well paid job ,what becomes of these double failures - those who fail in both the legitimate and the illegitimate opportunities structures , according to cloward and ohlin they may turn to a Retreatist subculture based on illegal drug use
Evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin ?
- their theory over predicts the amount of working class crime
-Like Merton and cohen they too ignore the wider power structure , including who makes and enforces the law
Evaluation (criticism ) of cloward and ohlin’s theory by South ?
South believes they draw the boundaries far too closely between the different types of subcultures .
For example , south found that the drug trade is a mixture of both disorganised crime like the conflict subculture and also professional mafia style criminal subcultures
In cloward and ohlin’s theory it would not be possible to belong to more than one of these subcultures
Miller criticism of strain theories ?
Miller agues that the lower class have their own independent subculture apart from mainstream culture , with their own values . This subculture doesn’t value success in the first place so its members are not frustrated by failure.
How does miller argue that working class deviance is high ?
Although Miller argues deviance is widespread in the lower classes , he argues that this arises out of an attempt to achieve their own working class goals not mainstream ones.
