Subcultural Strain Theory Flashcards
What is status frustration?
The frustration caused by being unable to achieve through legitimate opportunity structures.
E.g school
What is alternative status hierarchy?
Illegitimate opportunity structures based on status that the can use to achieve.
What is criminal subculture?
Areas that have an established criminal culture where the youth are taught by adult career criminals.
What is conflict subculture?
Areas without an established criminal culture have gangs which engage in violence, vandalism and turf wars.
What is retreating subculture?
Those who have failed in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structure retreat from society.
How did AK Cohen criticise Merton’s explanation of deviation?
1) Merton ignores that deviance is committed by groups, especially the youth.
2) Merton ignores non utilitarian crime such as assault and vandalism.
What does AK Cohen focus on?
Deviance among working-class boys. They face anomie in the MC dominated school system. They suffer cultural deprivation, leaving them at the bottom of the social status hierarchy.
What is the evaluation of AK Cohen’s work?
+ explains non utilitarian deviance
+ explains delinquency as a group response not an individual one
- assumes WC boys have the same aspirations as MC from the start when in reality they do not have these aspirations at all
What do Cloward and Ohlin argue?
WC youths are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve ‘money success’.
Not everyone adapts by innovation and committing utilitarian crimes such as theft.
Different subcultures respond in different ways to the lack of legitimate opportunities.
Provide evaluation for C + O’s three subcultures:
- the boundaries are too inflexible, criminals often fit into multiple subcultures.
- Ignores the crimes of the wealthy.
- ignores the wider power structure, including who makes and enforces the law.
+ provides an explanation for different types of WC deviance in terms of different subcultures, which A.K. Cohen does not.
