Subcultural Theories Flashcards
Who are the 3 main subcultural theorists?
Albert Cohen (1955)
Cloward and Ohlin (1960)
Miller (1962)
What is a subculture?
It is a group within a larger culture with different norms and values
What did Albert Cohen (1955) claim with status frustration?
Building off of Mertons strain theory, he claimes that if we cant reach our cultural goals by insutionalised means, it’ll cause status frustration, which will cause us to seek status from subcultures such as gangs
Why would status frustration lead to people turning to gangs to gain status? (Albert Cohen 1955)
Because gangs have different norms and values, they have different cultural goals to meet
Why do Cloward and Ohlin critise Cohen?
They claim that crime is dependant on oppertunities which are avalible to the sub culture
What are the 3 levels of subculture that Cloward and Ohlin highlight?
Criminal
Conflict
Retreatist
Which theorist found evidence of the 3 subcultures that Cloward and Ohlin outlined?
Nigel South (1997) - Drugs, cultures, controls and everyday life
Uk gangs displayed all three
Who counters all 3 of the traditional subculture theorists?
Matza - ‘delinquency and drift’ (drift theory)
How does Matzas drift theory explain subcultures?
He claims that criminals are simply people who are acting out their subterranean values as they usually show remorse or disapproval of similar actions
How does Simon Winlow’s 2001 study ‘Badfellas’ link to subcultures?
Winlow found that struggles with masculinity are linked to investment in ‘body capital’, which supports Cloward and Ohlins ‘conflict’ subculture
What did Venkatesh (2009) find in his study into gangs in Chicago?
He found evidence of all 3 of Cloward and Ohlins subcultures, but he also found that the orgsnised gangs were very helpful in the community (e.g ran homeless shelters) so were widely ignored by police
What did Phil Cohen (Marxist, 1972) claim caused the formation of subcultures?
He claimed that subcultures were formed as a response to the loss of community and increase of division in society
What did Brake (1980) suggest youth cultures achieve?
He suggested they only provide self satisfaction and not solutions to the problems of society (e.g why the are formed)
What did Bougious (2003) find regarding black subcultures in the US and their focus on the American dream?
He claimed that they may turn to illegitimate means to reach their goal - example of Mertons stain theory and A Cohens Status frustration
How does Status Frustration (Albert Cohen) link to the Gang leader from Vanketeshes research (Gang Leader for a Day - 2002)
The gang leader was degree-educated bur decided to run a gang - could should that legitimate means did not give him status so he turned to crime (illigtimate means)
