Subcultural Theories of Crime

Question 1

What does Merton argue about status frustration?

Answer 1

It is when individuals are culturally deprived/ fail school, resulting in low status.
They can’t achieve their goals through legitimate means.

Question 2

Explain how Willis’ Learning to Labour study is an example of status frustration.

Answer 2

They had status frustration and were ‘delinquents’ (broke rules, challenged authority) to gain social capital since they couldn’t achieve status through getting a good job.

Question 3

Explain Cohen’s reaction formation.

Answer 3

Reaction to being disadvantaged is to reject mainstream norms and values and replace them with their own.

Question 4

Give examples of reaction formation (Cohen).

Answer 4

Replacing the idea of working hard for future gain with immediate gratification.
Normalising carrying knives/ distrusting police.

Question 5

Weakness of Cohen’s theory - Lyng and Katz

Answer 5

Crime is more likely due to boredom/ seeking a buzz, not due to a conscious choice that if mainstream society deem it unacceptable that it’d be praiseworthy in their subculture.

Question 6

Weakness of Cohen’s theory - Ignores women

Answer 6

States it’s relating to w/c boys but makes few links to either social class/ gender.
When Cohen was writing (1950s), surely girls would be the ones forming deviant subcultures as they would be frustrated by low status.

Question 7

Strength of Cohen’s theory - Adds to Merton’s ideas

Answer 7

Develops Merton’s strain theory, explaining non-utilitarian crimes.
Together, they both offer an explanation for a wide range of deviant behaviour.

Question 8

What does the form working-class delinquent subcultures take depend on according to Cloward and Ohlin?

Answer 8

Access to illegitimate opportunity structures
e.g. access to existing criminal networks who’ll take on younger ‘apprentice’ criminals

Question 9

Name Cloward and Ohlin’s 3 types of deviant subcultures.

Answer 9

Criminal, conflict and retreatist

Question 10

Explain criminal subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).

Answer 10

Organised crime
Career criminals socialise youths into their own criminal career for material success
e.g. county lines

Question 11

Explain conflict subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).

Answer 11

Gangs organised by youths
Based on claiming territory from other gangs in turf wars

Question 12

Explain retreatist subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).

Answer 12

Those unable to access illegit/ legit opportunity structures
May drop out of society as a group and abuse drugs for example

Question 13

Weaknesses of Cloward and Ohlin’s theory

Answer 13

Exaggerates differences between groups, there may be overlap (e.g. retreatists steal goods and sell to criminals for drug money).
Marxist: emphasis on delinquent youths and not on structures of power and crimes committed by the rich and powerful.

Question 14

What does Miller argue which opposes Cohen’s ‘reaction formation’?

Answer 14

That lower class youths never even accept mainstream norms and values in the first place.

Question 15

What are Miller’s 6 focal concerns which lower class youths are socialised into?

Answer 15

FATTES
Fate, autonomy, trouble, toughness, excitement, smartness

Question 16

Explain fate, autonomy and trouble (Miller).

Answer 16

Fate - e.g. if they fail at school they think they can’t do anything to change that.
Autonomy - independence, don’t go through official channels/ to authority to sort things out.
Trouble - solve trouble themselves in a collective response e.g. get family to ‘sort someone out’.

Question 17

Explain toughness, excitement and smartness (Miller).

Answer 17

Toughness - linked to masculinity, proving themselves (young w/c males mostly who’re arrested for fighting in crime stats).
Excitement - seek immediate grat./ a buzz.
Smartness - ‘smart’ remarks, being street smart e.g. cons and scams.

Question 18

According to Miller, do lower classes experience frustration?

Answer 18

No because they don’t value material success but instead want to achieve the 6 focal concerns.

Question 19

Weakness of Miller’s theory - Deterministic

Answer 19

Suggests all w/c males are like this.
Leads to stereotypes and SFPs.
e.g. if a teacher thinks a w/c boy will fail they won’t try help them because they think the student will believe it’s just fate anyway

Question 20

Weakness of Subcultural theories - Matza

Answer 20

States they make out that delinquents are totally different from everyone and reject mainstream values - not necessarily the case.
Argues for existence of subterranean values instead as people seek to neutralise/ provide justification for deviant acts.
If people really had a different set of values, they’d believe their deviant behaviour was appropriate/ correct.

Question 21

Which Postmodernists could be used to criticise Subcultural theory?

Answer 21

Lyng and Katz
(crime is due to boredom/ wanting a buzz)