Subcultural Theories of Crime Flashcards
What does Merton argue about status frustration?
It is when individuals are culturally deprived/ fail school, resulting in low status.
They can’t achieve their goals through legitimate means.
Explain how Willis’ Learning to Labour study is an example of status frustration.
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.
Explain Cohen’s reaction formation.
Reaction to being disadvantaged is to reject mainstream norms and values and replace them with their own.
Give examples of reaction formation (Cohen).
Replacing the idea of working hard for future gain with immediate gratification.
Normalising carrying knives/ distrusting police.
Weakness of Cohen’s theory - Lyng and Katz
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.
Weakness of Cohen’s theory - Ignores women
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.
Strength of Cohen’s theory - Adds to Merton’s ideas
Develops Merton’s strain theory, explaining non-utilitarian crimes.
Together, they both offer an explanation for a wide range of deviant behaviour.
What does the form working-class delinquent subcultures take depend on according to Cloward and Ohlin?
Access to illegitimate opportunity structures
e.g. access to existing criminal networks who’ll take on younger ‘apprentice’ criminals
Name Cloward and Ohlin’s 3 types of deviant subcultures.
Criminal, conflict and retreatist
Explain criminal subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).
Organised crime
Career criminals socialise youths into their own criminal career for material success
e.g. county lines
Explain conflict subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).
Gangs organised by youths
Based on claiming territory from other gangs in turf wars
Explain retreatist subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin).
Those unable to access illegit/ legit opportunity structures
May drop out of society as a group and abuse drugs for example
Weaknesses of Cloward and Ohlin’s theory
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.
What does Miller argue which opposes Cohen’s ‘reaction formation’?
That lower class youths never even accept mainstream norms and values in the first place.
What are Miller’s 6 focal concerns which lower class youths are socialised into?
FATTES
Fate, autonomy, trouble, toughness, excitement, smartness
