Subcultural theories of crime Flashcards
How does Cohen (1955) agree with Merton?
He says its also mostly a lower-class phenomenon, and also the inability of people to achieve mainstream goals by legitimate means.
How does Cohen criticise Merton?
- Ignores that much deviance is committed in groups.
- Ignores crime that have no economic motive.
How does status frustration come about?
- Suffer from cultural deprivation and skills to achieve, leaving them at the bottom of the legitimate hierarchy.
- Unable to achieve status by legitimate means –> status frustration.
What is the response to status frustration?
Join a delinquent subculture
How does this subculture present itself?
Inverts shared values, e.g. truanting instead of turning up to class.
Subculture offers an illegitimate opportunity structure, in which status can be achieved.
Evaluate, positively and negatively, Cohen’s status frustration idea.
:) - It explains non-utilitarian crime.
:( - Assumes w/c start off with m/c values.
:( - Miller (1962); lower w/c always had own independent subculture = never had mainstream goals.
:( - Matza demonstrated that delinquents weren’t committed to delinquent values.
According to Cloward and Ohlin, how does deviance come about?
As a response to being denied legitimate opportunities to achieve monetary gains.
Cloward and Ohlin say there is unequal success to what 2 types of opportunity structures?
1) Legitimate - society’s.
2) Illegitimate - criminal organisations.
Cloward and Ohlin (1960) say there are how many subcultures? Describe them.
1) ‘Criminal subcultures’ - learning opportunity and career structure of which one can obtain money.
- Well established adult hierarchy.
- Can ascend up the ladder.
2) ‘Conflict subcultures’ - areas of high population turnover = high levels of social disorganisation, preventing stable criminal network materialising.
- Illegitimate means with loosely organised subcultures, demonstrated by gang warfare, violence.
- Provides a release for pent up anger, and a chance to obtain status.
3) ‘Retreatist subcultures’ - ‘double failures’, fail to succeed in mainstream society and above mentioned cultures.
- drug addiction, theft, prostitution.
Criticise Cloward and Ohlin
- Ignores power structures in who makes and enforces the law.
- Boundaries of diifferent subcultures seemingly overlap. South (2014) - drugs sold by mafia style criminals and those from retreatist subcultures.
- Assumes values are shared.
Miller says working class subculture has ___ concerns?
Focal
Name the 5 focal concerns
1) Toughness/masculinity
2) Autonomy/freedom
3) Smartness
4) Trouble
5) (Search for) Excitement
These all carry a risk of law-breaking.
Search for status = exaggeration of such values, i.e. over-conforming to this subculture.
What theory did Matza come up with?
Delinquency and drift
What is delinquency and drift?
People drifting in and out of criminal behaviours.
- all have subterranean values; capable of committing crimes in certain situations
If caught offending, whats the term for tactics used to justify actions of wrong doing?
Techniques of neutralisation
What are the 5 techinques of neutralisation?
1) Denial of victim - e.g. ‘they started it’.
2) Denial of injury - e.g. ‘that didn’t hurt that much’
3) Denial of responsibility - e.g. being drunk
4) Condemning the condemners - e.g. throwing first punch is worse.
5) Appeal to higher loyalty - e.g. standing up to bullying.
These people are still committed to mainstream values, it’s just that they mean drift for the excitement, status or sense of identity, or all three.
What theory did Messner and Rosenfeld (2001) come up with?
Institutional Anomie (Theory).
What is the institutional anomie theory?
- ‘American Dream’ obsesses with money success, with a winner-takes-all strategy.
- Economic goals undermine other institutions, e.g preparing labour force instead of respect for others.
- Free-market capitalism + low welfare provision = high crime rates
Which 3 Sociologists back up the institutional anomie theory and how do they?
Downes + Hansen (2006) - on a study of 18 countries, societies that spent more on welfare had lower rates of imprisonment.
Savelsberg (1995) - notes that post-communist countries saw an increase in crime rates after the 1989 fall.
- Collective conscience –> replaced with individualism.
What is Hirschi’s (1969) control/social bonds theory?
- We all suffer from weaknesses making us unable to resist crime.
- However, social bonds make us exercise self-control.
= if these bonds are weakened/broke, crime may be the result.
How’s Hirschi theory different from most theories?
He looks at what makes people not commit crime, as opposed to the other side.
What are the 4 bonds of Hirschi’s theory?
1) ‘Involvement’ - kept busy by leisure = no time/opportunity.
2) ‘Commitment’ - committed to conventional activities like working, raising a family etc.
- don’t wish to throw this away so conform.
3) ‘Attachment’ - to those around us like friends and family; and are sensitive/interested in their wishes and interests.
4) ‘Belief’ - moral beliefs such as respect for right of others and obedience to law
Theory later extended to include situational variables (if a crime is to be committed).
Evaluate Hirschi’s control theory?
:) - Recognises importance of socialisation and self-control.
:( - Assumes deviants have broken away from mainstream values, whilst Merton + Matza suggest a lack of commitment.
:( - Why do weaker bonds exist in the first place? Why do all those with weaker bonds not turn to crime?
:( - Doesn’t explain variety of forms of crime and deviance.
:( - Doesn’t recognise it is possible to have tight social bonds and be deviant.
:( - Suggests we’re all underlying criminals; therefore justifying control and monitoring –> unwarranted harassment from surveillance = undermine respect for law –> weaken social bonds.
