subcultural theory

Question 1

What does Cohen say makes a subculture commit crimes?

Answer 1

not able to achieve status by legitimate means, face problems adjusting to the low status given to them by society.

Question 2

How does Cohen say this is resolved?

Answer 2

they reject the middle class values and turn to boys in the same situation- leading to them joining a delinquency subculture

Question 3

What is Cohens alternative status hierarchy?

Answer 3

subculture inverts the values of mainstream society
example- if society praises school attendance, subculture values truanting

Question 4

what’s a strength and weakness of Cohens theory of status frustration?

Answer 4

explains non utilitarian crime unlike Merton’s strain theory
weakness- assumes working class boys start off sharing middle class success goals and reject these when they fail.

Question 5

What is Cloward and Ohlin’s illegitimate opportunity structure?

Answer 5

gaining success not through

Question 6

What were the three deviant subcultures that Cloward and Ohlin identified?

Answer 6

criminal
conflict
retreatisdt

Question 7

explain Cloward and Ohlin’s criminal subculture?

Answer 7

provides children with criminal careers and training, adults provide children with an apprenticeship in crime

Question 8

explain Cloward and Ohlin’s conflict subculture?

Answer 8

violence provides a way of gaining status and releasing their frustration

Question 9

explain Cloward and Ohlin’s retreatist subculture?

Answer 9

those who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures

Question 10

what’s a weakness of Cloward and Ohlin’s theory?

Answer 10

ignores crimes on the wealthy. over-predicts the amount of working class crime

Question 11

What did Miller believe about the working class in regards to his “focal concerns”

Answer 11

they are not intending to break the law, they are inevitable due to innate “focal concerns”

Question 12

what are 2 examples of Miller’s focal concerns?

Answer 12

autonomy- trying to demonstrate autonomy can lead to aggression
fate- frustrated with fate, therefore people turn to crime in an attempt to change this

Question 13

what’s weakness of Miller’s “focal concerns”?

Answer 13

if this was true, then all members of the working class would commit crimes as the “focal concerns” are innately within the working class

Question 14

What did Matza mean when he said people drift?

Answer 14

people are neither conformist or deviant, they simply supress any deviant thoughts they might have.

Question 15

What were Martza’s techniques of neutralization in his study of subterranean values?

Answer 15

people seek ways of justifying deviance, they use techniques that prove the existence of values of delinquency

Question 16

what’s an example of one of Martza’s techniques of neutralization?

Answer 16

denial of responsibility- “It wasn’t me/ it wasn’t my fault”

Question 17

What’s a strength of Martza’s subterranean values?

Answer 17

assumes that we all have the capacity to be delinquent

Question 18

Explain Messner and Rosenfield’s institutional anomie theory?

Answer 18

in America- economic goals are favoured above all. This undermines institutions as they start to prioritise carrying out economic functions
example- schools prepare students for labour, not inculcating respect like they should.

Question 19

Explain Downey and Hansen and how it supports Messner and Rosenfield’s findings?

Answer 19

did a survey on 18 countries on crime rates and welfare spending. Societies that spent more on welfare had lower rates of imprisonment

Question 20

How can we link Messner and Rosenfield’s theory to Marxist explanations for crime?

Answer 20

synoptic link made as both of these theories insist that crime is a result of social conditioning and upper class exploitation

Question 21

evaluation- How can we use gender to evaluate this theory?

Answer 21

Laider and Hunt- interviewed 141 female gang members, these women conformed to traditional gender roles but were not labelled negatively

Question 22

evaluation- How can we use postmodernism to evaluate this theory?

Answer 22

lyng- young men like taking risks and engaging in “edgework”
edgework- going right to the edge of acceptable behaviour and flirting with danger