Subcultural Theory Flashcards
Subcultural Theorists
Argue that the causes of crime lie in the structure of society.
Merton
He explained criminal behaviour as a strain between the goals and the ability to achieve them. This explains crimes for a profit but what about once without financial gain? Crimes such as vandalism need to be considered using a different concept.
Cultural Transmission ( Shaw and McKay)
Found that criminal tradition or cultures are transmitted from generation to generation.
Sutherland (Differential association theory)
Deviance was behaviour learned from social interaction with others. They need to learn both criminal vales and criminal skills. Frequency/duration/priority/Intensity.
Park and Burgess (Social disorganisation theory)
Devience is a product of social disorganisation, rapid population turn over and migration causes instability. (Links to anomie)
Cohen
He argued that delinquent behaviour was most likely to develop among working class boys doing badly in school. Parents fail to equip them with motivation so they try to acquire status though criminal activities. They suffer from STATUS FRUSTRATION. But he is "male stream" and fails to prove that school is the key place where success and failure are demonstrated.
Illegitimate opportunity structure ( Cloward and Ohlin)
attempted to linked Mertons concepts of anomie with subcultural theory. Merton suggested that individuals become anomic when they don’t have enough opportunities. Working class boys can belong to three subcultures.
Criminal- Status is gained through gang membership -financial gain.
Conflict- if there is no established subculture leads to antisocial behaviour.
Retreatism Subculture- puts main focus on drug and alcohol.
US gangs (Nightingale)
Studied young black gang in a inner city in US showed that they want the american dream its reinforced by TV but they are excluded due to education so they are forces to gain them though crime.
Middle class and female gangs
Korem found middle class gangs could be family problems. Thrasher found little research on females and found that women had very little role in gang usually to serve the males. Found most females kept with the traditional female stereotype.
Focal concerns ( Miller)
Argues that working classes in america have a different set of norms and values they are called focal concerns. They don’t intend to break the law but the focal concerns mean its inevitable that crimes will be committed.
Trouble- accept violence won’t run away from it.
Toughness- Concern for masculinity they don’t want to look weak need to maintain reputation.
Excitement- The search for thrills for emotional stimulus.
Fate- they believe very little can be done about their lives and have no power to change anything.
But the idea that the working class lives isolated from the rest of society is flawed to begin with!
Supported by MURRAY (underclass)
Marxist subcultural Theory
They argue that working class boys may join as a resistance against capitalism, they are disadvantaged by capitalism so joining a gang offers solutions to this. The solution to this is providing better educations. Marxist sat that the real criminals is not working class but the corporate criminals. The CJS is biased in favour of ruling class.
Subterranean Values ( Matza)
Argues that much research into gangs is too deterministic, he argues than young men drift in and out of crime they are usually looking for fun. He argues that we all have underlying criminal values be we can control them its just delinquents are more likely to exhibit them.
Techniques of neutralisation (Matza)
Matza stated that they justify their crimes as exceptions and have techniques of neutralisation.
Denial of responsibility- May remove the responsibility from themselves to parents.
Denial of Victim- Rough justice on shops
Denial of Injury- Joy riding doesn’t harm
Condemnation of condemners- Police and especially teachers! are corrupt and unjust hypocrites
Appeal to higher loyalties- The delinquents argue that they broke the law not out of self interest but for family.
