Subcultural theory

Question 1

Cohen – Status frustration

Answer 1

• delinquent behavior - develop among working class boys doing badly at school
• cultural deprivation (lack of norms/values)
• Parents fail to equip children with motivation, instead w/c acquire status through criminal activities e.g. vandalism

Question 2

Strengths of Cohen

Answer 2

+ gaining status is important for explaining delinquency

+ Useful explaining why delinquent (non-utilitarian) crime is committed

Question 3

Weaknesses of Cohen

Answer 3

X Fails to prove school is the key place where success and failure is demonstrated 
X Box states rather than gaining status the behavior was an attack on the insults faced by middle class children

Question 4

Cloward and Ohlin – blocked opportunities

Answer 4

• Agreed people have a value consensus on achieving the American Dream but fail due to blocked opportunities
• Way people can achieve = determined by geographic area

Question 5

Types of subcultures - Cloward and Ohlin

Answer 5

Criminal subculture – status is gained through membership, promotion is possible

Conflict subculture – no established subculture, a conflict subculture may develop. More concern with antisocial, violent and aggressive behavior than making money

Retreatist subculture – puts the focus on alcohol and drugs

Question 6

Evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin

Answer 6

X crime is working class, thus ignoring crimes of wealth e.g. white-collar crime and corporate crime
X Assumes everyone starts off sharing same mainstream success goal
X assume that you can only be in one subculture at a time
X do not consider Matza’s idea of drift
X Feminists - women have more block opportunities than men as more women don’t make up members of criminal gangs

Question 7

Nightingale – US gangs

Answer 7

• Supports Cloward and Ohlin
• Gangs are usually ethically divided
• Crips and Bloods of Los Angeles
• Studied young black gangs showing members wanting to achieve the American Dream
• However, they are excluded educationally, economically and politically from US culture they are forced to gain them through crime

Question 8

Walter Miller – Focal concerns

Answer 8

• Focal concerns make it inevitable crimes will be committed
• Fate, autonomy, trouble, excitement, smartness and toughness
• Lower-classes doesn’t feel the strain, subcultural group has different values

Question 9

Matza – drift and subterranean values

Answer 9

Drift in and out of criminal activity
Too deterministic
Subterranean values
Volcano