Subculture Strain theory Flashcards
What does subculture strain theory suggest?
- people who are denied the chance to legitimately succeed eg working class, they become isolated from society and form their own subculture
- they share alternative values from mainstream society
- they follow on from Mertons strain theory but also criticise it
What does Cohen Suggest?
Status frustration - people are unhappy with their status in society in which leads them to find status elsewhere that is illegitimate
- people form a subculture to illegitimately achieve and reject middle class values
What is alternative status heirachy?
- it is when delinquents create their own legit opportunity structure where they can achieve and gain status
- working class boys can achieve but deviantly eg joining a gang
- the boys can then work their way up through this illegitimate heirachy and commit crime in doing so to earn a status
What are some evaluations for this theory?
✅creates an explanation for crimes that have no materialistic gain such as vandalism
❌Assumes working class boys initially know of middle class values and they purposely reject them
❌ignores other values thst could be influence by upbringing
What are the 3 subcultures suggested by Claward and Ohlin?
- criminal
- conflict
-retreatists
Explain the criminal subculture
- In areas where there is already an existing criminal structure, boys are more likely to become apprentices into a criminal subculture such as a gang
- they the work their way up through the ranks to gain an illegitimate status the more they get involved
What is the conflict subculture?
- it exists in areas where there is no criminal structure
- this occurs by a lack of neighbourhood cohesion that can cause conflict over territory
- this is through transition in which people can leave and join a gang based on their postcode
What is a retreatist subculture?
- subculture in which individuals are not aligned with a specific criminal organisation / gang
- these people share the same values of giving up legit goals due to lack of opportunities
- lead into addiction of drugs and alcohol and homelessness
Evaluation of the the three subcultures
✅ examines societies within an unequal structure and explains why these people are isolated from mainstream society by forming their own norms and values
❌ doesn’t explain why individuals commit crime, only groups
❌ assumes that those who fail in education will lead into crime to obtain status- ignores other legit forms of status within society such as entrepreneur
