T1-functionalist strain and subcultural theories Flashcards
the sociology of crime and deviance is about …
rules and rule breaking, who makes and eenforces the rules
functionalists see deviance as .. (4)
- disruption social stbility
- inevitable
- and benificial
- universal
functionalists are interested in … (2)
- cause of deviance eg. blocked opportunities
- deviant subcultures
deviant subcultures definition
groups whos valkue are opposed to wider society
functionalists belive that society is in …
concenus - shares a common culture
culture definition
set of shared norms (rules ), values, beliefs and goals.
sharing the same culture produces …
social solidarity - it binds people together, telling them what to strive for and how to conduct themselves.
solidarity is achieved with two key mechanisms …(2)
- socialisation –> instils the shared culture into its members. this helps to ensure that individuals internalsie thr same norms and values, and that they feel it right to act in the ways that society requires
- social control –> mechanisms include rewards (or positive sanctions ) for conformity and punishments (negative sanctions) for deviance, this helps to ensure that individuals behave in ways soceity expects
two reasosn why crime and deviance is found in all societies - (2) funct
- not everyone is equally effectivly socialised into the shared norms and values, so some individuals will be prone to deviate
- there is a diversity of lifestyles and values in modern society. different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, and what the members of the subcultures regard as normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant.
durkhiem - anomie
modern societys tend towards normlessness - te rules governing behavior become weaker and less clear cut.
anomie and suicide - durkheim
anomie is the cause of suicide
anomie in modern society
modern societies have a complex, specialised divison of labour, which leads to individuals becoming increasingly differnent from one another. this weakens shared culture or collective consciousness and results in higher levels of deviance.
postive functions of crime (2)
-boundary maintinance
adaptation and change
- boundary maininance
crime produces a reaction frim society, unighting its members in condemnation of the wrongdoer and reinforcing thier commitment to the shared norms and values.
- adaptation and change
all change starts with an act of deviance. individuls with new ideas, values and ways of living must not be completely stifled by the weight of social control. there musst be some scope for them to challenge and change exsisting norms, values and in the forst instance this will appear as deviance.
eg. religious visionaries
2 ways that crime signals the malunctioning of the social system 2) - durkheim
- too much crime threatens to tear the bonds of society apart
- too little means that society is repressing and controlling it members too much, stifling individual freedom and preventing change.
kingsly davis (1937+ 1961) - positive function of crime
prostetution acts as a safety valve for the rekleaseof mens sexual frustrations without treatning the monogamous nucear family
Ned polsky (1967) - postive function of crime
argues that porn safely channels a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultury, which would pose a much greater threat to the family.
Albert cohen - positive function of deviance
- deviance acts as a warning that an institution is not functioning properly
kai erikson (1966)
crime/ deviance is inevitable. if deviance performs positive social functions then perhaps society is supposed to promote deviance . he suggests that the true function of agenncies of control is actually to maintain a certain level of crime ratger than rid society of it.
critisisms of durkheim (4)
- does not say what the right amount of crime is
- does not explain why the crime exists
- ignores how it may effect diffenren groups
- not all crime reinforces solidarity eg. women become isolated
what is strain theory
suggests that people engage in devaint behavior when they are unable to achieve sociallu approved goals by legitimate means.
mertons explainations explains what 2 factors (2)
- structural –> societies unequal opportunities structure
- cultural –> the strong empasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitaimate means go achieve them
who came up with strain theory
merton
what causes deviance - according to strain theory
- the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve
- what institutional structure of society allows them to acheive legotimatly
merton - american dream
high monetary success
- society is meticiocratic
how does strain between the cultral goal of money success and the lack of legitimate opportunities cause deviance
creates frustrations which causes people to resort to crime, illegitimate means
explaian why there are different deviant adaptations to strain - merton
- he argues that an individuals position in the social structure affects the way they or respond to anomie
name all the deviant adaptations to strain- merton (5)
- conformity
- innovation
- ritualism
- reatreatism
- rebellion
conformity - merton
individuals acceot the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them ligitimatley - m/c
innovation - merton
individuals accept the goal of monetary success but use new legotimate means such as theft or fraud
ritualism - merton
individuals give up on trying to achive goals but have internalised the legitimate means and so they follow he rules for their own sake
retreatism - merton
individuals reject the goals and legitimate means - becoming dropoust
rebellion - merton
individuals reject the current societies goals and means, instead replacing them with mew ones in a desire to bring change and a new society
evaulation of merton - strain theory - positive
explains the patterns found on the crime stats
evaulation of merton - strain theory - negative (5)
- crime stats overrepersent the workinh class
- determanistic
marxists siggest tha ot ignotes the power of the ruling class - assumes that there is a value concensus
- only accounts for ulitarian crimes
- ignores the role of group deviance
subcultural strain theories (3)
cohen
cloward and ohlin
lea and young
what do subcultural strain theories say about deviance
deviance is the product of a deliquent subculture with different values from those of mainstream society
sub cultures provide - subcultural straian
an alternative opprtunity structure for those who are denied the chance to achive by legitimate means
who is most likely to be denied chance to achive with legitimate means
the w/c
subcultures are a soloution to a problem
they are functional for their members and wider society
COHEN - STATUS FRUSTRATION + merton
agrees with merton that deviance is mainly a lower class phenomenon.
it results from the inability of those in the lower classes to achive mainstream goals by legitimate means
COHEN CRITICISES MERTON (2)
- merton ignores group deviance
- merton focuses on ulitarian crime
cohen focuses on and frustration in schls
deviance amongst working class boys. he argues that they face anomie in the middle class dominated school, they suffer from cultural deprivation and lack the skills to achieve. their inability to succeed leaves them at the bottom of the heirachy
resolving status frustration
by rejecting mainstream m/c values and turn to other boys instead forming or joining eviant subcultures
the delinquent subculture inverts ….
the values of mainstream society
cohen - subculture function
offers boys alternative status heirarchy in which they can achieve. - creaing own illigitimate opportunities
one stregnth of cohens subcultural theory
offers an explination of non ulitarien crimes/ deviance
one weakness of cohens subcultural thoery
assumes w/c boys start off sharing m/c goals, which they reject when failing. ignores the possibility that they never had these goals nor saw themsleves as failures
cloward and ohlin - 3 subcultures
different subcultures respond in different ways to the lack of legitimate opportunities. not every turns to innovation suchas theft
reason for different subculture responses - cloward and ohlin
the key reason is not only unequal access to legitimate opprtunities but also unequal access to the illigitimate opportnuites structure.
cloward and ohlin - dfferent neighboured subcultural theory
diferent neightbourhoods provide soffrent illigiytimate oppirtubites for ypooungf peole to learn criminal skills and develop criminal carears.
3 types of deviant subcltures- cloward and ohlin
- criminal
- conflict
- retreatist
criminal subcultures - cloward and ohlins
provides youth with an apprentership for a career in ulitarien crime - neighbourhoods with longstanding and established criminal cultur eand heorarchy - role models and career ladder
conflict subcultures - cloward and ohlin
high population turnover - disorgqnosation, only illigitemante means are avaliable
retreatist subcultures - clowards and ohlin
in any neighnborugiod,
