Week Two Flashcards
What is the difference between classism and positivism?
Classicism focuses on individual free will and determinism. Crime is a result of rational choices between perceived benefits and costs. It’s a intellectual tradition.
Positivism focuses on the extra and infra individual influences of crime. (Personality, biology, social structure etc). More common now.
Both are orientations that theories fall under not theories themselves
Explain theory of anomie and strain theory
Robert Merton (1949) Focus on cause of crime in social structure eg in the economy.
Crime results from disparity between culturally approved goals and socially approved means. So a person in the lower class who can not gain socially approved means eg paid work. So most can gain cultural goals but cannot gain social means leading to anomie which is dealt with through behavioural adaption. Within terms of crime this adaption is called innovation eg criminal so people commit crime. Adapt by developing more accessible illegitimate means for obtaining cultural goals eg theft
What is anomie
Developed by Emile Durkheim and later extended on by Robert Merton. Focuses on a state of normlessness that results from societal deregulation and/or rapid social change.)
What is the subcultural theory?
Developed by Cohen & Matza.
How young people form alternate allegiances
Don’t maintain loyalty to convention forms of conduct - adhere to counter cultural values.
Similar to social disorganisation theory. Crime in disadvantaged areas is a form of behaviour organised around a different normative structure.
What is Matza’s theory of neutralisation
The delinquent subculture stipulates the circumstances that allow crime to occur. Young people are free to drift into crime when circumstances are appropriate.
What is differential association theory
Sutherland and Cressey (1974)
Delinquency developed through association with delinquent peers who transmit criminal values. Person is criminal because there is more positives to breaking the law than obeying it. Definitions of delinquency are formed through friendships and when individuals builds more criminal definitions to conventional crime is more likely.
A learning theory
What is social learning theory?
Burgess and Akers (1966)
Extension of differential association - learning theory
Operant psychology. Begins to concepts of association and definitions but adds imitation and reinforcement.
What is labelling theory
Becker (1963)
Learning theory - symbolic interaction
Delinquent classification. Becker believes there is nothing inherently criminal in any act. Conventional reactions to behaviour of certain groups create the idea of criminal behaviour
Shifts the focus from individual to societal
What is cultural criminology
The relationship between popular culture and mass media to crime.
Ferrell (1999)
Exploration of the production and consumptions of mediated meanings. Young offenders define and construct meaning of their activities with an eye to mass media which then constructs its own meaning from this. The construction of meaning for crime is a continuous loop between young offenders and mass media.
What is Katz’s work
1988
Crime always has meaning to the perpetrator. They build their identity by doing crime. Offender gets an emotional buzz from crime and anti social activities. Thus crime is satisfying. Crime is about the subjective thrill of the experience.
