Functionalist, strain and subcultural theories
- Created by: powrieannie
- Created on: 01-06-16 13:21
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- Functionalism, Strain and Subcultural theories
- Functionalism
- Society is a stable system based on value consensus
- Value consensus: a set of norms and values that are unanimously shared by a group
- This produces social solidarity
- Socialisation: internalise shared culture, norms and values
- Social control: rewards for conformity and punishment for deviance
- Durkheim
- Crime is inevitable and universal
- In ALL societies, some people are inadequately socialised
- This means they are prone to deviance
- MODERN socities have a specialised workforce and diverse subcultures
- Individuals are thus all very different from eachother, it is hard to identify a singular set of norms and values
- In ALL societies, some people are inadequately socialised
- Functions of crime
- Boundary maintenance
- Members of society unite against the criminal
- This reinforces commitment to value consensus
- i.e. through punishment
- Publicly stigmatising criminals shows the divide between RIGHT/WRONG
- This reinforces commitment to value consensus
- Publicly stigmatising criminals shows the divide between RIGHT/WRONG
- Members of society unite against the criminal
- Adaptation and change
- For change to occur, individuals must challenge existing norms
- This will appear as deviance
- If suppressed, society cannot make necessary adaptive changes and wil stagnate
- This will appear as deviance
- For change to occur, individuals must challenge existing norms
- Further positive functions
- Safety valve
- Davis
- Prostitution acts to release men's sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family
- Davis
- Warning light
- A.K.Cohen
- Deviance indicates when an institution is malfunctioning
- A.K.Cohen
- Safety valve
- Boundary maintenance
- Merton
- People engage in deviant behaviour when they cannot achieve conventional success through legitimate means
- Structural factors
- society's unequal opportunity structure
- Cultural factors
- strong emphasis on SUCCESS GOALS, weak emphasis on LEGITIMATE ways to achieve them
- Structural factors
- THE AMERICAN DREAM
- Deviance is the strain between the goals a culture encourages individuals to aim for and what the sturcture of society actually allows for
- This ideology claims that society is meritocratic
- In reality, poverty and discrimination block opportunities for many to achieve by legitimate means
- Thus, there is a STRAIN between cultural goals and lack of legitimate means
- This results in the use of illegitimate means i.e. crime/deviance
- Thus, there is a STRAIN between cultural goals and lack of legitimate means
- In reality, poverty and discrimination block opportunities for many to achieve by legitimate means
- Deviant adaptations to strain
- Used to explain patterns in deviance
- Position in society = adaptation to the strain of anomie
- Conformity
- Innovation
- Ritualism
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
- Create their own goals, try to create change
- Reject goals and means, drop out of society
- Rebellion
- Give up on goals, but follow rules because they are internalised
- Retreatism
- Accept values, find illegitimate means to achieve
- Ritualism
- Accept values, try to achieve legitimately
- Innovation
- Conformity
- Position in society = adaptation to the strain of anomie
- Used to explain patterns in deviance
- People engage in deviant behaviour when they cannot achieve conventional success through legitimate means
- Crime is inevitable and universal
- Society is a stable system based on value consensus
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