Functionalist theories of crime
- Created by: Lou Scaife
- Created on: 10-06-22 15:46
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- Functionalist Theories of Crime
- Durkheim
- 3 causes of crime
- inadequate socialisation
- different subcultures
- diversity causing anomie via weakening consensus
- 3 positive effects of crime
- Boundary maintenance
- Adaptation and change
- Social regulation and integration
- 3 causes of crime
- Merton
- Strain theory
- People in society aim toward the same goals, but some are unable to reach these goals via legitimate means, so experience strain and seek other methods of attaining goals.
- Conformity
- Ritualism
- Innovation
- Innovation also includes white collar criminals - but surely they have already achieved society's goals?
- Rebellion
- Retreatism
- Does not explain why some experience more strain than others, or why some commit crime and others dont
- Strain theory
- Cohen
- status frustration
- Expanded on Merton's strain theory to acknowledge non-utalitarian crime
- Some individuals (working class boys) fail in school and lack status because of this, so are frustrated with their lack of position within society.
- As a result, they may join deviant subcultures which hold values which are the invert of mainstream society in which deviant activities award you with status
- Lyng and Katz claimed crimes such as vandalism and fighting are not active attempts to challenge mainstream society, instead they are acts born out of boredom
- Does not link the fact that it is working class boys to wider societal issues
- As a result, they may join deviant subcultures which hold values which are the invert of mainstream society in which deviant activities award you with status
- status frustration
- Cloward and Ohlin
- Differential opportunity structure
- Some people obtain goals via legitimate opportunity structures and some turn to illegitimate opportunity structures, but some people do not have access to either of these
- Criminal subculture - organised crime which young people are socialised into
- Not all crime fit into these categories - terf wars are known to be associated with drug dealing via organised crime groups
- Conflict subcultures - formed by young people themselves, often involves terf wars
- Retreatist subcultures - people do not have access to either to retreat and deviate from society through taking drugs, for example.
- Differential opportunity structure
- Miller
- Focal concerns
- Working class boys are socialised into certain traits which make them more prone to committing crime
- Traits include excitement, toughness, autonomy, fate, and smartness
- Focal concerns
- Matza
- Subterranean values
- Functionalist alternative to strain and frustration, instead claiming that we are all born with inherently deviant values. With age, we are able to learn to suppress and resist deviant thoughts.
- Awareness that things are wrong are shown through techniques of neutralisation
- appealing to higher loyalties, rejection of victim, etc.
- neutralisation may not be attempts to return to normal values - they may just be an attempt to avoid punishment
- Subterranean values
- Durkheim
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