Functionalism crime and deviance

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Functionalism
Functionalists see society as a stable system based on shared values. Crime and deviance disrupt this stability. Nevertheless, functionalists recognise that crime is both inevitable and functional for society.
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Durkheim
Durkheim viewed crime and deviance as a behaviour that deviates from the value consensus of society. Our laws reflect the shared values of society.
Durkheim referred to a ‘notion of anomie’ which is a condition that modern societies face. A state of norml
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Hirschi
Hirschi was influenced by Durkheim’s notion of anomie. He argued that to explain it, we need to be looking at why most people do conform to society and don’t commit crime as they are the majority.
He wrote about four social bonds of attachment that every
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Merton
Merton’s strain theory combines two main elements: Structural opportunities and cultural factors. For Merton, deviance is a result of the strain between the values that western culture places on gaining material wealth and the lack of opportunities that e
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Albert Cohen
Cohen focuses on deviance amongst working class adolescents. He argues that they face failure in the middle class dominated school system,
Working class boys suffer from status frustration. This inability to succeed leaves them at the bottom of the social
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Cloward and Ohlin
Cloward and Ohlin responded to the idea that every crime is committed in an attempt to gain material wealth. They highlighted that some subcultures develop with norms and values far from the mainstream. These include:
Criminal subcultures: develop in area
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Kingsley Davis
Prostitution protects the nucleur family because it allows men to release their sexual frustrations that may threaten the monogomy of their relationship. They can then go home and not beat their wife.
It’s not clear how this protects the nuclear family as
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Card 2

Front

Durkheim viewed crime and deviance as a behaviour that deviates from the value consensus of society. Our laws reflect the shared values of society.
Durkheim referred to a ‘notion of anomie’ which is a condition that modern societies face. A state of norml

Back

Durkheim

Card 3

Front

Hirschi was influenced by Durkheim’s notion of anomie. He argued that to explain it, we need to be looking at why most people do conform to society and don’t commit crime as they are the majority.
He wrote about four social bonds of attachment that every

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Merton’s strain theory combines two main elements: Structural opportunities and cultural factors. For Merton, deviance is a result of the strain between the values that western culture places on gaining material wealth and the lack of opportunities that e

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Cohen focuses on deviance amongst working class adolescents. He argues that they face failure in the middle class dominated school system,
Working class boys suffer from status frustration. This inability to succeed leaves them at the bottom of the social

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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