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Unit 2- Sociological Theories - Coggle Diagram
Unit 2- Sociological Theories
Functionalism
We believe that society works together in consensus;
We stand for working in unity;
We argue that crime can sometimes be a good thing;
Our philosophy is religion, education, family contribute to who we are/ how our society is
Emile Durkheim- french sociologist- founder of modern sociology argued that one of the main functions of society's parts was to provide essential similarities which collective life demands- these provide basis for cooperation, order, collective conscience and social solidarity
dominant theory in 40s- it saw society as a system as a set of parts which made up a whole- an aim is to examine the function of each part, the contribution makes the well being of society as whole;
stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs about right/ wrong; members feel sense of belonging but not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments/ values/ beliefs- a few deviate
sometimes shared norms become weakened- anomie (normlessness)
argues that everything in society has a function
Strengths: First to recognise that crime can have positive functions for society, e.g. reinforcing boundaries between right and wrong by uniting people against wrongdoer
Weakness:
-Claims society requires a certain amount of deviance to function but offers no way of knowing how much is the right amount of crime;
-Crime might be functional for some, but it is not functional for victims
role/ outcome of a social arrangement
behaviours can serve purpose even when they seem to be bad for society (crime)
argued that deviance itself was functional/ normal/ inevitable- only becomes dysfunctional when its either high- there will be chaos/ too low- be no change in society
Functions of crime
Boundary maintenance – crime produces a reaction that unites society’s members against the wrongdoer, reminding them of the boundary between right and wrong, and reaffirming shared rules.
Social change – progress is only possible if individuals with new ideas challenge existing norms and values. Initially this will be seen as deviance. E.g. Nelson Mandela / Rosa Parks – both challenged the idea of racial inequality.
Safety valve – e.g. prostitution allows men to meet their needs without threatening the nuclear family.
Warning light – deviance indicates that an institution isn’t functioning properly – e.g. truancy could indicate issues within the schooling system.
Merton’s Strain Theory- functionalist who recognised that for some people society was not a place of equal opportunity-> conflict emerging between wider social goals +opportunities people might have for achieving these;
focused on USA and AMERICAN DREAM- can also be applied to UK;
Strengths:
-Shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goals. Conformists and innovators both pursue 'money success', but by different means;
explains patterns shown in official statistics: most crime is property crime, because society values wealth so highly; working-class crime rates are higher, because they have less opportunity to obtain wealth legitimately;
Weaknesses:
-Ignores crimes of the wealthy and over-predicts the amount of working-class crime;
-Sees deviance solely as an individual response, ignoring the group deviance of delinquent subcultures
-Focus on utilitarian crime e.g. theft, ignoring crimes with no economic motive e.g. vandalism
Albert Cohen- wanted to explain why crimes that did not have any monetary value to them were committed by certain groups– described these as ‘non-utilitarian’ crimes, had no monetary value to them-
experience a feeling of worthlessness +suffer from ‘status frustration’; unable to achieve society’s goals by legitimate means-> alternative means need to be used in order to get status either in wider society, or just within their ‘subcultural groups'
Subcultures provide an alternative status hierarchy in which they can win respect from their peers through delinquent actions, it inverts society’s values;
suggests that subcultures have different norms and values from mainstream culture and will have a different range of goals and methods of gaining status;
Strengths:
-Show how subcultures perform a function for their members by offering solutions to problem of failing to achieve mainstream goals legitimately;
-Cloward and Ohlin show how different types of neighborhood give rise to different illegitimate opportunities and different subcultures (criminal, conflict and retreatist)
Weakness:
-Ignore crimes of wealthy +over-predict amount of working-class crime;
-Assume everyone starts with mainstream goals and turns to a subculture when they fail to achieve them. Some people don't share those goals in the first place; they may be attracted to crime for other reasons
-Actual sub-cultures are not clear-cut – some show characteristics of all 3 types: criminal, conflict and retreatist
Realists
Right realists- believe crime is a result of biological differences, inadequate socialisation, rational choice;
Rational choice theory: crime rates are high if risk/ costs of being caught are low
-Kelling +Wilcon= Broken windows theory- of an area looks deprived+ there are signs of crime-> more crime is likely to occur
zero tolerance policy: reduces crime levels but doesn't eliminate them meaning that the rational choice can't be a complete explanation- evident when the threat of jail doesn't act as a deterrent
associated with biological and cultural explanations for criminality- biological explanations tended to follow previous arguments that criminality is an inherited behavioral trait, and that certain kind of people are more likely to have these personalities
this can be linked to similar explanations that argue intelligence is also an inherited characteristic such as the work of Murray and Hernstein