Sociologists Paper 3

What did Durkheim argue?

What did Durkheim argue?

Crime is normal and healthy in all societies as some individuals weren’t socialised correctly at home or in institutions.

Crime performs boundary maintenance, where society reacts to someone committing a crime and uniting society to condemn the wrongdoers actions and reinforce their commitment to the shared norms and values.

Crime also performs adaptation of change, where all change starts with deviance, someone with a new idea subverting societal expectations and starting a new trend

What did Davis argue?

Crime creates a safety valve which ensures the family remains stable. Prostitution does this as a man can release their sexual desires without affecting the monogamous nuclear family

What did Cohen argue?

Another function of deviance is to warn society that an institution is not functioning properly, such as high rates of truancy telling us there is a problem with the school

Working-class boys are most likely to commit crimes and turn to gangs as they face anomie (isolation) in the middle-class school system and are unable to achieve success as a result of their background

What did Walsh argue?

Gangs are good for society as they can produce positive role models and allow other members to grow up and set boundaries to ensure no harm is caused

What did Merton argue?

People are unable to achieve socially approved goals through legitimate means, so they resort to deviant behaviour, feeling strain in being unable to achieve the ‘American Dream’

What did Cloward and Ohlin argue?

Not everyone can succeed in committing crimes after they fail in school as they may not have the ability to do so, resulting in them turning into retreatists and taking drugs

What did Miller argue?

Working class boys were socialised with lower class values, e.g. toughness and masculinity. They achieved these through crime and deviant acts.

What did Carson argue?

In a sample of 200 firms, where all 200 broke health and safety laws, only 3 were prosecuted.

What did Taylor et al argue?

Crime is a conscious choice often with a political motive (e.g. to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor)

What did Becker argue?

Deviance is not about the act itself, but how people react to it. For example, in most instances killing is considered wrong, however if it’s in war it will be praised.

What did Cicourel argue?

Officers’ decision to arrest someone is influenced by stereotypes, with working class young people being treated more harshly as they fitted the delinquent stereotype, whereas middle class young people got away with more crimes as they were seen as more likely to apologise and their parents were more likely to negotiate on their behalf.