sociology: crime & deviance

merton's view

merton's view

functionalist, merton, theorised that crime is a result of people being unable to achieve their goals. he created 5 responses to this strain:

• conformity = following traditional paths to achieve success.

• innovation = those unable to conform so find other ways of achieving success (entrepreneurs, criminals).

• ritualism = those who conform but are in low status jobs with little enthusiasm for their work or advancement.

• retreatism = abandon both goals and means – social outcasts.

• rebellion = reject goals and means – they wish to create a new society based on different goals and means.

criticisms of merton's view

• exaggerates working class crime and underestimates middle class crime

• marxists argue that merton doesn't consider power relations in society.

cohen's view

functionalist, cohen, viewed working-class men as having the same success goals as wider society but, due to educational failure, cannot each their goals. so, they turn to crime.

cohen also created the ‘sub-culture theory’ — many working-class boys turned to gangs because the education system was designed with middle-class expectations. being part of a delinquent sub-culture gives these boys a status.

criticisms of cohen's sub-culture theory

• cohen assumes that the working-class begin by accepting middle-class aspirations

• feminists argue that it doesn't take women into account

marx's view

marxist view that the proletariat would turn to crime due to material deprivation. marx believed the bourgeois exploited the proletariat.

criticisms of marx's views

• not every law supports the bourgeoisie

• functionalists argue that society is based on value consensus, not conflict

heidensohn's view

feminist, heidensohn, suggested that women have less opportunities to commit crime, since they are constantly being controlled by men (fathers, brothers, husbands). she coins this ‘control theory’.

criticisms of heidensohn

• functionalists would suggest that women have their own key role in society, rather than it being patriarchal

• heidensohn makes generalisations

• view is outdated — women now have more freedom

carlen's view

feminist & researcher, carlen, did unstructured interviews with 39 women, concluding that working-class women make a class and gender deal.

• class deal = they work hard in exchange for pay which they then use to pay for consumer goods.

• gender deal = they do domestic labour and give love and companionship to their husbands, in exchange for love and financial support.

carlen suggested that when these deals broke down, women turned to crime as a rational choice.

becker's view

interactionist view that deviance was created by society. we cannot understand deviance by focussing on the acts but by the interactions to the act.

criticisms of becker's views

• interactionists see criminals as victims of labelling rather than people who willingly commit crimes

definition of 'crime'

illegal actions

definition of 'deviance'

negative behaviour

definition of 'formal social control'

written rules

definition of 'informal social control'

unwritten rules

definition of 'agency of formal social control'

bodies that make and enforce law, and punish rule breakers (eg, police force, judiciary, etc)

definition of 'agency of informal social control'

bodies that provide social pressure to enforce the unwritten rules (eg, family, friends, etc)

definition of 'anomie'

when society's norms breakdown and cause a disconnect from society.

definition of 'status frustration'

(usually lower-class men) being stuck at low levels of stratification and feeling a sense of frustration

definition of 'social cohesion'

when the sense of belonging is strengthened in a community due to a horrific crime

definition of 'safety value'

deviant acts acting as a form of release

definition of 'master status'

a person's overriding status in society

definition of 'white-collar crime'

crime committed by the bourgeoisie

definition of 'chivalry thesis'

women are treated more leniently because women are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection

definition of 'double-deviance thesis'

women are treated more harshly because they are breaking social norms as well as the law

definition of 'victim survey' (+ advantages & disadvantages)

large scale surveys where people are asked what crimes have been committed against them:

• advantages: reveals dark figure of crime

• disadvantages: memory can be inaccurate & people might not know they're victims

definition of 'self-report studies' (+ advantages & disadvantages)

studies that ask people anonymously which crimes they've committed:

• advantages: reveals dark figure of crime & used to discover victimless crimes

• disadvantages: people may lie or not admit to serious crimes

definition of 'deviancy amplification'

exaggerating deviance/crimes to cause reaction

definition of ‘media amplification’

media exaggeration a social issue/problem by over-reporting it

definition of 'folk devil'

the clear villain in media when reporting a crime

definition of 'moral panic'

an over-the-top reaction to a crime

definition of ‘criminogenic’

something is criminogenic when it is believed to be the root of criminal or deviant behaviour

definition of ‘dark figure of crime’

hidden, unreported crimes crimes that are not included in official statistics

definition of ‘judiciary’

judges and magistrates who sit in courts and apply the law

definition of ‘legislature’

the body in a country that has the authority to make/change the laws

definition of ‘magistrate’

volunteer that sits in the magistrate court and deals with less serious crimes

definition of ‘miscarriage of justice’

court fails to administer justice (finds an innocent person guilty of a crime)

definition of ‘non-indictable crime’

crimes that are less serious, tried in the magistrates’ court instead of the crown court

definition of ‘official crime statistics’

existing sources of quantitive data one crime