Sociology
Introduction
Society is a group of people who share a ideas about norms and values
Norms are expected behaviours in society
Values are what is seen as important in society
Culture is the norms and values of society
Socialisation is the process of learning norms and values
Functionalism is a consensus theory that says we all share fundamental norms and values and that everyone in society has to work together for success (social cohesion)
Feminism is a conflict theory that believes we live in a patriarchal society and that men dominate women - they want equality between genders
Marxism is a conflict theory that thinks the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat and they want a global revolution to create a communist society
Interactionalism is a theory that believes society is a product of labels and everyday interactions
Status is the position someone has in society - ascribed(from birth) or achieved(earnt)
Roles are the jobs we do in society and the position we have in it
Cultural diversity is the differences in norms and values between societies - changing time periods, sub cultures, country and between groups
Feral children are children who have no or little human socialisation - Oxana, Genie and Amala and Kamala
Nature refers to the genetics you have from birth and that is why we behave certain ways
Nurture refers to us behaving like we do due to socialisation and the society around us - favoured by sociologists
Primary socialisation is performed by the family and teaches the basic norms and values needed in society - the ‘naughty step’
Secondary socialisation is a life long process performed by education, the media, the workplace, peer groups and religion
Gender socialisation is the idea that society teaches different genders different ideas - Ann Oakley
Canalisation is the idea that boys and girls are given different toys dependent on their gender - girls are given dolls and boys are given cars
Manipulation is the idea that parents encourage different behaviours from their children - girls are more likely to be told off for acting ‘rough’
Identity is how we see ourselves and how others see us
Identity is made up of our job, gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity, religion and race
Identity can be class, ethnic or national
Formal social control is structured and performed by the police or government - how societal cohesion is enforced
Informal social control is how societies behaviour is controlled in everyday situations - families, education, media and peers
Families
Extended family is the family in further generations and when they either live with or are in regular contact with you - vertical or horizontal
Nuclear family is a heterosexual married couple with 2 or 3 children
Reconstituted family is a family in which there has been divorce - step or half parents
Lone parent families are families with only one parent due to divorce or death
Same sex families are families with two parents of the same sex
Beanpole family is a family with multiple generations having only one child
Polygamy is when someone has multiple married partners - illegal in the UK
Monogamy is when someone has one legal married partner - encouraged in UK society
Serial monogamy is someone has married and divorced multiple times - increasing in UK society
Arranged marriage is where the parents choose the child’s partner
The Chinese one child policy was when, in 1979, China introduced a law limiting families to only have one child to slow population growth - ended in 2016
Marriage refers to the legal contract between individuals that creates kinship
Changes in law means divorce is now legal(1969 divorce reform act) and since 2020, divorce can be completed in 6 months - nuclear family in decline
Declining stigma and changing attitudes lowers the marriage rates and increases the divorce rates - no longer deviant
Secularisation decreases marriage as cohabitating is no longer seen as ‘living in sin’
The cost of marriage decreases marriage rates as it is no longer deviant to not be, and many couples won’t be able to afford it
Family diversity refers to the different family types across society and how they differ
The Rapoports believed families were becoming more diverse(1980’s) and that the nuclear family was no longer the main family type
The Rapoports believed divorce, remarriage and cohabitation had increased
Robert Chester disagreed with the Rapoports and said that the nuclear family was still the main type - he said most people live in a nuclear family at some point or aspire to be in one
Postmodernists think family diversity is good and less restrictive for society
Family diversity is caused by couples having less children, more people living alone, later marriage, more same-sex families and different social norms
Helen Wilkinson believed women’s attitudes had changes radically and suddenly so a ‘genderquake’ has happened
The New Right love the nuclear family <3
Charles Murray(New Right) believes the nuclear family is the ‘right’ family type and that it is under threat - he said other family types are inadequate
The New Right says that family values are declining
In 2013, David Cameron decreased tax for married low earners to encourage nuclear families
Changing norms in the position of women is leading to fewer children as women are able to have a career
Contraception is now more effective and easily available, leading to less children in society
Secularisation is the decline of religion
There are less children in society due to new laws - the abortion act(1967) allowed women to get abortions if they didn’t want their children
Declining stigma led to less children in families as it wasn’t deviant to not have children in a family
Secularisation and financial factors also led to less children
Conjugal roles are the jobs that are given to men and women in a heterosexual household
A ‘new man’ is a man who completely embraces equal conjugal roles with a women in a household
Dual career families are where both the man and woman in a relationship are breadwinners so that families have more leisure time
Intimate fathers refer to a man who embraces the conjugal role of parenting specifically - Esther Dermott(2003)
Young and Willmott(functionalist) believe symmetrical families are becoming more equal, but they don’t want them to - they think a ‘new man’ was emerging
Ann Oakley believes that symmetrical families aren’t becoming more common, but she wants them to - she says Y + W exaggerate the extent of changes
The instrumental role is the idea that men complete the breadwinning/economic support and make the important decisions - Talcott Parsons(functionalist)
The expressive role is performed by women, who perform emotional support, child rearing and personality stability for the family
Men are doing more domestic roles - can lead to the crisis of masculinity or intimate fathers
Traditionally, men’s roles required strength and hard physical work
Traditionally, children had few rights and had to work - they were easily abused
Children’s roles have changed to become a child-centred society
Adultification refers to children being treated and sexualised into being seen as older
Traditionally, older people died younger and often didn’t see their grandchildren
Older peoples roles in society has changed as they live longer - they look after or are in contact with their family more
Boomerang children are children who return home after university or a divorce, etc.
Feminists believe the family socialises children into gender roles and it influences the social control over females
Sylvia Walby(feminist) believes domestic violence is a consequence of the family and that the family enforces inequality - it devalues women
Delphy and Leonard(feminists) see the family as enforcing the patriarchy and maintaining men’s power
Ann Oakley says children are socialised from birth into believing men are superior
Feminists believe men dominate women through domestic abuse and violence - one in three women experience abuse and 80 a year are killed by partners
Nancy Bernard(feminist) believed men needed marriage more than women
Functionalists believe the nuclear family is necessary as it reinforces social control - they believe men should be breadwinners(traditional family views)
G.P.Merdock(functionalist) believes without the family, society can’t exist and that it provides everything needed in society - sex(stabilises couples), reproduction, primary socialisation and economic provision(breadwinner)
Talcott Parson agrees with G.P.Merdock, but says the family provides primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities
Stabilisation of adult personalities is the idea that going home to a nuclear family is relaxing and keeps society stable - warm bath theory
Criticisms of the functionalist view on family include ignoring the ‘dark side of the family’ and ignoring how other family types may perform these jobs
The privatised nuclear family refers to a family that has lost contact with it’s wider extended family
Parsons argued that the family has moved from being extended to nuclear due to it not fitting with modern industrial society or jobs
Young and Willmott said that the family used to be extended and that the women shared their lives, but now the privatised nuclear family dominates
Marxists believe the family contributes to keeping societies structure(bad) and that the nuclear family isn’t necessary - it enforces capitalist views and prevents revolution
Engels(Marxist) says we should go back to living in big family groups or tribes where we can support each other
Marxists say the family isn’t necessary because of pester power(profits bourgeoisie), the ‘toaster argument’ and because “do as you are told” prevents children forming their own opinions(Eli Zaretsky)
The marxist view on the family is criticised because capitalism is allows society to run smoothly, the family can be nice and relaxing and feminists say that they miss the point of why the family is bad
Eli Zaretsky said that the family encouraged ‘the cult of the private life’ - nuclear family calms society and prevents revolution
Education
Education is the teaching of knowledge and understanding to children that isn’t done by parents
Social class is how important different families are in society - was traditionally measured through the job of the head of the family
Working class generally go to state schools, and middle class students are more likely to go to private school
Cultural deprivation is when a pupil lacks the skills and knowledge required to succeed
Deferred gratification is working hard over a long time to gain degrees, etc. - more likely to be middle class
Cultural capital is the idea that middle class children have already been taught by parents before school - reading, museums
Working class pupils are less likely to have roles models who value education and are more likely to have the self-fulfilling prophecy
Cultural factors for education are language skills(how well a child can communicate), parental encouragement and values(do children think education is worthwhile?)
Cultural capital is a marxist theory by Pierre Bourdieu who says upper and middle class families are regarded as superior as they have better language skills - blames society for attainment of children
Social capital is the idea that having connections in society and ‘knowing the rules of the game’ benefits children in education - middle class know how to act
Cultural capital is a New Right theory that blames working class families and socialisation for underachievement - ignores influence of the school
Material factors refer to what money can buy that affects education
Material deprivation refers to the lack of financial resources or basic needs - working class
Material factors could be poor housing or not having food, or not affording text books
Douglas found children who live in unsatisfactory conditions don’t do as well in school tests
A. Gibson and S. Asthana say there is a definite link between low household income and education achievement
Halsey says the main reason for working class pupils not continuing education is lack of financial support
Educational attainment can also be affected by the self-fulfilling prophecy, labelling, social capital and the halo effect
The irrelevant curriculum is an idea by Diane Reay that suggests the National Curriculum aren’t relevant to lower working class children and their future employment
The irrelevant curriculum leads to children being disengaged and poor behaviour
Education can be seen as middle class due to teachers being mainly middle class and the culture, language and curriculum being middle class
Working class pupils may be unfamiliar with schools and their middle class ethos - they don’t feel valued and struggle to succeed
David Hargreaves(interactionalist) believes that teachers label students, which leads to anti-school subcultures - why working class underachieve
Howard Becker says teachers have ideas of ‘ideal’ pupils and quickly build up those images around pupils - more likely to be middle class students seen as ideal
Stephen Ball studied a school and how bands/sets impacted pupils learning due to labelling - top bands behaved better and made progress unlike lower bands
The self-fulfilling prophecy is when a pupils is labelled so they begin to behave that way and become what they were originally seen as - usually labelled from first impressions
Anti-school subcultures are a group of pupils who don’t follow the rules or goals of the school and instead they misbehave
Paul Willis said anti-school subcultures were formed by those who saw through the lies of the school system and knew that if they worked hard they wouldn’t necessarily do good - aware of situation
David Hargreaves said anti-school subcultures were caused by labelling - unaware of situation
Ethnicity is the different groups people are split into dependent on their culture
Race is how people are split based on skin colour
Different ethnicities attain differently in education - Chinese, Asian, white, black African then gypsy or Roma
Cultural reasons for achievement of ethnic minorities could be language(English as second language), parental aspirations and male subcultures(in African-Caribbean boys, they are socialised into being rough and aggressive)
Material factors for ethnic minorities could be that they are generally poorer or working class
Racism in education refers to how teachers consciously and unconsciously prejudice students - can affect punishment on certain races
Labelling and low expectations on ethnic minorities are more likely and can lead to a negative self-fulfilling prophecy
Institutional racism is where there are rules in school that discriminate against ethnicities or race - policies racist, not teachers
The white-centred curriculum says that white history and achievements in culture are prioritised - ignores other cultures which could lead to low self-esteem
The curriculum is what is taught in schools
The hidden curriculum is how norms and values are taught in school
Marxism dislike the hidden curriculum as it socialises children into being obedient and prevents revolution
Feminists believe that the hidden curriculum teaches the patriarchy to children and different roles to boys and girls
Functionalist like the hidden curriculum as it socialises children and increases social cohesion
Overall, girls attainment in education is higher since the national curriculum(1989)
Boys underachievement could be due to a crisis of masculinity, laddish subcultures(boys want to impress peers, not teacher) and feminisation of schools(coursework decreases competition and girls seem to have a longer attention span)
Girls better attainment could be due to changes is employment prospects, changes to norms and changes to law and in schools - have more opportunities so work harder
State schools are free to attend - comprehensive, grammar(11+ to get in), faith schools, academies and free schools(direct funding from government and no national curriculum)
Private schools have to pay to attend - independent or public(older)
Each year, state schools receive £8210 per pupil and £1035 more for pupil premium
The marketisation of education encourages competition between schools so that they perform better - they want more pupils, so they get more funding
Parents are able to choose what school their child attends based on open evenings, league tables and Ofsted reports
Academies are funded directly from the government and they can decide their own curriculum, staff pay and length of school day/holidays
Stephen Ball said competition in schools only gives middle class parents a choice as they can understand league tables and systems - he says only well-informed, well-off, confident and persistent parents get a choice
Functionalists believe that schools are meritocracy(reward most able) and fulfil role allocation so pupils know what is best for their futures
Durkheim(functionalist) says education increases social cohesion of society and that it passes on norms and values so children don’t rebel
Parsons(functionalist) says schools take over socialisation from the family so children learn values and their position in society - status
Education creates achieved status
Marxists believes education increases social cohesion - bad
Bourdieu(marxist) thinks that education reproduces class and that middle class students go on to get the best jobs
Bowles and Gintis believe in the ‘correspondence theory’(schools are organised to achieve what the upper class want) - they say the upper class need an obedient passive work force
Marxists say that the education system is rigged in favour of the elite and that this is hidden so lower classes don’t rebel - ‘work hard, do good’
Feminists believe that schools are patriarchal and that is why girls underachieved, as well as saying schools are patriarchal in the way boys exercise social control over girls
Sue Lees(feminist) says there is a ‘double standard of morality’ in schools and how boys try to control girl’s behaviour
Feminists believe schools pass on gender messages through the hidden curriculum about appropriate behaviour
The gendering of subjects refers to boys dominating certain subjects that schools suggest are gendered - engineering for boys
Becky Francis(feminist) says boys dominate the classroom and play areas and attract more attention from teachers so girls get less help and attention
Crime and deviance
Crime is something that is against the law
Deviance is anything against social norm and can be situational
Sanctions can be positive or negative and are ways of reinforcing social control
Crime and deviance depends on the time period, country and situation - it is a social construction
Functionalists think breaking social norms plays a positive role on society as they ‘test’ whether an action is still deviant
Boundary maintenance is the constant testing of norms and values to create new and different norms that benefit society
Functionalists think that deviance shows the gradual change in society
For example, the freedom riders in 1961 USA took buses to change the norm of segregated buses - the law was already changed
Marxists think that laws reflect the wishes of the bourgeoisie and supress the proletariat
For example, white-collar crime is seen as less deviant than blue-collar crimes
Changing norms may change people’s behaviour more as society follows each other
Changing laws may change people’s behaviour more from the fear of fines or jail regardless of others
Primary socialisation is how the family first teaches children norms and values , like using the naughty step
Secondary socialisation is how norms and values are taught throughout life through education, peer groups, media and the workplace
Formal social control is how the government and police keep societies order
Informal social control is how society is kept in order through others in society
A negative sanction will be received when a person breaks a social norm and/or law
Anti-social behaviour is actions against the expectations of society and is deviant, and possibly illegal
Informal social control helps prevent anti-social behaviour through sanctions - started in primary socialisation
The family is an agency of informal social control and helps young children learn what is right and wrong so they do right in order to gain rewards
Peer groups are an agency of informal social control and they socialise people into following others, and increases social control
Peer groups can also decrease social control by socialising others badly so they break social norms
The media is an agency of social control and pressures individuals into following expected - this fear stops prevents people being deviant and breaking the law
Religion is an agent of social control and it socialises from a young age what is right or wrong aligned with the religions view
Religion also controls how people behave as they don’t want to commit sin, for example
Education is an agency of informal social control as children learn that punishments are bad and this prevents children committing crime when they grow up
The police are an agent of formal control
Community policing is where police go out and ‘make friends’ with communities to prevent crime
Zero-tolerance policing is strict and controlling and has an immediate impact to stop crime
In 1989, during the FA cup final in Hillsborough stadium, Sheffield there were 96 deaths when crowds were let into the stadium
The marxist view on Hillsborough is that the crowds were mainly working-class, so the police didn’t take the incident seriously or care as much as if it had been middle class
The functionalist view on Hillsborough is that is was the fans own fault and the police resolved the issue in the end, so were good
In summer 2011, there were riots in London which spread across cities in the UK - they were started when Mark Duggan was shot but got out of control (not just for BLM)
The functionalist view on the 2011 London riots was that the police eventually stopped the riots and without them it would be worse and lead to anomie
The functionalist view on the police is that they play a key roles in maintaining social order, and without them society would fall into chaos
The functionalist view is also that they teach the public about appropriate behaviours and safety
The marxist view on the police is that they are one-sided and against working-class and that the police’s rules only protect the bourgeoisie from the proletariat
Magistrates courts deal with 95% of criminals cases and is presided over by at least one magistrate
Magistrate judges are part-time nonlegal trained judges
Crown courts deal with only the most serious cases and are presided over by a judge and a jury
Crown court judges are professional judges and are trained with a jury
Youth courts deal specifically with young offenders and try to arrange for parent’s attending as well
Functionalists think courts are a positive part of society that keep individuals under control, and protect society from dangerous individuals through prison
Courts also remind the public of boundaries and the law, which is communicated through the media
Marxists criticise the courts for favouring the rich and powerful and they say that courts are unfair as they protect the interests of the rich at the expense of the working-class and vulnerable
The judges shape the law through their decisions and the parliament’s laws are interpreted by them - marxist
Marxists say that working-class won’t become judges, as they are unfamiliar with them - outfits, university fees, etc.
Only 35% of crown courts are female, and only 5% are ethnic minorities
29% of UK crown court judges went to state school (93% in the UK go to state school overall)
58% of magistrate judges are female, and 82% are over 50
Only 16% of magistrates judges are ethnic minorities
Out of the 80000 UK prisoners in 2020, 76000 were male
In the UK, 3% of people are black, but 12% of the prison population is black
In the UK, the was a decrease in reported crime in the 1990’s, possibly because people aren’t bothered to report crime
Cyber crime is increasing, especially since COVID, where it increased by 36%
Recently burglary has decreased, possibly because of COVID
Most sociologist believe working-class people are more likely to be victims of crime, as wells as young households, lone-parent families and unemployed people (violence and burglary)
Men are the victims of 70% of reported crime in the UK, as well as 64% of murder victims and higher chances of assaulted than women
98% of sexual offences are committed by men against women - mostly when the women is known to them
Ethnic minorities, disabled people and homosexuals are more likely to be victims of crime due to hate crimes
Marxists say that adverts encourage crime in working class people, as well as poor people easier targets, and these victims of crime reinforce capitalism
Marxists say the proletariat are encourages to steal from each other by capitalism
Feminists say that women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence and sexual crime, which are harder to prosecute, which reinforces men’s domination
Functionalists say that crime reinforces social control as punishments remind people why crime is bad, and it brings people together through sympathy for victims
Functionalists also say crime and the victims of crime encourage working-class to work hard and decrease their chance of being a victim
New Right sociologists blame the culture of poverty, which encourages an every day lifestyles of petty crime, and the underclass for crime
The under class are below working-class, and commit crime to survive - New right
The culture of poverty is a New Right theory that says poor people have a lifestyle of everyday petty crime
Hate crime is any crime targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice towards them
Hate crimes could be because of disabilities, race/ethnicity, religion/beliefs, sexual orientation and transgender identity
Moral panic is the media exaggerating a problem, such as crime, to make it appear as a threat to the whole of society
For example, there was a moral panic around killer clowns
The age crime curve shows that there is a sudden increase of crime rates at around 17, which the gradually decreases until the ages of 50ish
Older people are shown to commit less crime on the age crime curve, but this may be due to being better at avoiding being caught or death
Combined, those over 65 are the least likely to commit crime, be a victim of crime and be in prison
35% of total prisoners are 30-39, but most crime is caught at age 17 - less lenient sentences/punishments?
Geoffrey Pearson said there was a ‘golden age’ in crime
Emile Durkheim is a functionalist sociologist who created the idea of ‘collective sentiment’
Collective sentiment is the theory that everyone in society shares the same core values and principles about right and wrong
Emile Durkheim said terrible crimes remind us of our collective sentiment and it prevents further crime happening
James Bulger was murdered by two 10 year olds at age 2, which is a terrible crime that reminds us of our collective sentiment
In Paris 2015, there were attacks by organised terrorists, which further shows how we are reminded of our collective sentiment
Boundary maintenance is the idea that crime reminds people in society why crime is bad and it helps to solidify the differences in right and wrong - Durkheim
Anomie is a state where there is a break down of social norms and society falls into chaos
Anomie is also known as the ‘broken window’ theory - if a window is broken, and not fixed, it will be seen as okay in society and cause more ‘broken windows’, and there will be no social norms left
In functionalism, deviance is seen as being good for society as it tests whether deviant acts are still deviant, and if they aren’t norms can change to create a better society
Issues with functionalist views on crime are that it doesn’t explain individual motivations and it assumes social harmony, which is show as exaggerated
Emile Durkheim also says without crime, there is no society as boundaries need to be constantly tested
Robert Merton is a functionalist
The American dream is the idea that everyone wants to be rich
Strain theory is the idea that everyone wants to be rich and successful , but not everyone can be, however it doesn’t stop people chasing it so people commit crime to try and reach it
Robert Merton created strain theory and said it causes anomie in society because of the pressure it puts on people to be rich
People react to pressure in different ways, some of which are deviant or criminal
Conformity is the idea that people accept the stain theory, and carry on as normal and they follow norms and values consciously even with the knowledge they will fail
Ritualism is the idea that people will mindlessly carry on following the rules and straining to reach richness, but never getting it, only being near and staying with the norms and values
Innovation is the idea that people will come up with new ideas and will do anything possible to succeed and be rich, including crime to get money - money laundering or fraud
Retreatism 🦀(hermit crab) is the idea that people will completely give up the goals of society and completely stop working for money - could become homeless, etc.
Rebellion is the idea that people will try to radically change society to gain money and become rich, possibly becoming a part of an extremist group or subculture to have a revolution - can cause crime in the process, to try and gain that money
Strain theory says everyone wants to be rich, but can’t because of capitalism but they still continue to chase it, some of which methods cause crime and deviance - Robert Merton
Strain theory doesn’t explain crime committed for fun or enjoyment
A subculture is a group within society with radically different norms and values to greater society
Cultural deprivation is the lack of involvement in society from a young age, and it blames working class for their underachievement - functionalist
Cultural capital is the idea that middle class children are taken to museums from a young age, for example, and they learn the culture of society - marxist, blames society for underachievement of working class
Albert Cohen criticises Merton’s strain theory, as it doesn’t explain crime not for profit, so he created subcultural theory and the idea of status frustration
Albert Cohen focusses on crime committed by working-class and delinquent subcultures, and the idea that people commit crime to feel successful
Status frustration says young working-class people in society get frustrated by their lack of success or status, so they make their own norms and values to feel good 🙂
Subcultural theory says that status frustration in young people leads them to join criminal or deviant subcultures with radically different norms and values, which allow success easier
Cloward and Ohlin are functionalists who say that young men lack opportunities, in employment and wealth, that lead them to engaging with delinquent subcultures
Miller is a functionalist who says that working-class male subcultures had certain interests, like acting tough and looking for excitement (focal concerns), leading to their involvement in crime
Cohen says young people are frustrated by their lack of success, and gain status frustration, leading to them joining subcultures
Murray is a new right sociologist that says that working-class has it’s own culture called the ‘culture of poverty’, and in this, crime may be viewed as normal which causes delinquency and crime
Matza disagreed that crime is only committed by subcultures, and said anyone can commit crime and that they drift in or out of it
Drift theory is the theory that anyone can commit crime, and they can drift in and out of it - when they commit it, they make excuses if they normally follow the law
William Chambliss studied Seattle in the 1970’s, and he found that the most powerful people could use power to commit crime to add to wealth, and that they used bribery and threats to keep people ‘quiet’ and their positions to avoid jail
William Chambliss said differential enforcement of law was unfair, between rich businessmen and politicians and working-class
Consumerism is buying what you don’t need to have the best of something due to the power of advertising, which supports capitalism and the bourgeoisie
Blue collar workers were traditionally working-class members of society in manual jobs
Blue collar workers were called that due to their outfits generally being low quality, tough blue coloured clothing
White collar workers were traditionally middle or upper class members of society
White collar workers usually wore a white shirt and tie to work
Blue collar crime is crime committed by working-class, like petty theft or vandalism
White collar crime is crime committed by middle or upper class, like embezzlement, money laundering or bribery
Embezzlement is stealing money from work
Edwin Sutherland studied white collar crime in the 1960’s and was a marxist
Functionalist subcultural theory and strain theory ignore crime committed by middle class
Slapper and Tombs were Marxists who said white collar crime is committed by people with high status for individual benefit
An example of white collar crime could be the MP expenses scandal, where MP’s where found to have claimed money back not related to work, like a duck house :)
The Downing street parties are also and example of white collar crime, where the PM and other members of parliament were found to be attending several parties during lockdown, where the rest of society were unable to leave their houses
Corporate crime is crime committed by middle class workers to benefit their company, like neglect, fraud or the mis-selling of products
For example, the smiler ride at Alton towers in 2015, where negligence caused it to crash as workers were not properly trained - were fined 5 million
Slapper and Tombs said money in corporate crime is huge to that compared with street crime and they payed attention to how banks and financial companies mis-sold pensions to working people
It is harder to punish corporate crime committed by big companies as they have the money and lawyers available to get out of it - they also provide lots of jobs so are less likely to be punished
Big companies can also get away with ignoring rules and laws
For example, Thalidomide in the 1960’s was sold without proper testing and caused disabilities in many children after birth, and supermarkets were found to be selling horse meat (illegal in the UK) packaged as beef
A higher status criminal is someone who has high status and level of importance and commits white collar or corporate crime, but they are less likely to be suspected and are better at concealing it
Higher status criminals can also afford better lawyers to avoid paying fines or going to prison
The media didn’t use to report on white collar or corporate crime, but now are which is increasing awareness around it and increasing balance of views
The media also commits corporate crime to gain this information, such as phone hacking, and potentially making it worse
Interactionalist say that if you have been caught stealing once, you are more likely to continue and become a typical offender due to labels
A typical offender is someone who repeatedly commits crimes due to labels being placed on them, and this means the criminal is aware of their actions and the consequences of them
Labels on criminals could cause more crime as they believe others views of them, and they become a self-fulfilling prophecy and commit more crime
Typical offenders may continue to commit crime due to labels preventing them getting future jobs, so they need to in order to survive
Immediate labelling can increase crime rates in society
Some interactionalists argue there is no typical offender, and instead there is just a stereotypical criminal that guides most people
Powerful labels like ‘criminals’ can create a person’s ‘master status’
A master status is where criminals have been labelled and tend to follow the self-fulfilling prophecy and start a ‘deviant career’, gaining the status of committing crime
William Chambliss studied two youth groups - the middle-class ‘saints’, and the working-class ‘roughnecks’ both of which committed the same crime but only the roughnecks were caught due to the expectation of their crimes
Marxists think the media affects crime rates through consumerism as working class are made to want what they can’t have
Marxists also say that the bourgeoisie create moral panics through their controlled media, which distracts the proletariat from how bad society is
Interactionalists say that the media exaggerates deviant or criminal behaviour
Stanley Cohen believes the media’s exaggeration creates a climate of fear in society
Folk devils are outsider groups that are seen as deviant and they are blamed for society’s problems - scape goats
The media causes moral panics and deviancy amplification (hypodermic syringe model)
The hypodermic syringe model is where the media injects society with one thing, that spreads and causes moral panics
Functionalists say crimes reported by the media might stop others offending as they fear the punishments, and it reminds them of their collective sentiment
Women make up around 5% of the overall prison population in the UK, at around 4000
A total of 8447 women were sent to prison in 2016
Women accounted for around 10% of all prison reception in 2016
The women’s prison population has more than doubled between 1995 and 2010, from 1979 to 4236, however so has men’s
Francis Heidensohn argued that women are less likely to turn to crime due to extra informal social control
She said that girls were protected by men (dad, brothers, boyfriends), which prevents crime
McRobbie called this the ‘Bedroom culture’
Heidensohn said women who did commit crime or act deviant risk being labelled badly - the demonisation of women
Double deviance is when women who commit crime are punished by courts, for example, and by the media
Lack of employment opportunities also mean there is a lower chance of white collar crime, which is seen as less deviant
Myra Hindley in the 1960s murdered children and received a life sentence - double deviance as breaking gender norms of parenting and caring nature
Maxine Carr in the 2000s aided an offender who murdered children, and didn’t actually commit the crime but is more remembered/seen by the media
Lucy Letby in the 2020s killed 7 babies and attempted murder of 7 more and received a life sentence - could be double deviance although extreme crime for men as well
Criticisms of Heidersohn’s view include a rise in ‘ladettes’, a rise in technology allows crime to be committed in the home more easily and girls haven’t necessarily been socialised stricter than boys have
A ladette is where girls are willing to be naughty in school and commit crime later in life - Martyn Denscombe
Peter Townsend said females were far more likely to experience poverty, which increases their chances of experiencing crime - there has been an increase in female crime since the 1970s, usually for less serious offences
Pat Carlen said women are committing more crime for excitement, because of problems with drugs or alcohol, poverty or because they suffered bad experiences when they were younger
Edgework is committing crime for thrill
Carlen studied female crime by using observation and unstructured interviews of women between 15 and 39 who had committed crime, anonymously
Carlen also used the theory of social control, which sees crime as a result of individuals bonds with society being weak
Travis Hirschi’s four main bonds were our connections with others, how much we have to lose, how involved/busy we are in society and how committed we are to societies values
If the four main bonds are weak, people have less self-restraint and commit crime
Chivalry is men protecting women - damsel in distress
Otto Pollak is NOT a feminist, but created chivalry thesis in the 1950s
Chivalry thesis is the idea that men feel a natural instinct to protect women (damsel in distress) and this protects them from entering a life of crime
He says that women get less punishments for crime, from judges and the police because of the belief they are ‘sad not bad’
Feminists criticise Otto Pollak’s view as they believe women are punished worse as they are challenging stereotypes and norms
Pollak’s chivalry thesis says that men take the blame for female crime out of courtesy so don’t punish women as seriously as well as having a natural instinct to protect women from consequences of crime
Social control and the demonisation of women is the idea that women who commit crime clash with what is expected of them, which leads them to being treated harshly and suffering from double deviance
Stereotypes of women show that women are treated differently by the law depending on how they fit the expectations of female behaviours - the less they ‘fit’, the worse they are punished - Pat Carlen
Carol Smart agrees with this, but says whether they are a good mother also impacts it
Men also commit more crime women because of boy’s socialisation to be tough and take risks - this is why men’s crime is often more violent
Black people are 3 times more likely to be murdered in the UK than non-ethnic minorities, as well as being 3 times more likely to be in prison
Stuart Hall focussed on ‘mugging’ and how it was associated with ethnic minorities in the media to cause moral panics
Ethnic minorities were ‘scapegoats’ for the media covering up the true cause
Mugging was a term used by the media for a violent robbery committed by ethnic minorities
Paul Gilroy said the idea that black people were more likely to be criminals was a self-perpetuating myth
Gilroy also said that police statistics can’t be trusted due to selective policing based on typification
Canteen culture is the idea that police use negative stereotypes when dealing with black people
The main reason ethnic minorities commit more crime is because of poverty and unemployment, selective policing, discrimination and having different norms and values
Institutional racism is the when an organisation’s culture and methods of operating are found to be racist throughout
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in London in 1993, and it was investigated until 2020 and there was found to be institutional racism from the police
The MacPherson report (1999) confirmed that the Met were institutionally racist, and the Casey report (2023) found them to be institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic
Police integrity is how honest and trustworthy police are - are they abusing their power?
Reported crime is the crime figures that are often reported by members of the public - official statistics
The hidden/dark figure of crime is unreported crime and it is unknown how much really happens - also known as invisible crime
Government statistics are made by the government based on victim and self-report studies (anonymous), police statistics and from censuses
Issues with government statistics include them trying to twist them to better suit their ideals, and issues with government integrity
Police statistics on crime are based on reported crime, and are influenced by police and its integrity
Feminists say forces of social control treat women differently, so official stats on female crime are inaccurate
Marxists say corporate and white collar crime are underestimated by official statistics, and that some criminals are protected by police and courts
Selective law enforcements and moral panics could show biases against working class and that police adopt certain styles of policing in different areas/time
Sociological research methods
Ethics are principles around whether an activity is morally right or wrong
An interview is asking someone questions to gain knowledge
Reliability is how repeatable research is
Validity is how true research is
Representativeness is how a sample reflects wider society
Practical issues are issues in research related to cost, time, access or skill
Qualitative data is data in words that has lots of detail - gives context
Quantitative data is numerical data
Observation is looking at a group and recording results
A pilot study is a trial run before full research is carried out
Questionnaires are questions/surveys to use as research
A sample is a selection of results or participants out of many in a study
Observation can be overt (known) or covert (unknown), and is when a sociologist gains information by watching others
Questionnaires can be online or postal
Primary research is information gathered directly by the sociologist
Secondary research is information that already exists - from official and non-official statistics
A participant is someone who is taking part in a research
The Hawthorne effect is the idea that people behave differently when they are being watched by others
A hypothesis is a prediction of results from research
Sociologists carry out research to explore trends and patterns in society and it’s culture
A response rate is how many people fill out a questionnaire
Self-completion questionnaires are when participants fill it out themselves - postal or self-report, which can take less time and increase representativeness
Interview questionnaires are when questions are asked face to face by the researcher
Issues with interview questionnaires are that they take time, but they produce higher validity
Closed questions are when a response is yes/no or only one word, which increases reliability and decreases validity
Open questions are long answer responses with room to elaborate and explain, which increases validity and lowers reliability
Right answerism is participants selecting an answer they think is right, and not necessarily what they think
An interview is a conversation between two or more people, where the interviewer asks questions, and it is considered to produce qualitative data
Interviews are more personal, and follow up questions can be asked, but they take up more time and there are issues with ethics and skill
Unstructured interviews are when interviewers have no planned questions, only a list of topics for discussion
Unstructured interviews can build up a rapport (increases validity) but have lots of practical issues
Dobash and Dobash investigated violence against wives in the family, and interviewed women but also services who helped them to build up validity and also a rapport
A rapport is a positive relationship between an interviewer and participant
Structured interviews have a prepared list of questions, either open or closed, which must be asked with no follow up questions - increased reliability, lower validity
Semi-structured interviews have prepared questions, but also unplanned topics for discussion and follow up questions
A focus group is a group interview, which is less time consuming but the Hawthorne effect is an issue - increased representativeness but lower validity
Verstehen is a deep empathetic understanding between researcher and participant
Observation is when a researcher watches a group to gain information
Overt observation is when participants are aware they are being watched - lower validity because of the Hawthorne effect, but good for ethics
Covert observation is when participants don’t know they are being watched - issues with ethics but high validity
Participant observation is when the researcher joins the group - their actions in the group can effect behaviour, and they could ‘go native’, but good verstehen
Non-participant observation is when the researcher watches the group from a distance - higher validity
Observation is good as it is the only way to access some groups, and there is no interviewer bias, but it isn’t representative or reliable and there are practical issues
A Glasgow gang observed was research done by James Patrick where he did covert participant observation of a gang in the 1960s by gaining access by a gatekeeper (his 15 year old student), which wouldn’t be allowed now
Pc Mark Kennedy went undercover as Mark Stone for 7 years in an environmental group, but he ended up going native as he believed in the causes and had friends
When the group was prosecuted, he ended up defending them, and as they were unaware he was undercover he was trusted - ‘forgot’ his reason for being there
Official statistics are produced by the government and other official bodies and can be on a range of topics, but usually used to measure frequency
The national office of statistics publish lots of official stats
Non-official statistics are statistics from non-official sources - students, universities or sociologist
Ethics are principles around whether something is right or wrong, and whether it does the right thing, isn’t offending, upsetting or dangerous
Any sociological research has to be allowed by the British sociological association (BSA) - for example, covert observation is an unlikely last resort
Anonymity is making sure no names are mentioned in your finished report or data collection
A gatekeeper is someone who gives permission for someone (children, etc.) to be involved in your research
Informed consent is making sure that your respondents know what you are doing and agree to participate
Confidentiality is keeping personal details between you and the respondent
Primary data can have practical issues, but has higher validity and you can make sure it is related to your research
Secondary data has issues with validity, but has higher reliability and representativeness
Qualitative data has higher validity but takes time and resources
Quantitative data has higher representativeness and reliability, but lower validity, no verstehen and is less specific
Access is how easy it is to get data, and gatekeepers might be required - for children, intoxicated people, etc.
The target population is the group sociologists wish to study
Samples are a way of reducing to target population to study a smaller manageable group
Generalisations are general statements and conclusions that apply to the whole population
A sampling frame is where your sample is selected from
Random sampling is when a sociologist’s research picks a name out of a hat randomly - probability
Systematic sampling is when a sociologist selects participants/sample by taking every 3rd name, for example - probability
Stratified random sampling is when the target group is split into class, gender, ethnicity, etc. and random selections are made from these groups - probability/non-probability
Snowball sampling is when the sociologist uses one contact to introduce another contact to join the study, which repeats - probability
Quota sampling is when the researcher makes sure the study is representative by picking who is part of the study - non-probability
Opportunity sampling is when the research involves anyone who is available and willing to take part - probability
Research aims set out what the researcher is planning to investigate and give a clear focus to the study
Hypothesis is an informed guess about what the researcher will find from a study
A research question is a why to explore an area of society - more specific than aims, but not biased
Research is completed by choosing a topic area, writing a question/hypothesis, carrying out the research, answering the hypothesis, publishing the report and then considering further research
A pilot study is a trial run before a full research project is carried out so improvements can be made and practical issues can be avoided
Eileen Barker studied a Korean religious cult called the ‘Moonies’ by using mixed methods - unstructured interviews, and then questionnaires shaped by her results
Mixed methods are a combination of different research methods to try and improve validity and reliability - also known as triangulation
Social stratification and differentiation
Social stratification is how there are different layers of inequality in society
Social differentiation is the differences between the layers of inequality is society
Inequality is the situation where some people have more wealth and better opportunities and may be seen as more important than others
Life chances are the opportunities people have of enjoying the good things and avoiding the bad things in life
Functionalists think not everyone can be rich and enjoy all the best things so inequality is good as it motivates people
Communism is where everyone is equal and has the same wealth, so in theory there is no inequality
Capitalism is where there is private property and buying/selling to gain profit
Most sociologists think there should be, or is, equality of opportunity (chances people have)
Equality of outcomes is where everyone has equal salaries and similar life styles in society
Open systems of social stratification is where social mobility between layers is possible
Closed systems of social stratification is where there is no social mobility and fixed layers
Stratification is the ranking of members in society so a hierarchy is formed
The Caste system is present in India, and is a closed system where the class you are born into is where you remain for life
Social mobility is the ability to move up or down between the layers of society
Apartheid was a legal separation of races in South Africa from 1948 to 1994 (closed system)
The UK could be seen as an open system of stratification - proved by Alan Sugar?
The American Dream is the idea that people who work hard can succeed and rise in class - meritocracy
Functionalists think poverty is good for society because it gives people incentive to work harder and succeed, it provides rewards for those who deserve it (meritocracy) and it can act as a form of motivation for higher status and privilege
Melvin Tumin said that not everyone has equal opportunity for life, and that not all jobs come with the rewards they deserve (not a marxist but similar ideas)
Functionalists believe that poverty and inequality allows those who work hard to be rewarded by role allocation
Roles are the jobs assumed by someone in society and are the functions they play
Consensus is the idea that people in society share a set of norms and values
New Right suggest that we have shared norms and values but also individual responsibility and traditional values
Davis and Moore say that people will get a job that matches their ability and the effort they make
Paul Saunders (new right) said that society could without stratification could be possible but it would struggle to function
Paul Saunders said that the best way to organise society was with unequal rewards
Marxism is the transitional phase from capitalism to communism - a self governed society without any state
False class consciousness is the idea that proletariat feel good about their positions due to bourgeoisie supressing them or making them feel good
Marxists say social stratification is bad as it reinforces capitalist views and class differences through the exploitation of proletariat by the bourgeoisie to create false class consciousness so they don’t rebel
Marxists also say that the bourgeoisie own the means of production so the proletariat are supressed
Weber said that classes were formed in marketplaces, such as in the labour market
Weber said there are four main classes - property owners, professionals, petty bourgeoisie and the working class with partial social mobility
Marx and W