Sociology

• Crime


  A act or behaviour that goes against the legislation of a particular country or state
• Deviance


  Actions which go against the norms and values of a society, which may not be against the law but are frowned upon by most in society
• Social construction


  A social phenomenon which is not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is found
• Warning Sign - Clinard +Cohen


  An increase in a certain type of crime or deviant behaviour can be an indication that something in society is not functioning as it should be and a change needs to occur
• Safety Valve- Davis +Polsky


  Some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can actually prevent larger more serious crimes
• Strain Theory - Merton


  Based around the idea of the American dream in the 1950s- Merton believed crimes are a response to the strain placed on people to achieve the goals and values of society
• Control Theory - Hirschi


  Asks not why people commit crime but why they don't commit crime. This idea suggests strong bonds with society stops people from committing crime.

  They are : 1)BELIEF 2)ATTACHMENT 3)INVOLVEMENT 4)COMMITMENT
• Boundary Maintenance + Social Cohesion - Durkheim 


  Crime allows society to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour in society as the public nature of the punishments show people what will happen for breaking the rules. Very serious crimes can also lead to society coming together to condemn the perpetrators
• Ways crime and deviance is socially constructed

  Historically - Criminal action and deviant behaviour changes over time. What was once acceptable may become illegal/deviant and what was once deviant/illegal may become acceptable e.g Homosexuality

  Contextually-Behaviours that are acceptable in certain situations would not be in others e.g Drinking alcohol at 8am
• Ways crime and deviance is socially constructed

  Culturally - what is considered acceptable or rude varies depending on the culture you are in e.g Eating with your left hand in Arab nation is considered rude

  Age - Some behaviours are acceptable from certain age groups and some activities are illegal for some age groups e.g Age restictions on certain products
• Evaluation of Hirschi's Control theory 


  Assumes all people are naturally bad and it is society that keeps people good. Doesn't explain why the bonds are weak or strong, or how they become so. You can have strong bonds but still be deviant - sexuality
• Types of strain 


  Type 1: Conformity - Accepting the goals set out and agreed by society as well as the means to achieve them

  Type 2: Innovation - Accepting the goals set and agreed by society but choosing different ways to acieve them

  Type 3: Ritualism - Following the means to achieve the goals of society but believing that you will never actually achieve them
• Types of strain 


  Type 4: Rebellion - Rejecting the goals of society and creating your own as well as the means of achieving them

  Type 5: Retreatism - Rejects the goals of society and the means of achieving them but do not replace them with their own goals or means
• Evaluation of strain theory

  • Over exaggerates the importance of monetary success
  • Underestimates the amount of crime commited by those who have achieved societal goals
  • Doesn't explain why groups choose the response they do
  • Fails to explain non-utilarian crime
• Evaluation of positive functions and change

  • Marxism - Ignores the role that powerful have in shaping what is criminal and deviant as well as the role of social incequality
  • Durkheim ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims instead on the impact on society
  • Doesn't quantify how much crime is beneficial to society
  • Crime does'nt always lead to solidarity but can cause isolation of both victim and criminal
• What did Durkheim say about Adaption and Change?

  Some social deviance is necessary to allow society to move foward and progress. Without some deviant and criminal behaviour society will become stagnant and die
• Safety Valve- Davis & Polsky


  Some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can actually prevent larger more serious crimes. For example, Polsky suggest that acessing pornography can prevent more serious sexual crimes
• Psychological explanations of crime

  • Maternal deprivation(BOWBLY) - People who are deprived of a mothers love as a young infant are more likely to become juvenile delinquents which leads to a criminal career.
  • Mental abnormality - Suggests that there is some sort of brain damage or mental illness suffered by criminals, which makes them commit crimes
• Evaluation of Psychological explanations of crime

  • Maternal Deprivation : Out of date - mothers are not the only primary caregivers, Not all delinquents come from broken homes
  • Mental Abnormality : Criminals become the victims, Hard to prove in some cases
• Biological explantions of crime

  • Lombrasso - Went into Italian prisons and measured the facial feautures of criminals. He thought that criminals were a less evolved human and this was shown in certain features such as large foreheads, big ears, small eyes
  • Genetics - The Warrior Gene (MAOA) is present in all humans but in some the gene gets mutated which has been linked to more aggresive behaviour, risk-taking and impulsiveness, which can be all linked to criminal behaviour
• Evaluation of Biological explanations

  • Lombrasso - Only looked at criminals who had been caught . These feautures could be apparent in non-criminals as well
  • Genetics - We don't know enough about how this gene works yet to conclusively link to criminal behaviour. It's also an excuse for criminal behaviour.
• Status Frustration - COHEN

  Young people get frustated by their inability to achieve social goals which lead to status, so turn to crime to achieve status
• Evaluation of Status frustration

  • Willis - W/C boys do not share the same ideas of status as M/C boys
  • Ignores female delinquency
  • Only discuss youth crime
• Illegitimate Opportunity Structures - CLOWARD AND OHLIN


  • Criminal subcultures which socialise young people into criminal activity
  • Conflict subculture where there is little social cohesion
  • Retreatist subculture those who fail to gain acces to other two subcultures
• Evaluationf of Illegitamte Opportunity Status

  • Assumes the official statistics on crime are accurate
  • Over exaggeration of the criminal oppurtunities availabe to the young
• Focal Concerns - MILLER


  W/C have a different set of values or concerns to the rest of society which include hyper masculinity which can lead to criminal beahviour appearing normal
• Evaluations of Focal Concerns

  • Not all W/C are criminals
  • Matza - Subculture membership is often short lived
• Capitalism is criminogenic


  It leads to crime as it causes exploitation of the working class
• Capitalism leads to an ever increasing gap between the rich and poor


  The poor might turn to crime in order to afford the necessities
• The frustration of exploitation


  Can lead to violence
• Selective law enforcement


  The criminal justice system applies the law to different social groups in different ways
• The working class and ethnic minorities are criminalised, while the powerful and rich appear to get let off or ignored
• Selective law making


  The laws themselves are socially constructed to benefit the rich and powerful
• The rich often engage in activities which result in death, injury, fraud and theft but the activities are protected under the law
• Ideological functions of crime

  To give a reason for the social control by the ruling class in order to prevent revolution from occurring
• Criminals are often portrayed as 'disturbed' by the media rather than reveal the role that capitalism has in making people criminals
• What did Gordon say ? (Marxist)


  Crime is a rational reaction to capitalist foci: Greed, Profit, Competition and materialism. Which is why it's found in all social classes despite what the official statistics suggest.
• REIMANN - The ruling class are more likely to commit crime but less likely to have the offence treated as a criminal one. For example, social security fraud is committed by the poor and almost always leads to prosecution but tax evasion doesn't
• CHAMBLISS - The law is shaped to protect property and profits of the rich and powerful. He also argues that the rich and powerful are part of a crime syndicate
• SNIDER -Governments are reluctant to pass laws which will regulate the activities of businesses or threaten profitability as this will affect donations