Functionalist, Strain & Subcultural Theories

• Relative Deprivation


  - the feeling of being deprived relative to others - among poor and marginalised social groups
• Durkheim's Theory of Crime


  - 'crime is normal..and integral part of all healthy societies'

  
  

  - crime and deviance occurs for 2 reasons:

  . not everyone is socialised effectively into the shared norms and values of society

  
  

  . the diversity of lifestyles and values create subcultures with their own norms and values which may deviate from mainstream culture
• Positive Functions of Crime

  - boundary maintenance

  - adaptation

  - change
• Boundary Maintenance


  - crime unites society in collective condemnation of the wrong-doer reinforcing commitment to shared norms and values

  
  

  - this can be seen in the rituals of courts which dramatise wrongdoing and publicly shame and stigmatise the offender
• Adaptation & Change


  - all change starts with an act of deviance

  
  

  - there needs to be a scope for those with new ideas, values and ways of thinking to challenge and change existing norms

  
  

  - if those with new ideas are suppressed, society will stagnate and be unable to make necessary adaptive changes
• Other Functions of Crime

  - (Davis 1937; 1961) prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men's sexual frustration without threatening the monogamous nuclear family

  
  

  - (Cohen) deviance acts as an indicator that an institution isn't functioning e.g. high rates of truancy indicate problems with the education system

  
  

  - (Polsky, 1967) pornography safely channels a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery

  
  

  - (Erikson, 1966) society may actually be designed to promote deviance; agencies such as the police sustaining certain levels of deviance rather than working to abolish it
• Criticisms of Functionalists Theories of Crime

  -explains crime is necessary for society to function but doesn't explain to what degree

  
  

  - theory explains crime's functions not the reason for its existence

  
  

  - crime doesn't always promote solidarity e.g. women staying inside more due to fear of assault

  
  

  - functionalism's consensus view of crime ignores how crime may affect other groups/individuals in society e.g. prostitution is functional for the customer but not the illegally trafficked sex worker
• Merton's Strain Theory


  - crime is caused by strain(stress) that is put on individuals when they can't reach their goals

  
  

  - society constructs goals and the law ensures that they are achieved through legitimate means

  
  

  - illegitimate means of achieving these goals are labelled as 'crime'

  
  

  - people turn to crime when there's no legitimate way to meet their goals
• The American Dream


  - society is meritocratic - anyone can achieve if they make effort

  
  

  - American culture emphasises wealth and success

  
  

  - although people have a desire to succeed there is a lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve these goals
• Anomie


  - anomie: norms breakdown causing a strain/tension between the goals and means producing unsatisfied aspirations

  
  

  - crime is caused by the failure to achieve the American Dream through legitimate means
• Responses to Goals of Success

  - Merton identified 5 responses to the goals of success in society:

  . conformity: pursuing cultural goals through socially acceptable means

  
  

  . innovation: using socially unapproved/unconventional means to obtain culturally approved goals

  
  

  . ritualism: using the same socially acceptable means to achieve less elusive (more modest and humbler) goals

  
  

  . retreatism: reject both cultural goals and means and then find a way to escape both

  
  

  . rebellion: reject the cultural means and goals and then find a way to replace them
• Evaluation of Strain Theory

  - explains how both normal and deviant behaviour can arise from the same mainstream goals

  
  

  - explains patterns in crime:

  . majority of crime is property crime; due to American society's fixation on material wealth

  
  

  . lower-class crime rates are higher due to lower opportunity to obtain wealth legitimately
• Subcultural Strain Theories


  - deviance is the product of a delinquent subculture with different values from those of mainstream society

  
  

  - subcultures provide an alternative opportunity structure for those (mainly working class) who are denied the chance to achieve by legitimate means

  
  

  - subcultures are a solution to a problem and therefore functional for their members, even if not for wider society

  
  

  - theory both criticises Merton's theory and builds on it
• Status Frustration: (A.K. Cohen, 1955)


  - deviance results from the inability for those in the lower classes to achieve mainstream goals through legitimate means (status frustration)

  
  

  - Cohen criticises Merton on 2 grounds:

  . views deviance as an individual response to strain ignoring the fact that much deviance is committed in or by groups, especially amongst the young

  
  

  . he focuses on the utilitarian crime committed for material gain (e.g. theft or fraud) ignoring crimes such as assault or vandalism
• Alternate Status Hierarchy


  - the delinquent subculture's values are spite, malice, hostility and contempt for those outside it

  
  

  - the subculture subverts the mainstream culture; what society condemns the subculture praises

  
  

  - this provides an alternative status hierarchy in which members can achieve
• Evaluation of A.K. Cohen: Status Frustration

  - too focused on working-class delinquency

  
  

  - (Box) rather than shame and guilt at their own failure, youth feel resentment towards teachers and middle-class students whose values they don't share

  
  

  - explains non-utilitarian deviance; Cohen's idea of status frustration, value inversion and alternative status hierarchy explain non-economic delinquency

  
  

  - assumes the working-class share middle-class success goals and reject them when they fail; ignores the possibility these goals aren't shared and don't see themselves as failures
• 3 Criminal Subcultures: (Cloward & Ohlin, 1960)


  - different neighbourhoods provide different illegitimate opportunities for young people to learn criminal skills and develop criminal careers:

  . criminal subcultures

  . conflict subcultures

  . retreatist subcultures
• Criminal Subcultures: (Cloward & Ohlin, 1960)


  - provides youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crime

  
  

  - arises in neighbourhoods with a longstanding, stable and local criminal culture and an established hierarchy of professional adult criminals

  
  

  - adult criminals select those with the right aptitudes and abilities and provide them with training and opportunities for employment on the criminal career ladder
• Conflict Subcultures: (Cloward and Ohlin, 1960)


  - arises in areas of high population turnover resulting in high levels of social disorganisation preventing professional criminal networks forming

  
  

  - this lack of access to criminal gangs leads to loosely organised gangs

  
  

  - violence provides gang members with a release for frustration at their blocked opportunities as well as an alternative source of status
• Retreatist Subculture: (Cloward and Ohlin, 1960)


  - consists of 'double failures'; those who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures

  
  

  - based on illegal drug use
• Evaluation of Cloward & Ohlin


  - ignore wider power structures such as law enforcers

  
  

  - explain the different types of working-class deviance in different subcultures

  
  

  - ignore the intersectionality of different criminal subcultures (South, 2020) found that drug trade is a mixture of both 'disorganised' crime and 'professional' crime
• Cultural Transmission Theory (Shaw & McKay, 1942)


  - neighbourhoods develop a criminal tradition/culture which is transmitted from generation to generation

  
  

  - this also works conversely; with other neighbourhoods remaining relatively crime-free
• Differential Association Theory (Sutherland, 1939)


  - deviance is learned through social interaction with others who are deviant e.g. learning criminal values and skills
• Social Disorganisation Theory (Park & Burgess, 1925)


  - deviance is the product of social disorganisation

  
  

  - changes such as rapid population turnover and migration create instability, disrupting family and community structure

  
  

  - these structures become unable to exercise social control over individuals resulting in deviance