functionalist perspective

• boundary maintenance

  • crime produces a reaction in society and reinforces shared norms and values
  • function of punishment is to reaffirm shared rules and reinforce social solidarity
• adaptation and change

  • people with new ideas and ways of living have to challenge and change existing norms, would appear as deviant but might be good for society
• crime is inevitable

  • sees too much crime as destabilising society, but its also universal and inevitable
• davis

  • prostitution acts as a safety valve for mens sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family
• cohen

  • deviancy gives a warning that society isn't functioning properly (e.g high levels of truancy = problem in education system)
  • policy makers can make changes
• reasons for deviance

  • not everyone is socialised into shared norms and values, so some people are prone to it
  • diversity of lifestyles and values, with different groups developing their own subcultures and norms which might seem deviant to mainstream culture
  • modern societies tend to be normless, because they have complex divisions of labour, causing people to be different
  • this weakens shared culture and results in higher levels of deviance