Other
Functionalist view on Crime and Deviance
- Course
- Institution
Numerous Functionalists view on Crime & Deviance and their key ideas/ arguments
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
lidiao
Content preview
Functionalist view on crime & deviance● Believe that crime is actually beneficial for society
Durkheim:
- criminals perform crucial service in helping laws to reflect the wishes of the population &
legitimising social change
- crime only becomes dysfunctional when there is too much/little of it
- a limited amount of crime is inevitable & even necessary and a healthy society needs a
balance of both crime & punishment
- cause of crime is because not everyone is effectively socialised into the shared norms and
values of society
1. Social regulation = when police arrest someone it makes it clear to the rest of society that
that action is unacceptable & it warns others not to breach the law (media)
2. Social solidarity = when horrific crimes are committed the whole community joins together
in outrage & this creates a sense of belonging/strengthens a community
3. Social change = when laws are out of step with the feeling & values of the majority legal
form is necessary (anomie)
Merton:
- crime occurs when there aren’t enough legitimate opportunities for people to achieve the
normal success goals of society which creates a strain between goals and the means to
achieve these goals so people turn to crime
- 5 adaptations to crime; 1. Conformity, 2. Reitualism, 3. Innovation, 4. Retreatism, 5.
Rebellion
- developed his theory from official statistics which states that WC commit more crime
- american society promotes material success as the ‘legitimate goal’ but for the WC this is a
‘dream’/ ideology that only puts greater pressure to achieve material success by illegitimate
crimes to avoid failure
Hirishi:
- people commit crime when their attachment to society is not strong
- the level of attachment is dependent upon the strength of social bonds people hold to
society
- 4 bonds; 1. Attachment, 2. Commitment, 3, Involvement, 4, belief
Albert Cohen:
- studied deviance in schools (juvenile crime) & found the WC reacting to feelings of ‘status
frustration’
- recognised that delinquency might in fact be cultural
- WC experience sf because they cannot achieve social goals so they form subcultures that
take mainstream social goals & invert them into something negative
- delinquents value deviant/anti-school behaviours even if it doesn’t lead to financial gain
(explains arson, vandalism) as they gain status in their groups through rule breaking & reject
a system that has caused them to fail
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lidiao. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.44. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now