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Summary AQA Sociology Crime and Deviance: Functionalist Theories
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Summarised notes from the AQA Sociology Book Two on Crime and Deviance Functionalist Theories with some parts from class notes.
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Functionalist Theoryfunctionalists see crime and deviance as disrupting social
stability yetthey know its inevitable
Durkheimistheory
crime is normal an integralpart of all healthy societies
modern societies tend toward anomie or normlessness the
rules governing behaviour become weaker and less clear cut
The positive functions of Crime
1 Boundary maintenance
crime produces a reaction from society uniting its
members in condemnation of the wrongdoer
ie the murder of George Floyd
this explains thefunction of punishment
the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society's
shared rules and reinforce social solidarity
not to make the wrongdoer suffer or mend their
ways
2 Adaption and change
all change starts with an act of deviance
norms and values change once they havebeen challenged
Other functions of crime
Kingsley Davis argues thatprostitution acts as a safety valve for
the release of mens sexual frustrations without threatening the
monogamous nuclear family
NedPolsky argues that pornography safely channels a variety of
sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery
, Criticisms
for Durkheim society requires a certain amountof deviance to
function successfully but he offers no way of knowing how much
is the rightamount
crime doesn't always promote solidarity
based around the
Merton's strainTheory American Dream
strain theories argue that people engage in deviant behaviour
when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals
the first strain theory was developed by functionalist
Robert Merton who adapted Durkheim concept of anomie
to explain deviance
Merton explanation combines 2 elements
1 structural factors
2 cultural factors
for Merton deviance is the result of a strain between 2
things
the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve
what the institutional structure of society allows them
to achieve legitimately
types of adaptation to the strain to anomie
I conformity individuals accept the culturally approvedgoals
and strive to achieve them legitimately
2 innovation accept the goals but use illegitimate means to
achieve it
3 ritualism give up on trying to achieve the goals but
follow the rules for their own sake
4 retreatism reject both thegoals and legitimate means
and become dropouts
5 rebellion reject the goals and means and replace them
with new ones ie hippies
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