...FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES OF C+D Emile Durkheim: 1. C+D is functional Durkheim believed that a certain amount of c+d could be positive for society. -Necessary to generate social change – innovation only arises when old ideas are challenged. -Helps to clarify the boundaries of acceptable behaviour following social reactions to deviance eg drugs. -Creates social integration as it bonds society together against criminals eg 9/11 and 7/7. 2. C+D is dysfunctional Durkheim believed that crime and deviance also acts as a threat to society. This is because the norms and values that ‘unite’ society are being challenged, thus threatening consensus, social order and stability. 3. Cause of C+D Durkheim believed that C+D occurred as a result of anomie (normlessness). He believed that this could occur during periods of rapid social change eg revolutions when people become unsure of what society’s norms and values are. 4. Social order and social control Durkheim believed that there’s an agreement/consensus over norms and values, resulting in social order and stable societies. He believed that this was due to social control, a positive thing, creating social cohesion. He believed social control was achieved by agencies who socialise individuals into norms and values by integrating them into school, instilling core norms and values. Religion binds people together during times of happiness and sadness, and regulates behaviour. Parsons argued that sickness may be deviant...
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...Assess the usefulness of functionalist and subcultural theories of crime and deviance for an understanding of why working class people commit crime (21 marks) Functionalists see society as based on shared norms and values which societies members are socialised into, known as a value consensus. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into a unit that works with other units to keep society running; it has been compared to the parts of the human body in the organic analogy. Durkheim was one of the first functionalists to investigate crime, he sees crime as part of a healthy and forward moving society; and that crime is inevitable in a modern society. This is because there is a not only a gender divide in labour, but a specialised divide in labour which causes diversity within subcultures. Because of this, the members of these subcultures become increasingly different from one another the shared norms and values become less clear. Durkheim describes this as Anomie, a state in which society becomes normless. Durkheim also believes all crime starts a deviance; this is because for changes to occur, individuals must challenge the current and accepted values of society. This will appear deviant at first, but as time passes could become the norm, or if it is supressed the individuals who challenged society will become outcasts. In the eyes of Durkheim, working class people commit crime because they want to see a change within society, this means that...
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...elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime (21 marks) Deviance is defined as the state of diverging from usual or accepted standards whereas crime is defined as an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. Usually, we would expect that functionalists would regard crime and deviance as wholly negative. However, functionalists such as Durkheim see the “beneficial effects of crime for society” whether there are “limited” or not. Additionally, functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every known society has some level of crime and deviance. Within this essay, I will be exploring the ways key functionalists such as Durkheim, Merton, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin view crime and criticisms towards their ideas. Durkheim states “crime is normal… an integral part of all healthy societies.” There are two reasons why crime and deviance are found in all societies. Which are; not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values and, therefore, some individuals will be prone to deviate. Secondly, in complex modern societies there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with their own norms and values. The mainstream culture may regard their norms as deviant. Durkheim’s perspectives highlights that crime is not just inevitable but it also fulfils two important functions. Firstly, boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society,...
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...usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 marks) In this essay one will assess the view of functionalists and how they approach their view of the causes of crime. Functionalisms over all view is to try understand how society shapes us by using a positivist view. Crime is defined as an action which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. One will assess each functionalist and their theories looking at how they coincide with one another, then challenge these theories to other sociologists. One functionalist sociologist is Talcott Parsons, he sees that society is based on a ‘value consensus’, and that without such a set of core values, social life would be impossible to maintain. Therefore society is a system and has to meet and fulfil certain needs, compared similarly to a biological organism. Parsons argued that certain things can be destabilising to society, for example when people do not conform to what is expected. By relating to a biological organism Parsons uses the idea of the ‘sick role’ where those that are ill don’t respect the medical profession by accepting that they are ill. He says that sickness is seen as deviant and has the potential for destabilising society. In comparison in society if someone has a ‘deviant illness’ they do not conform to what is seen as the norms in society, they are then seen as deviant and are likely to be rejected in society and turn to crime. Another sociologist...
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...Evaluate the usefulness of Functionalist theories to our understanding of crime and deviance (40 marks) A functionalist analysis of crime and deviance begins with society as a whole. It looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the individual. Durkheim argued that crime is an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. Crime is present in all types of society; indeed, the crime rate is higher in the more advanced, industrialised countries. According to Durkheim, crime is an ‘integral part of all healthy societies’. It’s inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (the shared values and moral beliefs) of society. Since individuals are exposed to different influences and circumstances, it is ‘impossible for all to be alike’. Therefore not everyone is equally reluctant to break the law. Durkheim went on to say that crime isn’t only inevitable, it can also be functional. Durkheim argued that it only becomes dysfunctional (harmful to society) when its rate is unusually high or law. He argued that all social change begins with some form of deviance. In order for change to occur, yesterday’s deviance must become today’s normality. Since a certain amount of change is good for society (so that it can progress rather than stagnate), so is deviance. If the collective sentiments are too strong, there will be little deviance, but neither will there be any change, or progress. Therefore the collective...
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...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 marks) In reference to Item A functionalism is a consensus theory, stating that in society we are governed by a value consensus that we all share. This means we all are socialised into the shared values, beliefs and norms of society. Functionalism uses this idea of value consensus to explain how crime is the result of not following this. It also explains how crime has functions in society and how it can play and integral part in society. Functionalists believe that crime is the effect of inadequate socialisation. This is because we are all individuals with our own experiences and families which raise us all differently whilst still keeping in with the norms and values of society, the problem lies where families socialise their children poorly and the children feel as sense of anomie or normlessness from their society. Meaning that they do not feel connected to the values they were poorly raised into. For instance, Durkheim argued that people feel anomie for the values and this makes them commit crime because they do not know that they aren’t supposed to, or that it is wrong. To them there is a blurred line between right and wrong. Therefore functionalism is useful at explaining what crime is caused by. Functionalists also feel though crime has a function in society, 1 Boundary maintenance, meaning that public displays of punishment (public courts)...
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...assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 marks) Item A Functionalist sociologists focus on how far individuals accept the norms and values of society. Central to their study of crime is the attempt to understand why people break the rules of society. Despite their focus on the importance of shared norms and values, functionalists see a small amount of crime as necessary and beneficial to society. The publicity given to crime highlights the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. However, the beneficial effects of crime for society are limited; too much crime can indicate problems By taking the perspective of a Functionalist we can consider how crime and deviance, although considered wrong, can be an important component to the running of society, and how it used. Functionalists use the collective conscience (which is a the need to be a working and productive member of society) by drawing attention to criminals and basically says “you don’t want to be like them do you?” as well as reinforce boundaries of right and wrong through the punishment of criminals and in some cases, exemplary punishments where special or extreme criminals get multiple life sentences. These extreme cases will likely be publicized through the mass media which works in two different aspects – strengthening bonds in the population by creating a mutual horror or fear, such as the stigmatisation of paedophiles or terrorist, this is part of Hirchi’s control theory which covers why people...
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...Research Theories of Anti-Social Behaviour and highlight the key points. Functionalist Theory A theory that I have found that relates to Anti-Social Behaviour is the Durkheim Theory; does he believe that committing suicide is not a mental problem? I am now going to highlight the key points in this research task that I have found. As far as Individuals were concerned this separate’s sociology from psychology. Research shows that suicide occurred when anomie arose. Anomie means the lack of social standards in an individual. I will now provide 3 different examples to show my understanding. He compared 3 different religious groups, Jews, Catholics and Protestants so therefore he found Protestants were more likely to commit suicide more frequently than Jews. Jews were more connected to their community because there religion included many rituals that would cause them as a group to be closer together. In other terms Protestants committed suicide more often because they lacked ritualization. Durkheim is a functionalist which means his theory is based on institutions in society and therefore this shows how everything in a society works together. Durkheim argued that there is nothing deviant or criminal in any act so therefore the key is how a society reacts and responds to the act. So if we put it in other words there is nothing criminal if we decide it is. Durkheim had many views but the main one was he believed that crime was not normal in any society it was also therefore beneficial...
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...to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks) Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in. For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society, uniting...
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...Assess functionalist theories of crime and deviance. Functionalism is a social structural and social control theory. It believes that it is society that causes the individual to commit crime. Social control theory looks at why people do not commit crime as it says that people are controlled by the primary and secondary agents of social control, such as the family or religion, and so should not commit crime. Functionalism is also a Right Wing theory, which believes that agents of social control like the police are fair and just; law reflects the collective conscience; people are biologically selfish and official statistics are valid. Functionalists included in this essay are Durkheim and Merton with evaluation from functionalist subcultural theorists, Cloward and Ohlin, and Marxism. Durkheim said that crime is inevitable: this is because people are not equally committed to the law due to individual differences and each society has its own definitions of what is deviant and so even a ‘society of saints’ will have deviance. He also said that crime is functional for society when there is the ‘right’ amount. The collective conscience needs to be at a moderate energy so that there is not too much or too little crime. When there is the right amount, society can progress as the criminal may be ‘the origin of the genius’ as they challenge societies current values. Durkheim also made the concept of anomie. At times of rapid change, society can enter a state of normlessness, as there...
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...A subcultural theory is a deterministic theory that sees individuals as entirely shaped by the way society is structured or organised, this means that the subcultures share norms and values that are different to those that are shared by mainstream society as those within the subculture have rejected mainstream norms and have become inverted because the mainstream values have failed them as is illustrated by item A. These subcultural theories are used and developed by different sociologists in order to explain why crime and deviance happens, functionalists see society as socialising individuals into shared norms and values that dictate how they will behave showing why those who are part of a subculture reject society and participate in crime and deviance because they enable a person to have a sense of identification. However theses subcultural theories cannot always explain the trend in crime and deviance as there are many contributing factors as to why crime and deviance happens. Merton is a functionalist who has developed a theory in order to explain why crime and deviance happens which has then been developed further by other sociologists in to the form of subcultural theories. Merton’s strain theory is the basis of subcultural theories and he explains that the reason for deviance is the result of strain between the goals that society encourages individuals to achieve and what society actually allows them to achieve through legitimate means which leads them to commit deviance...
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...Assess functionalist theories of crime and deviance. Functionalism is a social structural and social control theory. It believes that it is society that causes the individual to commit crime. Social control theory looks at why people do not commit crime as it says that people are controlled by the primary and secondary agents of social control, such as the family or religion, and so should not commit crime. Functionalism is also a Right Wing theory, which believes that agents of social control like the police are fair and just; law reflects the collective conscience; people are biologically selfish and official statistics are valid. Functionalists included in this essay are Durkheim and Merton with evaluation from functionalist subcultural theorists, Cloward and Ohlin, and Marxism. Durkheim said that crime is inevitable: this is because people are not equally committed to the law due to individual differences and each society has its own definitions of what is deviant and so even a ‘society of saints’ will have deviance. He also said that crime is functional for society when there is the ‘right’ amount. The collective conscience needs to be at a moderate energy so that there is not too much or too little crime. When there is the right amount, society can progress as the criminal may be ‘the origin of the genius’ as they challenge societies current values. Durkheim also made the concept of anomie. At times of rapid change, society can enter a state of normlessness, as there are...
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...that by its nature it inevitably causes crime. As item B states, Marxists see crime in the capitalist system as ‘a tool of the ruling class’ where they can control the working class and crime is an unavoidable result because of the oppression the working class are subject to. They also believe that laws are enforced mostly to benefit the interests of the ruling class. (An example of this is 80% of laws exist to protect private property.) NeoMarxists (also known as critical criminology) are another branch of Marxism which was established in the 1970s. They discuss more contemporary ideas of crime and their ideas, such as saying crime results out of political anger. They note that the traditional Marxist perspective is too deterministic and try to implement an element of free will in their theory. Traditional Marxist’s view of crime has 3 key aspects: The Criminogenic capitalism, the state and law making and ideological functions of crime and law. As previously stated, criminogenic capitalism is the Marxist idea that crime is inevitable because of the nature of capitalism. They believe that because of capitalism as the unequal divide between classes, committing crime is sometimes the only way people can live. For example, a young woman who is living in poverty may have to resort to prostitution in order to survive. In addition, sometimes the working class may feel frustrated that they are under the control of the bourgeoisie and act out in crimes such as violence and vandalism as a...
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...2012 Wendell Johnson The social situation that I would like to address in this essay is the problem of crime in our society. We all know that crime is on the rise, most likely due to inequalities in race, education, social class, skills, financial status, and religious beliefs and values. Of course, both functionalists and conflict theorists are marco-level, but have differing views on the reasons for, and reactions to, crime in our society today. Interactionist on the other had is micro-level, meaning it is not that useful to the world. Functionalists believe that crime is important for a society. Crime shows other member of the society what is right and wrong. Social agreement decides how right and wrong is determined. Crime can lead to social change, say functionalists, because the existence of crime proves to the people in the society that the government does not overly control the citizens. Crime can also help the economy of a society by creating jobs for law enforcement officers, psychiatrists, and probation officers. However, even in a functionalist society, too much crime can be bad for the group, causing it to lose the standard harmony and ultimately causing the society to failure. Also it is suggested that the existence of crime is functional in its ability to gather families and communities together for a common purpose. Conflict theorists feel that crime is products of a struggle for power and control. According to a conflict theorist, a select few powerful...
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...Luscombe Outline and asses the functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. Functionalist ignore deviance; they look at society as a whole and ignore individualism. Functionalism is a structuralist approach (also known as a consensus theory) they believe that individuals are shaped by society and social facts. A limitation of functionalist is that they ignore certain groups within society, such as women and people with disabilities. They also ignore factors such as ‘race’ and social class. They believe that society will maintain stability if the institutions still exists and the factors that may cause conflict – are ignored. I will assessing the functionalist contribution to explanations of crime, to how useful it is and if those explanations have been applied within modern day society. Also how useful the explanations are at reducing crime. Deviance is a normative approach, it is associated with behaviour that differs from the set norms and values set out by society. Deviance is linked to informal social control through sanctions (not by laws or government policy). In a Post Modern society – this definition of deviance would be problematic because it refers to societal norms (which would have disappeared; due to individualism making it hard to follow set norms and values). Deviance could collapse in a post-modern society. Durkheim (1895) is a positivist who proposed the concept of anomie; as an explanation as to why certain people commit crime. He believes that if individuals...
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