...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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...Assess the functionalist view that a small amount of crime is useful to society There is a long running argument between sociologists about the existence of crime and deviance and whether or not it can benefit societies in some ways. Many of them in the functionalist point of view argue that it can however, there are many, for example Marxists and feminists, which would argue that it doesn’t benefit anyone. Durkheim, the ‘founding father’ of functionalism believed that a small amount of crime in a society is necessary toward creating a perfect society, due to the three functions or outcomes that crime induces upon its occurrence: boundary maintenance, adaptation and change and social solidarity. Boundary maintenance is the effect that crime has upon the conformers within the society in which they see or hear about a crime and then know where the boundaries of their actions lie, due to the reaction of the authorities from the crime carried out and from the severity of the punishment given to the law-breaker, acting almost as a deterrent of crime toward the wider society. Adaptation and change is an outcome of a crime and is what can be done to prevent that crime from happening, as it perhaps show that parts of the society and community are flawed and need to be adjusted so that everybody can live better lives and not think they need to break the law to get the things they want or deviate from the consensus values to get what they want either. A large scale crime, for example...
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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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...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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...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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...THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES NAME: MWENYA MAKASA COMP NO: 14129965 COURSE: SOCIOLOGY 1110 LECTURE: MRS NTASHALA TUTOR: MR MWILA LUDAMO TUTORIAL DATE: WEDNESDAY 18-19HRS TASK: ASSIGNMENT ONE DUE DATE: 28TH January, 2015 QUESTION: Discuss the three Main Perspectives in Sociology and indicate their usefulness in Contemporary society? The nature of this essay is to discuss the three main perspectives in sociology and indicate their usefulness in contemporary society. The essay will first start with the definition of the term sociology and the term perspective. Later the essay will identify the three main sociological perspectives which are the key concepts of this essay. And a conclusion will be drawn at the end of this essay. The term sociology can be dated back in 1840. It was a word introduced by the French philosopher and the father of positivism (the use of scientific method in observing and studying social behavior). Auguste Comte (1789-1857) is considered to be the founder of the term sociology used to describe a new way of looking at the society. Therefore sociology can be defined as a scientific way of thinking about society and its influence on human groups (Taylor 2011). Perspectives in sociology provides us with different mindset in which we feel and see the world for example, a...
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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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...society to prevent extreme egoism from destroying all social bonds. Resultantly, he saw society as external and independent to individuals, being made up of ‘social facts’ that constrain and shape people’s behaviour to meet society’s functional prerequisites (needs). Durkheim further believed that if any one thing (‘social fact’) exists, it has a function which will help meet society’s needs, the key ones of which are goals (met through political institutions, e.g. parliament), adaptation (meeting members’ material needs, e.g. through the economy), integration (socialising members into the shared values and goals of society, e.g. through education and the media) and latency (maintaining society through reproduction of its members). Functionalists describe society using an organic analogy and comparing it to a biological organism. Parsons argues that society and the human body are...
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...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. He believed that crime could provide motivation...
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...Chaeli Starnes Bilal Sert SOCI-1301.702 Intro to Sociology Spring 2018 Are prisons effective total institutions or do they more commonly fail in their goal of resocialization? Please compare and contrast how a conflict, or a functionalist theorist would analyze this part of the criminal justice system. Resocialization is a process in which a person released from prison or another institution re-enters society as a changed individual. The question, however, is: How effective are our “total” institutions in re-socialization? When looking at the evidence, it is clear that the prison system often falls short in this area. The prison system is a correctional method in which inmates are confined and have limited rights. However,...
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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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...Using the material from Item A and elsewhere assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 Marks) Crime is the act which breaks the criminal laws of society. The functionalists approach to crime and deviance gives us some insight into how society copes with deviant behaviour. However it has limitations for example it only looks at the functions of deviance and not the causes. Durkheim says that to allow social solidarity to occur in society there are two key mechanisms which are socialisation and social control. He states that crime and deviance is inevitable and that it is needed in society as it preforms two positive functions; boundary maintenance and adaption. In Durkheim’s view, the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society’s shared rules. As it states in Item A the publicity given to crime highlights the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and this reinforces social solidarity through for example court rooms which dramatizes the wrong doing and stigmatises the offender and therefore discourages others from breaking society’s rules. For individuals that want adaption, there must be some scope for them to challenge and change the existing norms and values which is deviance. However, in time there values may give way to a new culture and morality. For example gay marriage would be seen as deviant but in current times it has become less deviant in countries such as the United Kingdom because it has become more popular over the last decade. If...
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...focusing on the needs of the whole social system and how these shape society’s main features, for example social institutions and humans’ behavioural patterns. The theory is a consensus theory in which views society as based on value consensus (agreement) between its inhabitants about their values, goals and rules. Durkheim saw modern industrial society as based on a complex division of labour which promotes differences between groups, weakening social solidarity. He argued that the resultant freedom to the individual must be regulated by society to prevent extreme egoism from destroying all social bonds. Essentially, he saw society as external and independent to individuals, being made up of ‘social facts’ that constrain and shape people’s behaviour to meet society’s functional prerequisites (needs). Durkheim further believed that if any one thing (‘social fact’) exists, it has a function which will help meet society’s needs, the key ones of which are goals (met through political institutions, e.g. parliament), adaptation (meeting members’ material needs, e.g. through the economy), integration (socialising members into the shared values and goals of society, e.g. through education and the media) and latency (maintaining society through reproduction of its members). Functionalists describe society using an organic analogy and compare it to a biological organism. Parsons argues that society and the human body are self-regulated and made up of interrelated, interdependent parts...
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...Crime, a Normal Element in the Society Sociologists like Emile Durkheim are more concerned with the study of deviance. Emile Durkheim’s ideas, concepts, and issues are traced, which provides explanations to why he says crime should be considered as a normal element in the society. Functionalism is one of the sociological theories that focus on issues of crime. A functionalist analyzes deviance from a societal point of view rather than the psychological nature of a person or the existing biological explanations. According to Durkheim, crime should be considered as a regular element in the society. He conquered to the consensus and social order of the society about criminal issues (Hawdon, Ryan & Agnich, 2010). His belief was that crime is not an evitable but a typical aspect of social life in different types of societies. He views it as an integral part that ensures the well-being of society. He argues that not all members of a community are equal (Durkheim, 2013). Each is influenced differently according to different circumstances he or she faces. This leads to unequal reluctance in law breaking. Durkheim is a positivist functionalist and clearly points out the reasons for why he says crime should be considered as a regular element in the society. He argues that crime should be regarded as functional and something necessary for a society but not something pathological (Hawdon, Ryan & Agnich, 2010). He says that crime is present in almost every society since each community...
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...Criminology: Functionalist perspective on crime and deviance The functionalist approach to analyzing deviance and the causes of crime looks at society as a whole. It explains crime and deviance by saying that the source of deviance lies in the nature of society itself rather than in psychology or biology. It should be noted that functionalists see deviance as an inevitable and necessary part of society. Some also consider deviance to have positive aspects for society. Emile Durkheim Durkheim argued in The Rules of Sociological Method that a certain level of crime was inevitable within any society. In fact it is normal and 'an integral part of all healthy societies’. The reason that deviance is inevitable is that not everyone is equally committed to the collective values and moral beliefs of society. There will always be disagreement and dissent. In addition, deviance can act in a positive way in that it helps to reinforce ideas of right and wrong in society. It reinforces ‘collective sentiments’ in society. Problems with deviance arise when the level of crime becomes too great as this can threaten social stability. Durkheim considered that deviance acts as a catalyst for social change in society. Change occurs because what was thought deviant previously is now considered acceptable. In this way society evolves and makes progress, which is healthy. The alternative would be stagnation and atrophy with no development. Indeed, Durkheim viewed societies where crime levels were...
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