Assess the usefulness of subcultural theories in understanding crime and deviance Point | Explain | Research/Evidence | Challenge/Link | Intro: Subcultural strain theories see deviance as the product of a delinquent subculture w/different values from those of mainstream society | Delinquency subcultures are seen as a way for groups (l/w) to gain status they cannot achieve legitimately | They seek to build on and criticise Merton’s theory | However, they have been criticised for over focusing on lower class members and assuming everyone has the same goals | Albert Cohen criticises Merton who sees deviance as an individual response to strain – ignoring the fact much deviance is committed in or by groups – especially among the young | Hence why Cohen focuses on deviance among working-class boys. He argues they face anomie in M/C dominated school system | Status frustration: Suffer - Cultural deprivation + lack of skills to achieve in M/C world = bottom of status hierarchy Lack of status = ‘frustration’ Resolution = rejecting M/C values & joining/forming a subculture of others in same position = alternative status hierarchy – gain status through deviant behaviour (joy riding, vandalising, fighting and substance abuse) | Strength: Cohen offers an explanation of non-utilitarian deviance amongst W/C – unlike Merton (innovation – crime w/profit motive)Cohen ‘s ideas of status frustration and alternative status hierarchy help to explain non-economic delinquency such as vandalism, fighting and truancy Weakness: like Merton, Cohen assumes that W/C boys start off sharing M/C success goals – only to reject these when they fail. He ignores the possibility – they didn’t share these goals in the first place & so never saw themselves as failures | Like Cohen, Cloward & Ohlin take Merton’s ideas as their start point. They agree that W/C youths are
Box (1981) however feels that Cohen’s theory is only plausible for a small amount of delinquents. As not all working class males aspire the middle class norms and values, many actually choose to follow the working class values. Another problem with Cohen’s Theory is that he assumes that all working class males have the ability to achieve the middle class norms and values. Which is not the case. Both of these reasons could show that perhaps Cohen’s theory is not that useful for explaining subcultural crime and deviance in society today, as he has failed to take
Cloward and Ohlin argue, that the majority of criminals involved in the drugs trade were unable to succeed within capitalism and were driven to an illegitimate means of obtaining wealth. Cloward and Ohlin further argued that as people were driven into this illegitimate structure they tended to join existing deviant subcultures i.e. the drug subculture as in the case of the drugs trade. The theory does well to explain many crimes of the working class as they are unable to succeed in a society driven by middle class values, however Cloward and Ohlin’s subcultural theory fails to explain the crimes of the powerful whom already have achieved economic wealth through legitimate means. Furthermore the theory
Moral regulation the way in which society regulates individuals, the norms and values which constrain people’s behaviour. He believed that when these functions break down, the individual could not control the environment they live in and are left to their own devices. He called this anomie (society in which individuals do not have any firm guidelines about the way to behave with each other.) (Lawson and Garrod 1996).Social change could create anomie, such as closure of large factories causing high unemployment. Thus possibly creating a link leading to suicidal tendencies.
Dehumanization occurs when those who are robbed of their humanity and those who rob others of their humanity through violence, oppression, and injustice. An example of this would be the division of social classes. The upper class could be defined as the oppressor with the status of power, wealth, and knowledge contrasted to the lower class or the oppressed. The lower classes lack power and wealth but are capable of obtaining knowledge through learning. Only once that the oppressed are conscious of their position in society of being dehumanized can they understand their circumstance and fight for freedom.
Generally people are the puppets of society and the social forces that underpin it. Both functionalists and Marxists take a positivist approach to explain social behaviour. Functionalists like Durkheim saw behaviour as the product of value consensus and social integration, e.g. suicide which most people see as the most individualistic human behaviour is seen by Durkheim as the product of levels of social integration and moral regulation in societies. He argues that suicide is caused by factors beyond the control of individuals.
Crime can only be a social problem if it breaks rules in the social system. The human societies often have different minds to what a social problem consists of. There are many known definitions of social problems throughout different societies and worldwide. Criminology in the narrow sense is concerned with the study of the phenomenon of crime, and of the factors or circumstances which may have influence on or be associated with the criminal behaviour and the state of crime in general. The understanding of criminology is to see social problems and cause of the crimes and how they have affect on people in society.
The Causes of Crime - Right realists reject the idea put forward by Marxists and others that structural or economic factors such as poverty and inequality are the cause for crime. For example, they point out that the old tend to be poor, yet they have a very low crime rate. - Right realists argue that crime is the product of three factors; individual biological differences, inadequate socialisation and the underclass, and rational choice to offend. Individual Biological Differences - James Wilson and Richard Herrnstein (1985) put forward a biosocial theory of criminal behaviour. In their view, crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors.
Marxists may argue that these norms and beliefs are all in interest of the Bourgeoisie and they can prevent or make change by ideological manipulation or force. Functionalism is that it says that there are purposes for everyone and everything within society. For example, under a functionalist point of view crime even contributes to the function of entire society, without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly because police etc would not have jobs. One of the weaknesses of this view is that, however, is that some could arguably say that this means that even poverty serves a function in society. But Durkheim may have argued that poverty was more a product of "anomie" than actually serving a function.
When someone is labelled an offender they are forced by society to live according to this label which could minimise their chances of being law abiding citizens and limit their chances of finding decent jobs. When deviants realise that society is defining them as thieves or offenders, they feel the need to act out on these labels. Deviants then try to adapt to their new profile by participating in various deviant (criminal)