Assess the usefulness of subcultural theories in explaining ‘subcultural crime and deviance’ in society today. The term subcultural crime and deviance is another way of describing the violation of laws or social norms by various groups within society. These groups have been explored in depth by many sociologists and they have attempted to explain subcultural crime and deviance through the existence of deviant subcultures. Originally, the work of Merton surrounding strain theory claimed that when there was a strain between the goals of society and the means of obtaining the goals then people would turn to crime. However subcultural theorists developed this idea claiming that people experiencing strain seek different forms of success.
Such an approach in this case would seek to understand the attitudes of ethnic minorities towards the police through methods such as semi-structured or unstructured interviews. Unstructured interviews are informal sessions with the interviewer asking open ended questions, in this case about attitudes to the police. The idea is that respondents are free to answer in depth. However a potential problem here is that researchers could ask leading questions or put across an anti police bias, which might encourage the respondents to exaggerate their experiences. A qualitative approach ought to collect data that are high in validity.
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of labelling theory in explaining crime and deviance (21 marks) As stated in item A the labelling theory ‘explains how actions become labelled as criminal or deviant in society’. This theory has provided many sociologists with a basis to suggest reasons as to why people commit crime in society. These sociologists take a micro-approach to crime and deviance and look at individuals rather than make generalisations based on society as a whole. Becker wrote the book ‘The Outsiders’ which sort to provide an explanation as to why not everyone is labelled as a criminal even if they have committed crime. He proposed three reasons as to why; their interactions with the police, their appearance, and the circumstances of their arrest.
Running head: IS THERAPY A FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL? Social Control verses Individuality: Are We Victims of Society? Social Control verses Individuality: Are We Victims of Society? In this essay it will be shown that normal and abnormal are somewhat hard to define, as everyone tends to have a different view on the definitions. It will be seen that social control or the influence of systems within our society shape and mould how we are as people (Chriss, 2010).
This assignment I will outline the concept of an unequal society, in addition I will include prejudice, stereotype, labelling and discrimination. In today’s society a population of individuals are treated unequally or is an individual contributing to unfair treatment, in which they are treating them differently due to their race, gender, social class, sexuality or beliefs. In addition In the UK there is a major gap between the rich and the poor, society is divided and the rich share together and leave the poor with little stash left over. Also social inequality is also identified as when opportunities, different social position or rewards are unequal. Prejudice is when an individual is judged by aspects which do not relate to them at all.
Socialization definitely plays a significant role when it comes to crime. Even though that is so, social class alone cannot explain crime rates. Socialization is basically when a person acquires an identity and learns the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate to their social standing. This will often affect crime. There are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration when describing the relationship between crime and socialization.
Advantages and Disadvantages of using Quantitative and Qualitative methods to study Class and Crime Sociological research is incredibly useful in identifying patterns and relationships between social institutions and forces that exist around us today. Class and Crime are at the forefront of these social institutions. Therefore, questions such as ‘Why are their inequalities in class?’ or ‘Are some people predisposed to commit crime?’ arise and it lays upon sociological research to answer these questions. However the type of research we conduct can be compromised and split into two categories; Quantitative (based on positivist data) and Qualitative (Interpreitivst). There are chosen according to the type of research and data the social researcher hopes to find.
Another aspect that will also be examined is how racial, ethnic, gender, and social class issues influence the way in which the privileged or dominant groups are tied to the oppression of subordinate groups. And for more understanding of the impact of oppression on subordinate groups there need to be an examination of individuals and social forces in relation to various manifestations of oppression. Social inequality may be defined as a socially-defined categorization of people according to characteristics such as gender, age, class and ethnicity and how they are differentially placed with respect to access to a variety of social goods, such as the labour market and other sources of incomes, educational level and other influential status they represent. Social inequality draws a very ambiguous class distinction among members of the society like upper class, lower class and middle class. Consequently, selected groups who are more powerful hold the educational, production system and goods and services making it unequally distributed among society.
In order to increase our self-image we enhance the status of the group to which we belong. We can also increase our self-image by discriminating and holding prejudice views against the out group (the group we don’t belong to). Therefore we’re divided into the in-group or out-group based through a process of social categorization. Social identity theory states that the in-group will discriminate against the out-group by focusing on negative aspects to enhance their self-image. Prejudiced views between cultures may result in racism; in its extreme forms, racism may result in genocide, such as occurred in Germany with the Jews, in Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis and, more recently, in the former Yugoslavia between the Bosnians and Serbs.
Victimology: A Study of Crime Victims 1 Victimology is an important element in the process of learning about crime victims, the needs of the victims, and even about the perpetrator of the crime. It identifies the victims, reveals their physical and mental state before and after the crime, their social interactions, and ideas as to why they were a victim. Victimology does not give the reasons why a particular person is chosen by an offender, however it will give general overview of victim selection (Petherick, “Victimology” 2010) The definitions of victimology vary in the use of words within the definition, such as victim, crime victim or behavior of crime victim. Victimology as an academic term containing two elements; the Latin word “victima” which translate into victim and the Greek word “logos” which means a system of knowledge (Dussich “Victimology ‘Past, Present and Future’”2000). In it’s simplest definition, victimology is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender (Wallace & Roberson 2011: 3).