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Flashcards · 7192 · Topic 3
Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods flashcards
16 cards on Topic 3, subtopics 3.3.1 to 3.3.2. Pick a subtopic or study them all.
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3.3.1 Crime and Deviance
- How does Durkheim see crime and deviance?
- Some crime is inevitable and functional: it reinforces boundaries of acceptable behaviour, strengthens social solidarity when people react against it, and can bring social change.
- What is Merton's strain theory?
- Crime results when people cannot reach society's cultural goals (e.g. wealth) through legitimate means, so they adapt, e.g. through innovation (illegitimate means to the same goals).
- What is labelling theory (Becker)?
- Deviance is behaviour that people label as deviant. Labels can become a master status, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy and secondary deviance.
- Why might official statistics show more crime among working-class and some minority ethnic groups?
- Partly real patterns linked to deprivation and marginalisation, and partly policing practices such as stop and search and labelling, which make some groups more likely to be recorded.
- What is the chivalry thesis, and a criticism?
- The claim that the criminal justice system treats women more leniently, so female crime is under-recorded. Feminists counter that women who break gender norms may be treated more harshly.
- Green crime vs state crime
- Green crime: crime against the environment, which may not be illegal under national law. State crime: illegal or harmful acts by states or their agencies, such as genocide or torture, often linked to human rights.
- How can the media create a moral panic about crime?
- Exaggerated, sensational coverage presents a group as "folk devils", causing public concern and stronger control, which can amplify the deviance (deviance amplification).
- Situational vs environmental vs social crime prevention
- Situational: reducing opportunities, e.g. CCTV and locks (target hardening). Environmental: improving neighbourhoods, e.g. tackling disorder. Social: tackling root causes such as poverty and poor education.
3.3.2 Theory and Methods
- Positivism vs interpretivism
- Positivism: sociology should be scientific, using quantitative methods to find objective social facts and causal laws. Interpretivism: sociology should understand meanings through qualitative methods (verstehen).
- What are social facts (Durkheim)?
- Social phenomena that exist outside individuals and constrain their behaviour, such as norms and suicide rates, which can be studied objectively like things.
- Consensus vs conflict theories
- Consensus (functionalism): society is based on shared values and works for the good of all. Conflict (Marxism, feminism): society is based on inequality and conflict between groups.
- Structural vs social action theories
- Structural theories (functionalism, Marxism) see society shaping individuals from the top down. Social action theories (interactionism) see society built from the bottom up through individuals' meanings and interactions.
- Modernity vs post-modernity
- Modernity: industrial societies with nation states, science and rational progress, explained by grand theories. Post-modernity: fragmented, media-saturated, global societies where grand theories (metanarratives) lose credibility.
- Can sociology be scientific?
- Positivists say yes, using the logic of the natural sciences. Interpretivists say no, because people act on meanings. Popper's falsification and Kuhn's paradigms also question what science is.
- What is value freedom, and why is it debated?
- The idea that research should not be biased by the researcher's values. Critics argue values shape the choice of topic and interpretation, and some sociologists argue research should take sides.
- How can sociology relate to social policy?
- Research can inform government policy (e.g. on poverty or education), but governments may ignore findings that conflict with their aims, and perspectives disagree on whether sociology should serve policy.