GCSE Sociology Revision
Mini-Essay Writing:
Structure:
Introductory Paragraph:
focus argument
Explanation Paragraphs:
develop answer
consider multiple perspectives
include key researchers
Conclusion Paragraph:
summarise
An Essay Should:
tell a story
have a beginning, middle and end
highlight and weigh up key claims
draw on evidence
flow
link up with key vocabulary
arrive at a conclusion
Crime & Deviance:
What is Crime & Deviance?
crime - an act that breaks the law, eg. murder, assault
deviance - an act against dominant norms and values, eg. cheating on someone, spitting in the street
Why do people commit crime?
to gain: material / financial / power
to hurt someone / something, eg. revenge, self-defence
boredom / fun
psychological disorders / mental illness
socialisation and subcultures
People generally conform to society as they follow their norms and values from their socialisation. This
could be described as the herd mentality.
Social Control:
formal social control - official agencies with written rules and defined consequences, eg. police, school
informal social control - unofficial agencies with unwritten rules and unclear consequences, eg.
family, peer groups
These agencies use sanctions, positive or negative to control our behaviour, eg. formal → promotions and
detentions, informal → recognition and reputation loss.
Functionalism & Crime:
Durkheim’s Functionalist Theory (1893)
Crime is inevitable and integral in every society. This is due to:
inadequate socialisation causing crime, eg. family breakdowns
diversity of lifestyles, and subcultures causing deviation from dominant norms and values.
Positive Effects of Crime:
boundary maintenance - crime unites people against ‘wrong-doers’
causes social solidarity / strengthens the collective conscience
eg. Cohen (1972): ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ (see later)
the media creates ‘folk devils’ to condemn
adaption and change - all change starts with deviance
new ideas and behaviours challenge norms
these gradually become accepted and normal
Criticisms of the Functionalist Theory:
Functionalism ignores how crime might affect different groups:
crime doesn’t always promote solidarity - can divide communities, eg. Islamophobia after terror
attacks
crime doesn’t have a positive function for victims
, it is hard to determine the ‘correct’ extent of crime, that is beneficial - it is vague
Merton’s Strain Theory (1938)
People commit crime as they struggle to achieve socially. This is because of the two types of strain on
society and anomie.
cultural strain
society places a strong emphasis on success, ie. wealth, but not on how it is gained
structural strain
society provides unequal opportunities or barriers to success for some groups, eg. religions
anomie – a state of normlessness, or lack of values and social cohesion
When society fails to provide enough ways for people to succeed this leads to: Double check anomie
explanation
feeling of ‘disenchantment’
resulting in anger and crime
An example of this strain is the ‘American Dream’:
individual - sold the American Dream
→ desire to achieve - through cultural strain from the pressurising media
→ failure to be successful - due to inadequate socialisation, inefficient education, anomie and structural strain
→ resorts to crime
Individual’s Adaptions to Strain:
financial goal? means? crime?
conform ✓ ✓ ✗
ist
innovat ✓ ✗ ✓✗
or eg. growing cannabis
(links to
rebel)
ritualist ✗ ✓ ✗
retreate ✗ ✗ ✓✗
r eg. drug dealers
(passive)
rebel ✗ ✗ ✓
(more eg. rioters
oppressive)
Subcultural Strain Theories:
status frustration - Cohen (1955)
WC boys do not achieve legitimate status due to cultural deprivation and lack of skills
instead, they seek success in peers or delinquent subcultures, their way of climbing a hierarchy
thus, they get involved in crime due to status frustration
regarding Merton’s Strain Theory:
agrees crime is mostly a WC issue
unlike Merton, doesn’t ignore non-financial crimes
subcultures - Cloward & Ohlin (1960)
different neighbourhoods offer alternative opportunities for young people
eg. gangs, where you can learn deviant norms and values
depending on the area, there are three types of subculture:
criminal subcultures
established hierarchy
offers criminal careers
role models provide training
eg. drug dealing → addiction + cash-in-hand
conflict subcultures
loosely organised gang structure
some opportunities for status progression, often through violence
eg. assault → peer pressure
retreatant subcultures
crime not an aspiration
fail to get well-paid job and give up
eg. theft, drug using → addiction - financial
Interactionalism & Crime:
Interactionalism is a perspective that focuses on small-scale human actions.
Interactionalists believe crime is a social construct and not a fixed concept.
Labelling Theory: check, is this a summary?
and
is labelling Becker?
Mini-Essay Writing:
Structure:
Introductory Paragraph:
focus argument
Explanation Paragraphs:
develop answer
consider multiple perspectives
include key researchers
Conclusion Paragraph:
summarise
An Essay Should:
tell a story
have a beginning, middle and end
highlight and weigh up key claims
draw on evidence
flow
link up with key vocabulary
arrive at a conclusion
Crime & Deviance:
What is Crime & Deviance?
crime - an act that breaks the law, eg. murder, assault
deviance - an act against dominant norms and values, eg. cheating on someone, spitting in the street
Why do people commit crime?
to gain: material / financial / power
to hurt someone / something, eg. revenge, self-defence
boredom / fun
psychological disorders / mental illness
socialisation and subcultures
People generally conform to society as they follow their norms and values from their socialisation. This
could be described as the herd mentality.
Social Control:
formal social control - official agencies with written rules and defined consequences, eg. police, school
informal social control - unofficial agencies with unwritten rules and unclear consequences, eg.
family, peer groups
These agencies use sanctions, positive or negative to control our behaviour, eg. formal → promotions and
detentions, informal → recognition and reputation loss.
Functionalism & Crime:
Durkheim’s Functionalist Theory (1893)
Crime is inevitable and integral in every society. This is due to:
inadequate socialisation causing crime, eg. family breakdowns
diversity of lifestyles, and subcultures causing deviation from dominant norms and values.
Positive Effects of Crime:
boundary maintenance - crime unites people against ‘wrong-doers’
causes social solidarity / strengthens the collective conscience
eg. Cohen (1972): ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ (see later)
the media creates ‘folk devils’ to condemn
adaption and change - all change starts with deviance
new ideas and behaviours challenge norms
these gradually become accepted and normal
Criticisms of the Functionalist Theory:
Functionalism ignores how crime might affect different groups:
crime doesn’t always promote solidarity - can divide communities, eg. Islamophobia after terror
attacks
crime doesn’t have a positive function for victims
, it is hard to determine the ‘correct’ extent of crime, that is beneficial - it is vague
Merton’s Strain Theory (1938)
People commit crime as they struggle to achieve socially. This is because of the two types of strain on
society and anomie.
cultural strain
society places a strong emphasis on success, ie. wealth, but not on how it is gained
structural strain
society provides unequal opportunities or barriers to success for some groups, eg. religions
anomie – a state of normlessness, or lack of values and social cohesion
When society fails to provide enough ways for people to succeed this leads to: Double check anomie
explanation
feeling of ‘disenchantment’
resulting in anger and crime
An example of this strain is the ‘American Dream’:
individual - sold the American Dream
→ desire to achieve - through cultural strain from the pressurising media
→ failure to be successful - due to inadequate socialisation, inefficient education, anomie and structural strain
→ resorts to crime
Individual’s Adaptions to Strain:
financial goal? means? crime?
conform ✓ ✓ ✗
ist
innovat ✓ ✗ ✓✗
or eg. growing cannabis
(links to
rebel)
ritualist ✗ ✓ ✗
retreate ✗ ✗ ✓✗
r eg. drug dealers
(passive)
rebel ✗ ✗ ✓
(more eg. rioters
oppressive)
Subcultural Strain Theories:
status frustration - Cohen (1955)
WC boys do not achieve legitimate status due to cultural deprivation and lack of skills
instead, they seek success in peers or delinquent subcultures, their way of climbing a hierarchy
thus, they get involved in crime due to status frustration
regarding Merton’s Strain Theory:
agrees crime is mostly a WC issue
unlike Merton, doesn’t ignore non-financial crimes
subcultures - Cloward & Ohlin (1960)
different neighbourhoods offer alternative opportunities for young people
eg. gangs, where you can learn deviant norms and values
depending on the area, there are three types of subculture:
criminal subcultures
established hierarchy
offers criminal careers
role models provide training
eg. drug dealing → addiction + cash-in-hand
conflict subcultures
loosely organised gang structure
some opportunities for status progression, often through violence
eg. assault → peer pressure
retreatant subcultures
crime not an aspiration
fail to get well-paid job and give up
eg. theft, drug using → addiction - financial
Interactionalism & Crime:
Interactionalism is a perspective that focuses on small-scale human actions.
Interactionalists believe crime is a social construct and not a fixed concept.
Labelling Theory: check, is this a summary?
and
is labelling Becker?
