Sociological Explanations of Crime

Sociological Factors Affecting Criminal Behaviour

There are many different explanations of crime and deviance, the main ones fall into three categories: biological, psychological and sociological theories.

Socialisation

People’s socialisation can have an effect on their behaviour.
They can either lack socialisation or they can be socialised with the wrong norms and values by having criminal role models.

Peer groups

Peer groups can affect people’s behaviour as human beings need to belong.
To be able to belong people have to follow what their peers suggest in order to be accepted.
If the values of the group differ from the ones of the society then they form subcultures which may lead to criminality.

Relative deprivation

Relative deprivation refers to lacking resources that majority of people have, e.g. the latest gadgets.

Merton's strain theory

Strain theory (Merton):
- Crime comes as a result of the strain people feel when they can’t achieve society’s goals and this is why they turn to different methods to achieve them.

Merton

Merton is a functionalist.
He believed that deviance exists because of the culture and structure of society.
He believed in value consensus, i.e. everyone has the same values.
However, not everyone gets the same chances to realise these goals because of different life chances. E.g. coming from different social classes.

Merton cont.

This might result in anomie, i.e. the breakdown of norms which are seen as accepted.
Everyone wants to live the American dream but not everyone can do so which leads in the search of any possible way to achieve it, legal or illegal.
He argued that there are five possible ways in which individuals could try to succeed in achieving these goals in American society.

Crime comes as a result of the strain people feel when they can’t achieve society’s goals and this is why they turn to different methods to achieve them. He gives five ways individuals try to achieve these goals in American society.

Conformity

Conformity: achieve success by conventionally accepted means.
- E.g. by gaining educational qualifications which in turn give them access to secure, well paid employment.
Other conventional routes to success include talent, hard work and ambition.

Innovation

Innovation: for those who couldn’t succeed using conventionally accepted routes and turn to deviant means, usually crime.
This path is often followed by individuals who came from the lower levels of society and had less chance of gaining the educational qualifications which would ensure secure employment.

Ritualism

Ritualism: for those who abandon conventional success goals because they are unable to innovate as they are conformists and remain stuck in low paid, low status jobs where they may exhibit an enthusiasm for rules.

Retreatism

Retreatism: this describes individuals who ‘drop out’ of society.
- E.g. outcasts of all kinds such as drug addicts who have abandoned success goals and means of achieving them.

Rebellion

Rebellion: for individuals who reject success goals and the usual means of achieving them but replace them with different goals.
They are deviant because they want a new society.
They are seen as members of a ‘rising’ social class who may even try to revolt.

Criticisms of Merton

Power relations

Merton has been criticised for not taking into account power relations in society.
For example by failing to consider who makes the laws and who benefits from them.

Value consensus

His critics also argue that he wrongly assumes that there is ‘value consensus’ in American society.

Deterministic

He has been criticised for being ‘deterministic’, i.e. he fails to explain why only some individuals who experience anomie become criminals.

Middle class crime

He is seen as exaggerating working class crime and underestimating middle class, ‘white collar’ crime.

1The Sociological Approach

1.1Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?

1.1.2Culture & Socialisation

1.2Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism

1.2.2Marxism 2

1.2.3Functionalism

1.2.4Feminism

1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach

2Families

2.1Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family

2.1.2Marxist Views on Family

2.1.3Feminist Views on Family

2.2Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?

2.2.2Nuclear Family

2.2.3Families in a Global Context

2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity

2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity

2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms

2.3Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles

2.4Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline

2.4.2Domestic Abuse

2.4.3Symmetrical Family

2.5Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families

2.5.2Marxist Views of Families

2.5.3Feminist Views of Families

2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate

2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families

2.6Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate

2.6.2Consequences of Divorce

2.6.3Functionalist Views

2.6.4Marxist Views

2.6.5Feminist Views

2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce

3Education

3.1Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach

3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives

3.1.3Types of School

3.1.4Alternative Education

3.1.5State & Private Schools

3.2Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes

3.2.2External Processes

3.3Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success

3.3.2Social Class & Education

3.3.3Social Class & External Factors

3.3.4Gender & Education

3.3.5Ethnicity & Education

3.3.6Parental Choice

3.3.7History of UK Education Policy

3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy

3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education

4Crime & Deviance

4.1The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance

4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime

4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime

4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime

4.2Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control

4.2.2Formal Social Control

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime

4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime

4.3.2Social Class & Crime

4.3.3Gender & Crime

4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime

4.3.5Age & Crime

4.3.6Criminal Responsibility

4.3.7The Prison System

4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime

4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime

4.4Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime

4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

5Social Stratification

5.1Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?

5.1.2Functionalism

5.1.3Socio-Economic Class

5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 2

5.1.5Life Chances

5.1.6The Affluent Worker

5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion

5.2Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty

5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty

5.2.3Explanations of Poverty

5.2.4Impact of Globalisation

5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue

5.3Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber

5.3.2Sociological Perspectives

5.3.3Power Relationships

5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority

6Sociological Research Methods

6.1Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design

6.1.2The Scientific Method

6.1.3Other Considerations

6.1.4Primary Sources

6.1.5Secondary Sources

6.1.6Surveys

6.1.7Sampling

6.1.8Questionnaires

6.1.9Interviews

6.1.10Observation

6.1.11Statistics

6.1.12Case Studies

6.1.13Longitudinal Studies

6.1.14Ethnography

6.1.15Experiments

6.1.16Small Scale Research

6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

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