Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Subcultural Theories
1
Delinquency
Status Frustration
Conclusion
- They focused on working class juvenile delinquency.
- Young people constitute as the largest group of criminals.
- This theory built upon Merton's Strain theory, but also considered the status of that particular group in society.
Albert Cohen (1955) drew upon the strain theory as well as the ethnographic approach.
- Stated that lower class boys strove for middle class values and aspirations.
- Their inability to do this has lead to a sense of personal failure.
- Schools play a key part in this drama.
- Assumes delinquents are different from all other people in society.
- Matza states that we are have delinquent potential, but use 'techniques of neutralization' to justify our actions.
- Taylor stated that it was wrong to assume everyone has the same material goals.
Homework
Illegitimate Opportunity Structure
'Assess the strengths and limitations of subcultural theories in explaining deviance.'
Cloward and Ohlin (1960) Considered the illegal career opportunities available for young in some societies.
- Criminal- Young offenders work their way up the thriving criminal subcultural hierarchy.
- Conflict- Young people resort to violence, due to the lack if criminal subculture present.
- Retreatist- Young person lacks both legitimate and illegitimate opportunities, thus turn to alcohol and drugs.
Focal Concerns
Miller (1962) suggested that deviancy is linked to the culture of the lower class males, which consists of 6 focal concerns:
- Smartness- Desire to look good and appear witty.
- Trouble- We act violent if necessary.
- Excitement- Desire to search for thrills.
- Toughness- Desire to appear stronger then others.
- Autonomy- Importance to not be pushed around by others.
- Fete- Believe that the their future is inevitable.
Control Theory
Identify the social bonds which prevent you from committing crimes?
Hirschi (1969) share similar ideas to Durkheim.
Identified 4 social bonds which prevents people from committing crimes.
- Belief in morals.
- Attachment to their lives.
- Commitment to fulfilling the wishes of their friends and family.
- Involvement with the local community.