Functionalist Perspective on Deviance Emile DurkheimFunction of Deviance

Functionalist Perspective on Deviance

Emile Durkheim-Function of Deviance • Most people are upset by deviance, especially crime and assume that society would be better off without it • He said that deviance (including crime) is functional for society because it contributes to social order

Functions of crime continued • 3 main functions of crime: – Clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms • Moral boundaries- a group’s idea about how people should think and act • Deviant acts challenge the boundaries and punishment affirms the groups norms – Promotes social unity • Fosters a “we” mentality • In saying “you cant get away with that” affirms the rightness of the groups own way – Promotes social change • Boundary violations that gain enough support become new, acceptable behaviors – Example: Civil Rights Movement

Merton’s Strain Theory • Some mainstream values actually generate crime • Most people have strong desires to reach cultural goals like wealth or high states • Not everyone has equal access to legitimate means of achieving those goals – These people experience strain or frustration which may motivate they to take a deviant path

Strain Theory continued • People who experience strain are likely to feel anomie (a sense of normlessness) – Mainstream norms s/a working hard and pursuing higher education don’t seem to get them anywhere – Some may feel wronged by the system

5 responses to goal-means inconsistency 1. Conformity- using socially acceptable means to try and reach cultural goals – Example: don’t understand calculus, need it for college applications, then get a tutor 2. innovators- people who accept the goals of society but use illegitimate means to reach them – Example: don’t understand calculus, need it for college, cheat on the test

5 responses continued 3. ritualism- people get discouraged and give up on achieving cultural goals yet still cling to conventional rules – Example: don’t understand calculus, need it for college, give up on ever understanding it, go through the motions and maybe pass with a “D” 4. retreatism- rejects both cultural goals and acceptable means of achieving them – Example: drop out of school and maybe pursue GED 5. rebellion- Convinced that their society is corrupt and reject society’s goals and means. – Seek to give society new goals • Example: Drop out and get a job

Social Class and Crime • Social classes have distinct styles of crime • Unequal access to the acceptable means to success can explain this

Street Crime • Industrialized societies socialize the poor into wanting to own thing – The poor are bombarded with advertisements and images on TV of middle-class people enjoying luxurious lives • These images reinforce the myth that all full-fledged Americans can afford society’s goods and services • School Systems (acceptable means to success) often fail the poor – Run by middle class and clashes with their background – More likely to drop out of school, closing the door to legitimate avenues to financial success

Street Crime continued • Other doors open to the poor- illegitimate opportunity structures – Robbery, drug dealing, prostitution, gambling, etc. • For many in poor neighborhoods the “hustler” - or person succeeding through these avenues are role models – “easy money” bring them closest to the cultural goal of success

White-Collar Crime • The more privileged social classes are not crime-free • They find other forms of crime to be functional – Physicians who cheat Medicare, embezzlement, manipulating stock prices, evading income tax.

Corporate Crime • Special form of white-collar crime • Committed by executives in order to benefit their corporation • Corporate crime is rarely taken seriously (more so nowadays with Enron, etc. ) and few people end up in jail

Gender and Crime • There is a growing number of female offenders • Reason: women's changed social location – As more women work in factories, corporations, etc. , their opportunities for crime increase