The Functionalist Perspective on DevianceFunctionalism claims that deviance help to create social stability by presenting explanations of non-normative and normative behaviors. Show
Learning Objectives Describe the functionalist view of deviance in society Key TakeawaysKey Points
Key Terms
What function does deviance play in society? This is a question asked by sociologists subscribing to the school of structural functionalism. Structural functionalism has its roots in the very origins of sociological thought and the development of sociology as a discipline. Though precursors of structural functionalism have been in existence since the mid-1800's, structural functionalism was solidified by Émile Durkheim in the late nineteenth century. A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity, divided into organic and mechanical typologies, and stability in social structures. Structural functionalists ask "How does any given social phenomenon contribute to social stability?" This question cannot be answered without investigating deviance. Functions of Crime: This is a short clip from the "Functions of Crime" segment of their new seven-part DVD "Short Cuts to Sociology: Crime and Deviance. " Émile Durkheim: Durkheim formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology. For the structural functionalist, deviance serves two primary roles in creating
social stability. First, systems of recognizing and punishing deviance create norms and tell members of a given society how to behave by laying out patterns of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. In order to avoid unsettling society, one must be aware of what behaviors are marked as deviant. Second, these social parameters create boundaries between populations and enable an "us-versus-them" mentality within different groups. Deviance allows for the majorities to unite around their normativity,
at the expense of those marked as deviant. Conversely, being marked as deviant can actual bolster solidarity within the marked community, as members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity and create cohesive units of their own (for example, members of the LGBT community unifying around Pride). Strain Theory: How Social Values Produce DevianceStrain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crimes. Learning Objectives Apply Merton's typology of deviance to the real world and give examples for each type Key TakeawaysKey Points
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Social strain theory was developed by famed American sociologist Robert K. Merton. The theory states that social structures may pressure citizens to commit crimes. Strain may be structural, which refers to the processes at the societal level that filter down and affect how the individual perceives his or her needs. Strain may also be individual, which refers to the frictions and pains experienced by an individual as he or she looks for ways to satisfy individual needs. These types of strain can insinuate social structures within society that then pressure citizens to become criminals. Social Strain Theory: Five types of deviance. In his discussion of deviance Merton proposed a typology of deviant behavior that illustrated the possible discrepancies between culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. A typology is a classification scheme designed to facilitate understanding. In this case, Merton was proposing a typology of deviance based upon two criteria: (1) a person's motivations or his adherence to cultural goals; (2) a person's belief in how to attain his goals. According to Merton, there are five types of deviance based upon these criteria:
What makes Merton's typology so fascinating is that people can turn to deviance in the pursuit of widely accepted social values and goals. For instance, individuals in the U.S. who sell illegal drugs have rejected the culturally
acceptable means of making money, but still share the widely accepted cultural value in the U.S. of making money. Thus, deviance can be the result of accepting one norm, but breaking another in order to pursue the first. In this sense, according social strain theory, social values actually produce deviance in two ways. First, an actor can reject social values and therefore become deviant. Additionally, an actor can accept social values but use deviant means to realize them. Illegitimate Opportunity Structures: Social Class and CrimeIllegitimate opportunity structures are the rules that operate within deviant subcultures. Learning Objectives Explain how illegitimate opportunity structures function in different subcultures Key TakeawaysKey Points
Key Terms
American sociologists Richard Cowan and Lloyd Ohlin extended Robert K. Merton's
social strain theory to directly address juvenile delinquency and social class. If you recall, social strain theory develops a typology of deviance in which an individual can deviate on two planes. An individual can be deviant by refusing to accept social norms or an individual can deviate by accepting social norms but using deviant means to achieve their realization. In the context of the U.S., in which prosperity is a social value, one could deviate by rejecting the notion of wealth.
Alternatively, one could deviate by aspiring to a wealthy lifestyle but earning one's living as a pickpocket. Goths: Goths are an example of a subculture: A group of people with a culture that differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong. Cowan and Ohlin used juvenile delinquency as a case study to explore this theory of illegitimate opportunity structures. In a criminal subculture, youth learn to use crime for material gain. This subculture usually forms in areas where there is an established organization of adult crime that provides an illegitimate opportunity structure for youths to learn how to
behave criminally for material success. In a conflict subculture, youth learn to form gangs as a way to express frustration about the lack of normative opportunity structures in their neighborhood. New initiates into the gang will learn how to engage in conflict or gang activities to express frustrations by watching gang leadership. Thus, gangs become a subculture of their own, in contradistinction to the normative, peaceful model of youth behavior. Finally, in a retreatist subculture youth
learn to reject both legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures. These individuals are thought to be "double failures" in that they engage in conduct that is neither normative and accepted by society at large nor deviant but accepted by a subculture. Licenses and AttributionsCC licensed content, Shared previously
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Where an individual rejects both the cultural goal and the acceptable way of reaching it?Retreatism involves the rejection of both the cultural goals and the traditional means of achieving those goals.
What refers the acceptance of cultural goals and means of attaining those goals?The basic idea of Robert K. Merton's anomie theory is that most people strive to achieve culturally recognized goals.
What is Robert Merton's theory?Crime is a result of a 'strain' between legitimate goals and lack of opportunities to achieve those goals. Strain Theory argues that crime occurs when there aren't enough legitimate opportunities for people to achieve the normal success goals of a society.
What do you call a person who accepted the cultural goals and the institutionalized means?Reactions to Cultural Goals and Institutionalized Means
Conformists: Most people are conformists. They accept the goals their society sets for them, as well as the institution-alized means of achieving them.
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