Sociological Theories:
Emphasis on Social Structure
Chapter 6
Early Theorist
Cartographic School – 1820 to 1880
Founders – Quetelet and Guerry
First social scientist to use objective
mathematical techniques to study the
influence of:
„
Age, sex, season, climate, heterogeneity,
education, poverty and drink-
On the propensity to commit crime.
Cartographic School
Quetelet & Guerry concluded:
…that crime must be a regular feature of
social life.
…that crime must be rooted in social
arrangements, and..
…if those arrangements could be identified,
crime could be eliminated.
Early Theorist
Emile Durkheim – 1858-1917
Publication of Suicide in 1897
Individual behavior vs socialcultural forces
within society. (Social solidarity)
Egoistic suicide
Altruistic suicide
Anomic suicide
Emile Durkheim
Crime is functional for society – How?
Anomie..
…is the breakdown of social norms or the
dissociation of the individual from the
collective conscience (general sense of
morality of the times.)
Emile Durkheim
Anomie is the cause of crime…
Lack of regulation…the collective conscience is unable to
regulate human desires.
Lack of integration…individualism is promoted to such a
degree that people become selfish
(egoistic), no longer care about the welfare
of other human beings.
Congruence Theory
Congruence theory…maintain that the social system is in a
state of harmony when it provides realistic
means for achieving the prescribed successgoals.
…delinquency and criminality occur
because access to legitimate means for
achieving success-goals is limited, the
social system is said to be unbalanced.
Congruence Theory
Basic Assumptions:
Normally, there is conjunction between the
goals and means so that society is fairly
well integrated.
Individuals, generally, are productive
conformists who, through learning and
socialization, internalize the socially
prescribed goals and means.
Congruence Theory
Basic Assumptions: Cont’d
Most criminality and delinquency is the
result of strain or the imbalance of the
person’s cognitive system.
The reaction to certain forms of deviant
behavior depends upon how much of a
threat to the established order society views
the behavior.
Social Disorganization Theory
Tonnies- Transition of societies
Communal Society/Gemeinschaft
Associational Society/Gessellschaft
Ferdinand Tonnies
Communal/Gemeinschaft
There is a minimal division of labor and no
specialization of roles.
The family in the most important unit in the
society.
Most social relationships are personal and
tend to be long-lasting.
Behavior is regulated mainly by custom and
tradition.
Ferdinand Tonnies
Associational/Gessellschaft
There is a high division of labor and
specialization.
Family influence is replaced by other major
social institutions.
Social relationships are impersonal and
short-lived.
Social behavior is governed by law rather
than custom.
Social Disorganization Theory
Clifford Shaw and Henry McKayThe Ecology of Crime…crime is a product of the decaying
transitional neighborhoodDiagram the Concentric Zone Model –
Causes of Social Disorganization
Successive changes in the composition of
the population.
Disintegration of the existing culture.
Diffusion of cultural standards.
Industrialization of the area.
Social Disorganization
Results in:
Dissolution of neighborhood culture and
organization.
Breakup of conventional neighborhood
traditions and institutions.
The effectiveness of the neighborhood as a
unit of control and a medium for the
transmission of the moral standards of
society is reduced. (Consequences)
Social Disorganization
New Means of Social Control:
Family
Schools
Church
…with the dissolution of these institutions,
social is primarily left up to the…?
Police
Anomie/Strain Theory
Robert K. Merton-(Durkheim)
…every society includes cultural goals and
institutional means (norms) about how to
reach those goals.
“Aberrant behavior may be regarded
sociologically as a symptom of dissociation
between culturally prescribed aspirations
and socially structured avenues of realizing
these aspirations.” #5 of Assumptions
Anomie/Strain Theory
#10…reactional patterns of environmental
circumstances presented to the individuals
are: (Adaptations to anomie)
Conformity
Innovation
Ritualism
Retreatism
Rebellion
Subculture Theories
Subculture_
…is a group of people within a society that
have a style of living that includes features
of the dominant culture and cultural
elements not found in the dominant culture.
Such as?
Subculture Theories
Walter B. MillerLower-class subculture & delinquency –
Focal Concerns:
Trouble
Toughness
Smartness
Excitement
Subculture Theories
Lower-class subculture – Focal Concerns:
Fate
Autonomy
Subculture Theories
Richard Cloward & Lloyd Ohlin:
Differential Opportunity TheoryNeighborhoods characterized by Criminal
Subculture.
Neighborhoods characterized by Conflict
Subculture.
Neighborhoods characterized by Retreatist
Subculture.