Assess Functionalist Theories Of Crime And Deviance

Functionalists look at society as a whole. They explain crime and deviance by stating that the source of deviance lies in the nature of society rather than the individual.

Crime and deviance are acts that will elicit dissent from society. They take various forms and involve various concepts and theories. It will be the aim of this paper to explore those that are considered to be functional for society. It was Emile Durkheim who first clearly established the logic behind the functional approach to the study of crime and deviance[1] when he wrote The Rules of Sociological Method and The Division of Labour[2].

Functionalism is a consensus structuralist theory, which sees the source of crime and deviance located in the structure of society. Although crime and deviance might be stigmatised in society, some sociologist think it is important to have it occur and there are some benefits to it.

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Every theory of crime has at least 2-3 meta-theoretical levels above it. The fundamental issues are usually addressed at the approach level, and are often called the assumptions, or starting points, of a theory, although the term "assumptions" more strictly refers to the background or domain boundaries one can draw generalizations about. Above the approach level is the Perspective level, the largest unit of agreement within a scientific community, and in fact, the names for the scientific disciplines. Perspectives are sometimes called paradigms or viewpoints, although some people use the term paradigm to refer to untestable ideologies such as: (1) rational choice; (2) pathogenesis; (3) labeling;

The Three Main Theories of Deviance and Their Strengths and Weaknesses A functionalist analysis of deviance looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the biological or psychological nature of the individual. Although functionalists agree that social control mechanisms such as the police and the courts are necessary to keep deviance in check, many argue that a certain amount of deviance can contribute to the well-being of society. Durkhiem (1895) believed that: * Crime is an 'integral part of all healthy societies'.

Functionalists label the typical criminal as a young, working class male. They then produce theories based on this label to explain this crime, and therefore end up skewed or distorted stats – suggesting that their stereotype of the typical criminal does in

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime

5. As discussed in my Paper Assignment, our society is shaped by our individual struggles. We as individuals have different experiences, environments and influences that are in a divergent state. Emile Durkheim’s The Rules of Sociological Method, discusses crime deviance from a functionalist point of view. Durkheim hypotheses crime is the “norm” and an attribute of humanity.

The roots of every theory of criminal law creation are conflict perspective and functionalism. Functionalism is a theory that social consensus holds social structure together. The societal needs theory and consensus view are both theories that come from functionalism. In contrast, the conflict perspective explains that the divide between class fuels social structure. Ruling class, pluralist, and the structural contradictions theories share roots in conflict perspective.

The functionalist point of view on crime and deviance, is that the functionalist theory gives a micro level approach. It focuses more at the bigger picture, giving more knowledge into how the general public structures relating to crime and deviance. It also provides a respectable argument, in regard to how the natural hypothesis identifies with crime. Robert Merton's theory (1968) gives a better view regarding sociological thinking, in our society today.

The functionalist theories share a common structural explanation of causes of deviance . They assume that conformity in society is achieved through the existence of norms and values shared by the general consensus and that a high level of social integration is required for society to function successfully .

They believe that actions like this keep the society’s smooth functioning in place. Without such actions, members of the society will hardly remember and follow the law of the land. In this theory, Emile Durkheim as a functionalist, “he believes that deviance is a necessary part of a successful society” (Little, 2014). With the social disorganization theory, theorists will argue that the crime took place because the community had weak social ties and lacks good social control.

The functionalist theory interprets all parts of society: the functional and dysfunctional. Although crime and deviance may seem to be dysfunctional to society, they are important aspects of society because they help to create social norms and social order. Crime and

For the most part, biological theories of crime and deviance have had an unsuccessful and undistinguished career among sociologists. The Italian physician Cesare Lombroso suggested that someone who is born criminal possesses atavism or primitive evolutionary characteristics that produced violent, savage, and apelike tendencies in humans (Goode, p. 27). In addition, biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness due to pathological factors to certain individuals. The biological theory is another example of Charles Whitman actions. Smart, strong, and talented, Charles Whitman seemed like a perfect all-American boy stereotype.