Glossary for Crime and Deviance
CHAPTER FOUR: SOCIAL STRUCTURAL THEORIES
Chapter Outline
I. The Social Structural Tradition a. The task of sociological criminology is to discover why social animals commit antisocial acts b. Social structure: How society is organized by social institutions—the family, and educational, religious, economic, and political institutions—and stratified on the basis of various roles and statuses c. Structural theorists are more interested in seeking causes of group crime rates rather than why particular individuals commit crimes d. The consensus or functionalist perspective is one that views society as a system consisting of mutually sustaining parts and characterized by broad normative consensus. All the various social institutions have their own particular specialized social functions to keep society running smoothly
II. Sociological Positivism a. Causes of crime favored by sociologists in this tradition are compounds of a variety of social phenomena which are summarized by terms such as “social disorganization,” “anomie,” or “group conflict.” The appreciation of the social context of criminal behavior is sociology’s greatest contribution to our understanding of crime
III. Durkheim, Modernization, and Anomie a. Emile Durkheim: Anomie—Meaning “lacking in rules” or “normlessness” which Durkheim used to describe the condition of normative deregulation in society. b. Mechanical solidarity: Exists in small, isolated, and self-sufficient prestate society in which individuals, because they share common experiences and circumstances, share common values and develop strong emotional ties to the collectivity c. Organic solidarity: Characteristic of modern societies in which there is a high degree of occupational specialization d. Durkheim argued that because crime is found at all times and in all societies, it is a normal and inevitable phenomenon e. Criminals and other deviants are useful in that they serve to identify the limits of acceptable
Chapter Outline
I. The Social Structural Tradition a. The task of sociological criminology is to discover why social animals commit antisocial acts b. Social structure: How society is organized by social institutions—the family, and educational, religious, economic, and political institutions—and stratified on the basis of various roles and statuses c. Structural theorists are more interested in seeking causes of group crime rates rather than why particular individuals commit crimes d. The consensus or functionalist perspective is one that views society as a system consisting of mutually sustaining parts and characterized by broad normative consensus. All the various social institutions have their own particular specialized social functions to keep society running smoothly
II. Sociological Positivism a. Causes of crime favored by sociologists in this tradition are compounds of a variety of social phenomena which are summarized by terms such as “social disorganization,” “anomie,” or “group conflict.” The appreciation of the social context of criminal behavior is sociology’s greatest contribution to our understanding of crime
III. Durkheim, Modernization, and Anomie a. Emile Durkheim: Anomie—Meaning “lacking in rules” or “normlessness” which Durkheim used to describe the condition of normative deregulation in society. b. Mechanical solidarity: Exists in small, isolated, and self-sufficient prestate society in which individuals, because they share common experiences and circumstances, share common values and develop strong emotional ties to the collectivity c. Organic solidarity: Characteristic of modern societies in which there is a high degree of occupational specialization d. Durkheim argued that because crime is found at all times and in all societies, it is a normal and inevitable phenomenon e. Criminals and other deviants are useful in that they serve to identify the limits of acceptable