1. Immediate activity True or false?
Durkheim argues that crime is a normal, an integral part of all healthy societies
Crime can be argued to have 3 positive functions. BONUS: what are they?
Merton argues that there are 4 responses to strain of achieving the American dream.
Merton adapts Durkheim’s anomie arguing that it is not shared norms and values that society has it’s shared goal.
Durkheim’s anomie helps us to explain why crime rates appear to rise once societies modernise.
Marxists argue that Functionalist theory ignores the root causes of blocked opportunities.

2. Get you thinking
Albert Cohen’s status theory suggests that when working class boys come up against blocked opportunities they turn the mainstream values on their head this means that what mainstream culture might see as bad or an indication of failure they see as successfully gaining them status e.g. being thrown out of a lesson in school
Your task: Fill in the snakes and ladders board as if you are playing as a boy with status frustration!

3. Learning goals
D- You can describe the three key subcultural theories of crime and deviance and make simple critical links to Functionalist theory. You will apply some key terms although they may be inadequately applied or lacking depth of understanding
C- You can explain the three key subcultural theories and give detailed explanations of how they develop/ critique Functionalist theory, in particular Merton’s strain theory.
B- You can evaluate the three key subcultural theories considering issues such as gender bias, use of official statistics and problems of unequal law enforcement. Your links to functionalist theory show an in depth understanding of how subcultural theory can be used to both support and criticise functionalist theory.
A- You can do all of the above and will consider the criticisms presented by David Matza arguing that subcultural theory over estimate juvenile delinquency, weighing up the potential arguments for and against this view in an accurate and detailed way.

4. Getting to grips with the theory
Using your learning table and the video (make notes as you watch!) answer the following questions for Cohen, Merton and Cloward & Ohlin. subcultural theory
Who does their theory focus upon?
What reasons do they give for this group’s criminal behaviour?
What key terms are associated with this theory? (you must explain what they mean)
Stretch and challenge: How could this theory be used to assess the usefulness of functionalist theories of crime & deviance?

5. American Subcultural Theory
Robert Merton was accused of not being able to explain non-material crime
So subcultural theory developed to explain such crime in terms of subcultures.
The main proponents were:
Albert Cohen
1955
Cloward and
Ohlin
(1960)
Walter B.
Miller
(1963)
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

6. What gaps in Merton’s theory does this idea potentially fill?
Albert Cohen (1955)
Status
Frustration
Reaction
Formation
Groups feel a
strain between
goals and means
Youths rebound from conventional failure (e.g. in schooling).
Faced with failure they choose a delinquent subculture that inverts mainstream norms and values and leads to crimes such as arson and vandalism
What gaps in Merton’s theory does this idea potentially fill?
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

7. Cloward and Ohlin (1960) BUT
Like Robert Merton they explain working-class crime in terms of goals and means.
But they disagree with Merton that delinquents share the same values/goals as the rest of society.
BUT
Cloward and Ohlin
see lower working-class
delinquents as sharing
their own deviant
subcultural values.
So they develop an illegitimate career structure
Because of ‘blocked opportunities’ they cannot get on legitimately
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

8. Cloward and Ohlin (Continued)
Cloward and Ohlin identified 3 types of delinquent subculture:
Criminal
Subculture
Conflict
Violent
Subculture
Retreatist
(drug)
Subculture
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

9. Immediate activity No notes, no discussion
Name the three key subcultural theorists
State two ways in which subcultural theory explains criminal actions that Merton’s strain theory can’t.
Suggest one criticism of any of the subcultural theories we have discussed.

10. This is significantly different to functionalist theories, why?
Walter B. Miller (1962)
Focal
concerns
Trouble
Toughness
Excitement
Smartness
Fatalism
Autonomy
Miller saw the lower working-class socialised into deviant subcultural values he called ‘focal concerns’
This is significantly different to functionalist theories, why?
Hint: Value consensus
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

11. UK Based study Howard Parker (1974)
Parker undertook participant observation with a group of young males in Liverpool.
He found they stole car radios to fund their lifestyle which involved heavy cannabis use, heavy drinking and fighting.
Parker joined in some of their activities and admits he got so involved that he actually kept watch while they stole car radios. When some of the boys were prosecuted for their activities, they turned to Parker for support and advice.
Parker's study raises ethical issues about how far sociologists should get involved with those they are studying.
What do we call it when sociologists get too involved in their participant observation?
What problem does this create for the data generated?
Despite the problems with participant observation, why do you think Parker chose to do it?

12. Parker- ‘view from the boys’
Task:
Read the extract from Parker’s study “ view from the boys” and explain how boys behaviour represents each of the Miller’s focal concerns
The boys took time over their appearance before going out, they worked hard on their chat up lines, image was very important . When they went out they claimed they didn’t set out to fight but if any one questioned their toughness they wouldn’t hesitate to show them who was boss. They would try ever riskier thefts and take drugs to “stop life being boring”, each big night was likely to end in violence and running from the police but the boys saw this as just what happens “to people from our estate, we can’t change it, so best to go for it”

13. Exam question
Outline 3 reasons why middle class boys may be less likely to commit crime than working class boys (6 marks)
So how can we use subcultural theory to help us answer this?

14. Marking your answers- Swap over and read your partners
Two marks for each of three appropriate reasons clearly outlined or one mark for appropriate reasons partially outlined
Examples:
Status frustration affects the behavior working class boys (1 mark). For example, failure in school causes working class boys to experience status frustration, this is remedied by turning mainstream values on their heads and gaining status by committing delinquent acts such as vandalism (+1 mark)
Focal concerns of working class and middle class boys are different (1 mark). In Working class culture boys are encouraged to be tough and aggressive which make them more likely to commit crime (+1 mark)
Criminal subcultures in working class areas(1 mark). Working class boys experiencing blocked opportunities respond by joining the criminal networks in their areas and committing material crimes such as burglary (+1 mark)
Other relevant material should be credited.
No marks for no relevant points.
Comment on what mark they have received with one positive and one even better if

15. Subterranean Values an attack on subcultural theories. Matza-(1962)
One consistant criticism of subcultural theories was that there was little evidence to demonstrate a distinct set of anti social values.
Matza argued that there were no distinctive subcultural values –but all groups in society shared a set of Subterranean values.
The key thing was that most of the time individuals control their deviant desires- they only rarely emerge eg- at the office party or on holiday in Ibizia.
But when they do emerge we use techniques of neutralisation to provide justification for our deviant actions.
He is basically saying that all of us share deviant ‘subcultural values’ and that it is not true that there are groups with their own values different from the rest of us.

16. Immediate activity No notes, no discussion
6. Complete the sentence using one of the statements on the right..
Too much crime_____________________________________________

17. Techniques of Neutralisation
Condemnation of condemners- offender feels a sense of unfairness and being picked on for something others have done and not been punished for. .
Denial of Responsibility-
the offender denies it was their fault. (blames another factor-e.g. alcohol or drugs).
Denial of Victim
Offender claims victim was in the wrong.
Appeal to higher loyalties- offender claims that rule of law had to be ignored because more important issues were at stake.- e.g. standing up for race/religion/family etc.
Denial of Injury- offender claims victim was not really hurt by the crime.- often used to justify theft from companies as opposed to individuals..
For each technique of neutralisation write a scenario where it might be used.

18. Techniques of neutralisation
He had it coming, he had it coming
He only had himself to blame!
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same!
You know how people have these little habits that get you down? Like...Bernie! Bernie like to chew gum--no, not chew. Pop!
So, I come home this one day and I'm really irritated and looking for a little sympathy, and there's Bernie. Lying' on the couch, drinking a beer and chewing--no, not chewing, POPPING!
So, I said to him, I said "You pop that gum one more time…"
And he did. So I took the shotgun off the wall and I fired two warning shots
Into his head!

19. Techniques of neutralisation
Adolf Eichmann was an SS officer in Nazi Germany. He was placed in charge of the logistics of Hitler’s final solution--the mass extermination of Jews--so Eichmann was responsible for the murder of millions of people. If ever someone should confess to being a monster, it should be Eichmann, but that’s not what happened.
"Why me," he asked. “Why not the local policemen, thousands of them? They would have been shot if they had refused to round up the Jews for the death camps. Why not hang them for not wanting to be shot? Why me? Everybody killed the Jews."
Which techniques of neutralisation does this link to?

20. Techniques of Neutralisation
Condemnation of condemners- offender feels a sense of unfairness and being picked on for something others have done and not been punished for. .
Denial of Responsibility-
the offender denies it was their fault. (blames another factor-e.g. alcohol or drugs).
Denial of Victim
Offender claims victim was in the wrong.
Appeal to higher loyalties- offender claims that rule of law had to be ignored because more important issues were at stake.- e.g. standing up for race/religion/family etc.
Denial of Injury- offender claims victim was not really hurt by the crime.- often used to justify theft from companies as opposed to individuals..
For each technique of neutralisation write a scenario where it might be used.

21. Masculinity Bob Connell
M. Collinson argues it is not subcultural but masculine values that often underpins deviant behaviour, subcultural theory fails to explore why deviance seems to be a masculine activity
Hegemonic
Masculinity
Bea Campbell
Aggressive
Masculinity
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

22. Exam question

23. So how can we ace these questions? Use PEARL paragraphs
Transfer
Pick your hooks
Explain the concept it relates to
Analyse the meaning of this concept using examples from your own knowledge.
Review it by offering evaluation points- strengths or weaknesses
Link back the question to show relevance.
Pearls are precious and so is the item for you, it’s what makes your answer valuable

25. Postmodernism
Postmodernists argues that subcultural theory falls down (as do most theories) for looking for a rational explanation of crime and deviance.
J. Katz (1988) argues
that crime is seductive
and people engage with
it because it is exciting.
Drug-
taking
Joy-
riding
S. Lyng (1990) sees people driven by ‘edgework’ attracted by flirting with danger.
Football-
violence
Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
27/12/2018

26. Linking this theory to this essay…
How can we use subcultural theory in this essay: Lets re cap the critical points for the functionalist perspective.

27. Planning the essay
The first question everyone asks: How long does it have to be?
The mark scheme: