1. Chapter 7 Social Structure Theories
Frank Schmalleger
PowerPoint presentation created by
Ellen G. Cohn, Ph.D.

2. Major Principles of Sociological Theories
Social groups, social institutions, the arrangement of society, and social roles are the focus of criminological study
Group dynamics, group organization, and subgroup relationships form the causal nexus from which crime develops

3. Major Principles of Sociological Theories
The structure of society and its relative degree of organization or disorganization are important factors contributing to the prevalence of crime
The probability that a member of a given group will engage in a specific type of crime can be estimated

4. Major Principles of Sociological Theories
Examine institutional arrangements within society (social structure) and the interaction between and among social institutions, individuals, and groups (social processes) as they affect socialization and have an impact on social behavior (social life)

5. Key Sociological Explanations of Crime
Social structure theories: crime is the result of an individual’s location within the structure of society
Social process/social development theories: crime is the end product of various social processes.
Conflict theories: crime is the product of class struggle

6. Social Structure Theories Defined
Explain crime by reference to economic and social arrangements of society
See the various formal and informal arrangements between social groups as the root causes of crime and delinquency
Highlight arrangements within society that contribute to low socioeconomic status of identifiable groups as significant causes of crime

7. Types of Social Structure Theories
Social disorganization theory (ecological approach
Strain theory
Culture conflict theory (cultural deviance theory)

8. Theory in Perspective Social disorganization Period: 1920s – 1930s
Depicts social change, social conflict, and lack of social consensus as the root causes of crime and deviance
Social ecology sees crime and deviance as a disease or social pathology
Period: 1920s – 1930s
Concepts: Social ecology, ecological theories, social pathology, social disorganization, Chicago School, Chicago Area Project, demographics, concentric zones, delinquency areas cultural transmission

9. Park and Burgess Social ecology movement Social pathology
Focused on how the structure of society adapts to the quality of natural resources and to the existence of other human groups
Social pathology
Aspects of society may be somehow pathological, or sick, and may produce deviant behavior among individuals and groups who live under or are exposed to such conditions

10. Shaw and McKay
Applied the concentric zone model to the study of juvenile delinquency
Found offending rates remained constant over time within zones of transition
Cultural transmission:
Traditions of delinquency are transmitted through successive generations of the same zone

11. The Criminology of Place
Environmental criminology
Emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of victimization
“Hot spots” of crime
Broken windows thesis (Wilson and Kelling)
Physical deterioration and unrepaired buildings lead to increased concerns for safety among area residents

12. The Criminology of Place
Defensible space
A surrogate term for the range of mechanisms that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents
Architectural changes that enhance barriers, define boundaries, and remove criminal opportunity can reduce the risk of crime

13. Theory in Perspective Strain Theory Period: 1930s – present
Points to a lack of fit between socially approved success goals and socially approved means to achieve those goals
Individuals unable to succeed through legitimate means turn to other avenues
Period: 1930s – present
Concepts: anomie, goals, means, innovation, retreatism, ritualism, rebellion, differential opportunity, relative deprivation, distributive justice, general strain theory (GST)

14. Strain Theory Strain: Anomie (Robert K. Merton)
The pressure that individuals feel to reach socially determined goals
Anomie (Robert K. Merton)
A disjunction between socially approved means to success and legitimate goals
Crime results from attempts to achieve legitimate goals through illegitimate means

15. Relative Deprivation
Messner and Rosenfeld blame crime on inconsistencies in the American Dream
Relative deprivation:
The economic and social gap that exists between rich and the poor who live in close proximity
Distributive justice:
An individual’s perception of his or her rightful place in the reward structure of society

16. Types of Relative Deprivation
Personal relative deprivation
Characteristic of individuals who feel deprived compared with other people
Results in feelings of stress and social isolation
Group relative deprivation
A communal sense of injustice shared by members of a group
Results in participation in social movements and active attempts to change the system

17. General Strain Theory Robert Agnew (1992) Reformulated strain theory
GST sees lawbreaking as a coping mechanism that enables those who engage in it to deal with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations

18. General Strain Theory Strain occurs when others:
Prevent or threaten to prevent an individual from achieving positively valued goals
Remove or threaten to remove positively valued stimuli that a person possesses
Present or threaten to present someone with noxious or negatively valued stimuli

19. Central Propositions of GST
Strain refers to events and conditions that are disliked by individuals
Strains increase the likelihood of particular crimes primarily through their impact on a range of negative emotional states

20. Theory in Perspective Culture Conflict Theory Period: 1920s – present
Sees the root cause of crime in a class of values between various socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior
Period: 1920s – present
Concepts: subculture, violent subcultures, socialization, focal concerns, drift, techniques of neutralization, illegitimate opportunity structures, reaction formation, conduct norms

21. Types of Culture Conflict
Primary conflict:
Results from a fundamental clash of cultures
Secondary conflict:
Arises when smaller cultures within the primary one clash

22. Subcultural Theory Subculture: Subcultural theory:
A collection of values and preferences communicated to participants through a process of socialization
Subcultural theory:
Sociological perspective emphasizing the contribution made by variously socialized cultural groups to the phenomenon of crime

23. Focal Concerns Walter Miller (1858) Lower class culture:
A long established, distinctively patterned tradition with an integrity of its own
Behavior that upholds lower class norms may be seen by the middle class as deliberately nonconforming

24. Focal Concerns Trouble Toughness Smartness Excitement Fate Autonomy
Getting in, staying out, dealing with trouble
Toughness
Concern with masculinity
Smartness
Ability to outsmart or con others and avoid being duped
Excitement
Search for thrills
Fate
The concept of luck, being lucky
Autonomy
Taking care of oneself, not getting pushed around

25. Delinquency and Drift Sykes and Matza (1957)
Members of delinquent subcultures also participate in the larger culture
Offenders use neutralizing self-talk to mitigate shame and guilt associated with violating social norms

26. Techniques of Neutralization
Denying responsibility
“It’s not my fault”
Denying injury
“Everyone does it”; the victim can afford it
Denying the victim
Deny or justify the harm done; the victim “deserves it”
Condemning the condemners
Authorities are corrupt; “They’re all on the take”
Appealing to higher loyalties
Defense of family honor, gang, neighborhood

27. Delinquency and Drift
Delinquents tend to drift between crime and conventional action – choose the most expedient
Use techniques of neutralization to keep from being alienated from larger society

28. Violent Subcultures Ferracuti and Wolfgang (1967)
Violence is a learned form of adaptation to problematic life circumstances
Learning to be violent takes place within the context of a subculture emphasizing violence over other forms of adaptation
For participants in violent subcultures, violence can be a way of life

29. Violent Subcultures Southern subculture of violence
Southerner, violence and weaponry
Certain violent crimes may be more acceptable in the South than other parts of the US
Black subculture of violence
Created by generations of white-on-black violence
Seek status through ability to harm, intimidate, dominate others

30. Differential Opportunity Theory
Cloward and Ohlin (1960)
Blended subcultural thesis with strain theory
Two types of socially structured opportunities for success
Legitimate
Illegitimate
Members of lower-class subcultures may be denied access to legitimate opportunities

31. Differential Opportunity Theory
Illegitimate opportunity structure
Pre-existing subcultural paths to success not approved of by the wider culture
Delinquent behavior results from
Ready availability of illegitimate opportunities
Replacement of cultural norms with expedient subcultural rules

32. Delinquent Subcultures
Criminal subcultures:
Criminal role models readily available
Conflict subcultures:
Status through violence
Retreatist subcultures:
Drug use and withdrawal from wider society

33. Types of Lower Class Youth
Type I:
Desire entry into middle class by improving their economic position
Type II:
Desire entry to middle class but not improvement in economic position
Type III:
Desire wealth without entry to middle class
Type IV:
Dropouts who retreat from mainstream through drug and alcohol use

34. Reaction Formation Albert Cohen Reaction formation:
Youth held accountable to norms of wider society through “middle class measuring rod” of expectations
Not everyone is prepared to effectively meet such expectations
Reaction formation:
The process in which a person openly rejects that which he wants, or aspires to, but cannot obtain or achieve

35. Gangs Today Modern gangs are involved in serious and violent crimes
Members identify with a name, clothing style, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, haircuts, and hand symbols
Gangs are big business
Distinctions between gangs and violence