Lecture 10 Sociology Theories PDF

Esmeralda Martinez Criminology 10/30/24 Lec. 10 - Sociology Theories Anomie/ Strain Theories 1)​ View of human nature -​ Strain/Anomie theories: assume people are naturally good and something has to push them to be bad (commit crime) -​ They have to explain what are the MOTIVES of co...

Esmeralda Martinez Criminology 10/30/24 Lec. 10 - Sociology Theories Anomie/ Strain Theories 1)​ View of human nature -​ Strain/Anomie theories: assume people are naturally good and something has to push them to be bad (commit crime) -​ They have to explain what are the MOTIVES of committing bad stuff -​ There is another theory that says people are natural and but something stops them from being so (that’s going to be discussed in another lec) 2)​ Emilie Durkheim ​ Suicide (why people kill themselves) -​ He picked this topic bc he was NOT convinced of the causes in the human level… he thought partially the reason was SOCIAL → He got data of different time period and places and noticed the STABLE PATTERN -Catholics are less likely to kill themselves… Emilie noticed that - Married people are less to kill themselves than single or divorced people - He notices other patterns of time of economic depression suicide rates went up - During economic expansion (eco did well) people are most likely to kill themselves too.. Odd? → that must mean the causes of self-destruction is the outside of social ​ Crises—> Sudden dislocations (everyday life) sudden changes in life -​ When people looses their jobs it pushes them to unfamiliar situations (such as job listing) -​ It disrupted the everyday life they had… increased unhappiness -​ Familiar limits and expectations (you know what to expect and what to do) ​ Unlimited Appetites -​ Emilie said we are different from any other animal bc we have unlimited appetites →The power to always imagine more (power of reflection) Ex. The women of tower… you can always go as high u want but not go down… like each step is shakira but at the top top it’s empty -Social desires: money status - If the limits on our appetite come from our social circumstances: they are apposed on us - The only way we can be happy is if our external circumstances can limit our expectations: bc we don't daydream but forced to see reality and know what to expect ​ Anomie and Strain → break down of rules:anomie -​ Crises cause a temporary anomie -​ :anomie: Normlessness -​ We need rules to feel satisfied and experience unhappiness and more likely to kill ourselves Merton’s (1957) Theory of Anomie 1)​ Goals and Means -​ Stress emphasizes our goals -​ The cultural expectation of our outcome (what we are supposed to do ) -​ The goal: Is monetary success (money successful→ in becoming wealthy) -​ Means: how?? How to get the goals 2)​ Intrinsic Satisfaction: You get pleasure by following the rules/means: working hard Ex. helping someone who dropped their wallet 3)​ Exrtrinisic satisfaction: Because you obtain the goals and winning 4)​ Healthy society -​ Equally socialized the goals and the means -​ You get extra extrinsic and intrinsic satisfaction 5)​ Malintegrated Society: not equally socialized -​ The goals are more emphasized: extrinsic satisfaction 6)​ American Society -​ Malintegrated: to become wealthy but doesn't matter how -​ Stratification and universality -​ Stratification: people don’t start the same... Like Trump was born rich  -​ Universality: even though they start at different places, everyone has the same finished line: obtain wealth 7)​ Anomie, anomia and strain -​ Anomie: culture level… the gap at the average. between goals and mean: in terms of how important they are (emphasize) -​ Anomia: Individual level: in people's own head -​ Strain: is blocked opportunity Merton’s (1957) Theory of Anomie -​ The intersect of block opportunities and means that lead to crime→ if there is something blocks an individual from achieving then they will take an illegal way (crime) to increase 8)​ Adaptations of strain -​ Conformity (reference) ( they accept the goals and the means) but if the strain anomie blocks… they can innovate -​ In the case of innovation: Ephesize the goals and not the means… you accept goals… new innovative way → CRIME OR prositution -​ Ritualism: high socialized to middle upper class values: you accept the means and reject the goals -​ Retreatism: They can reject both the means and goals -​ Rebellion: new goals change society and means is political violence Hardest questions 9)​ Criticisms of Meron’s Theory -​ It ignores cultural heterogeneity (different goals) -​ Renders Strain Superfluous -​ It all comes to middle class or upper class values -​ Lower class values they become innovators -​ No matter how much strain you have.. What determines if you commit crime is subcultural socialization -​ WHICH OF THEROIES WILL REDUCE TO A LEARNING THEORY: meton’s theory bc of its infasessis subculture socialization (only focuses on one culture doesnt reason any other culture there Key Internal contradiction: The means of subcultural socialization ​ ONE BIGGEST LIMITATION: can only explain INSTRUMENTAL STREET CRIME →not other types of crime Agnew's (1992) General Strain Theory: HEREEEE 1. Moves strain beyond... 2. Conceptualized strain as? Three types: - Takes away positively-valued stimuli (Something that you like) - Prevents monetary success - Threatens to present negative-valued stimuli (something that you don't like) 3. Negative emotional states. - Three strains cause negative emotions - Special emotion: ANGER (on the test!!!), creating a desire for revenge when blaming your adversity on others. 4. Types of coping Positive coping: you can work beyond it, it's only temporary - Behavioral coping: to move, to avoid, to hide from - Emotional coping: to act directly on the emotions themselves (such as medication, deep breathing techniques - start working out!) Criminal coping: coping with your emotions by committing crime (people are naturally born good but run into negative relationships causing individuals to want to cope by committing crime due to negative emotions - this is the theory) 5. Strain causes crime when? - When you lack social support from others (ex: able to cope better when having emotional and social support) Lower intelligence/lower self-control in an individual can lead them to cope by committing crime - You are more likely to cope with crime when you have criminal peers (you'll have people who will support you) - You are more likely to commit crime if you have successfully did it before - "The present meta-analysis has indicated a large relationship between anger and violent behavior." - In some areas people are angrier because of the strain they deal with everyday Social control theories 1. View of human nature: People are naturally bad and selfish, so something has to stop them from committing crimes and being good. 2. Why do some people conform? - Commitment to society (Social bond theory) On the test!!! - Self-control (a good guess for the test if you don't know what to pick, most likely to get it right) Gottfredson & Hirschi's (1990) Self-control Theory 1. Asserts that self-control is the primary mechanism blocking antisocial behavior 2. An internalized personality trait of self control has 6 components: (on the test!!! - definitions being matched) - Impulsivity: people with low self control tend to have a here and now mindset, to be present oriented instead of future oriented, difficulty delaying gratification Simple tasks: tend to prefer simple tasks over complexed ones, tend to like to do things that require little skill and little planning - Self-centered: insensitive or indifferent to the suffering and needs of other people Risk-seeking: likes activities that involve speed, danger, adventure, thrill, etc. - Physical: tend to prefer physical activities over cognitive or mental ones - Hot-tempered: "hot head", little tolerance for frustration or irritation 3. Low self-control is the chief cause not only of crime and delinquency, but also of "analogous behaviors" (legal behaviors that have short term benefits and long term costs) ex: smoking cigarettes, heavy drinking, skipping class, not completing homework, cheating on your spouse 4. One's level of self-control is established early in life, and remains stable over the life course (on the test!!!) 5. Many of the traditional explanations of criminal behavior are, in fact, consequences of low self-control 6. Self-control is the product of effective parenting (before the age of 8-10) To be an effective parent you must monitor your children - Notice when your children do bad things and correct them on it - Discipline your children!! (does not mean physical punishment Self-control is developed you are not born with it, parents responsibility to help child form self-control - Self-control can also affect parenting -​ Parenting styles: 1)​ Authroitrative: Supportive (+) Demanding 2)​ Permissive: Supportive (+) Undemanding 3)​ Authrotiarin: Unsupportive and (+) Demanding 4)​ Neglectful: Unsupportive and undemanding Gottfredson (+) Hirshi 10/30/24 The table is based on Demanding parenting or Undemanding STUDY HERE* -​ This can affect how the child is portrayed from the parent’s perspective (study the chart that you took a picture of) -​ Baumrid’s theory of authoritative parenting: -​ Regression of Low- Self Control on parental monitoring discipline and 4 authoritative parenting variables -​ Social Process Theories 1)​ The Chicago School -​ Ecological compensation: How the city grows, humans scarce or valuable space -​ 1910: The population became involved with migration and less spacial Urban areas that can be characterized by a “zone”... 2)​ Robert E. Park and Ernest W.Burgress -​ Ecological Competition -​ Theory of Urban Ecology -​ Concentric zones ( Urban areas that can be characterized by a “zone”) -​ Zone of transition: Residential area, unattractive, noisy, unpleasant, trapped by the cheap jobs around) … in the state of transition… residential to commercial… constantly changes…never stable Shaw and McKay’s (1942) Social Disorganization Theory Observations: 1)​ Official crime had a clear geographic distribution -​ They collected data in the city of Chicago and -​ They discovered official crime had clear geographic distribution… the state of transition… the less you are closer to the center of the circle… further you are from the city 2)​ Neighborhoods in the One of transition had a distinct set of social conditions ( study all) -​ Social conditions have concentrated poverty: Poverty is concentrated in that zone  -​ Racial ethic heterogeneic -​ Rapid population turnover: Have people come into the zone of transition… there is a high rate of population -​ Social problems: lack of communication, school funding, diseases -​ Physical decay and cheap housing 3)​ Even though these neighborhoods experienced rapid population turnover, they continue to have high rates of crime -​ People coming into the zone are committing more crimes (into the zone of transitions) the opposite for the ones leaving (less committing crimes) -​ No race or ethnic group had a monopoly on crime -​ Zone two: people moving in and out -​ The explanation: The Social conditions in Zone 2 caused social disorganization -​ Agruged that the social poverty and differences in population– where population originated in -​ Initiations of poverty, differences in population, residential inprimitation…( they come and go) -​ Social disorganization increased the rate of crime -​ Social disorganization: absent of social cohesions- people don't have trust and therefore have no social control within each other 2. Social disorganization led to both crime and criminal subcultures -​ Zone 1: Industrial, Factories, Warehouses: -​ Zone 2: ZONE OF TRANSITION: MOST IMPORTANT: concentrated Poverty and racial ethic group, PEOPLE COMMIT MORE CRIMES IN THIS ZONE BC THERE IS SO MUCH LACKED, RAPID POPULATION TURNOVER…NOT BC OF INDIVIDUALS RACE -​ Zone 3: Working class zone: people who work in the city -​ Zone 4: residential homes: people who live in a house with a garage -​ Zone 5: People in the suburbs: commuter zones Sampson et. al’s (1977) Theory of Collective Efficacy (just think of neighborhood) -​ Social disorganization characteristics of a neighborhood explain crime rates that aren’t -​ Social and organizational..(context vs. composition) -​ Differential ability of a neighborhood to realize the common value of residents… to maintain effective social control is a major source of neighbor variation of neighborhood violence  -​ What confides crime is the value neighborhood ( the social control) 2) Informal social control in a community -​ The ability of a group to regulate the members according to a desired outcome -​ Informal social control: Come together and act in a way to achieve a goal Ex: prevent crime -​ Three main dimensions (MWC) -​ M=monitor: neighborhoods with high social controls are more likely to monitor their children -​ W=willingness: Invent acts of truancy: when children who are supposed to be in school arent and just hanging out in the streets -​ C: Confrontation: disturbing policy: 3) Collective efficacy: The link between mutual trust and willingness to intervene for the common good (CE=+_) -​ Relates with MWC 4)​ What influences collective efficacy? -​ Residential tenure and homeownership: people who stay for a long amount of time are more likely to care about where they live b/c they paid to live there -​ Concentrated disadvantage: Economic stratification -​ Redlining is a study (idk study this) Learning Theory 1.​ View of human nature -​ View humans as a blank slate: humans are not good or bad just at a blank slate: THEY ARE just SOCIAL -​ Social experiences write the story of who you become: social influences -​ Around 20-30% of our attitude is heritable -​ The most powerful predictor is delinquent peers: who you interact with Sutherland’s (1947) Differential Association Theory ( LEARN AND ACTION) 1)​ It has two main elements (Vold, Bernard, and Snipes, 2002): 1.​ It describes the content of what is learned: cognitive elements→ Techniques: how to fight, steal; knowledge, rationalization 2.​ It specifies the process in which learning takes place: interactions with other people→ you learn how to become a criminal 2. Composed of nine propositions  1)​ Criminal behavior is learned 2)​ Learned in interactions: friends and family members 3)​ The interactions where learning takes place in intimate personal groups 4)​ What is learned is content, motives, and cognitive knowledge necessary 5)​ You learn definitions of behaviors that are either favorable or unfavorable to breaking a law 6)​ You've become a criminal when the definitions you have favorable to breaking the law outnumber those that are unfavorable (ex: drinking and driving) 7)​ Interaction with other people they are in four ways frequency, duration: how long are you exposed to the interaction, intensity: how much you care about the person you are interacting with, priority: Age, how young were you when the interaction happened → If you are exposed by someone you care about, at a young age at a long time they should matter to you 8)​ Criminal behavior is just like any other learning process 9)​ Criminal behavior is motivated by the same needs and desires of any other behavior According to the theories, the actual cause of criminal behaviors is that people were born with a blank slate, what caused they to become criminals are the ideas they are exposed to through socialization. Burgres and Akers’ (1968) Differential Reinforcement Theory 1)​ Combined differential association theory with the principles of operant conditioning 2)​ Included “nonsocial situations” → can teach you stuff. You do not need to learn from people but from your environment 3)​ Akers (1985) later reformulated his social learning theory to incorporate modeling Four major concepts: 1.​ Differential association: the fact that people have different patterns of interaction with people → can be direct or indirect 2.​ Definitions: can be general or specific– general are overall belief: is it ok to break the law or not- specific is it okay to steal something in a certain situation/context  3.​ Imitation/ Modeling- the idea you can learn just by watching other people 4.​ Differential Reinforcement: operant conditional part- the experience of rewards and punishment: You can learn from parents and environment ( the young Sheldon clip shown in class) The beginning of crime is a differential association What determines if you stay in crime not is different reinforcement: the rewards or punishments based on your behavior Anderson’s (1999) Code of the Street Theory 1)​ Disadvantage and Culture -​ Multiple levels that started in the neighborhood to interactions -​ Macro-level social and economic disadvantages lead to the development of street culture -​ Become an actual measurable neighborhood.. Foster a street culture -​ Street culture constitutes adapts to adversity -​ Adverse economic adaptation -​ Means or methods requiring status (self-identity) -​ Hopelessness→ about the future and cynicism→ doubt about the criminal justice system → Hope for the future, play house, old heads, and faith in the CJS → Hope for the future: people who live in poverty many of them expect to die early and don't have many ways to become someone conventionally → Playhouse: slang for settle down, get married… individuals don't think they have the resources to start a family and sustain them → Old heads: people who have made it conventionally: made money, have status, work their way up: legally → Faith in the criminal justice system: Having high crime in the area leads to feeling like they might die soon and don't see themselves as they can sustain a house 1)​ Conveniently rules seem irrelevant 2)​ What to do with your life seems irreverent for everyday life 3)​ People in these neighborhoods who don't trust the police feel like they are personally responsible for dealing with stuff  -​ People who live in a low state don't feel like they can obtain the stableness to hold up a house -​ Social Capital: ex: getting a good job, grades, good home -Individuals lack access to social capital→ a nice car, family, good job Anderson’s (1999) Code of the Street Theory 2. Street Code and Violence → A set of informal rules: Governing how one interacts with other individuals should unfold: inner personal interactions → At the heart of the codes..* → Respect How to negotiate on how to gain and keep respect Respect is easily lost and unstable Identity status is based on respect: in areas where there is poverty, no trust -​ Respect and identity: The required code of conduct → Tuffiness,, retribution, vengeance→ demanding respect They use violence to maintain respect - Requires presentation of self… → Predipistion to violence: present yourself that suggests this → Shows I can keep them!!! ( u can be violent and show u arent scared and handle fights) -Display on your body such as tattoos and chains can show wealth *The strongest traits that can determine the Major Macro-Level Theories of Crime are Neighborhood traits