Download Functionalist Perspective

Functionalist Perspective
Functions and Dysfunctions
Deviance is not biological…
• Sociologists have long assumed that there is
nothing physically or mentally wrong with most
deviants
– The legacy of Emile Durkheim
• Deviance is normal and beneficial to society
because it contributes to social order
• Today’s Functionalists focus on society’s
dysfunctions or problems and the causes of
deviance
Durkheim: Functionalist Theory
• According to Durkheim, deviance can serve a
number of functions for society
1. Helps enhance conformity- the deviant act and
the punishment provides other citizens for an
example of what constitutes a crime
– Can see the boundary between right and wrong
2. Strengthens solidarity among law abiding
members of society- collective outrage over
deviants and a common enemy can unite them
▫
EX: 9/11
Durkheim continued
3. Deviance provides a safety valve for discontented
people
–
Prostitution may serve as a safety valve for marriageno connection with the person
4. Deviance can induce social change
–
•
MLK and other civil rights leaders were jeered and
imprisoned for their opposition to segregation but
they moved the US towards a greater racial equality
Limit to ED’s theory- if deviance is widespread it
can threaten social order by wrecking interpersonal
relationships and undermine trust
Merton: Strain Theory
• In 1930’s Merton drew on ED’s concepts to
develop his theory called the anomie theory
(strain theory)
– Anomie means normalness and is a social
condition in which norms are absent, weak, or in
conflict
• Anomie may arise when there is an
inconsistency in society between the cultural
goals and the institutionalized (legitimate)
means of achieving the goals
Strain Theory Example: Success
• According to Merton, the US culture puts too much
emphasis on success as a valued goal
– Parents, teachers, coaches , the media prod student to
achieve the “American Dream”
• Success motivates people to work hard but at the
same time people are not equally provided with the
legitimate means for achieving success
• This produces a strain among people in the lower
classes pressuring them to achieve success through
innovation- using legitimate means of achieving
success
5 responses to goal-means
inconsistency
1. conformity- accepting both the cultural goal
and the use of legitimate means
2. Innovation- accepting goals but rejecting use of
socially accepted means of achieving it
3. Ritualism- people no longer set high success
goals but continue to be diligent workers
4. Retreatism- withdrawal from society
5. rebellion- people reject and attempt to change
both the goals and mean approved by society
Merton’s theory
• In short, it blames deviance on society’s failure
to provide all people with legitimate means of
achieving success
• Explains the high rates of robbery, theft and
other property crimes among lower-class people
• Fails to explain embezzlement, tax fraud, and
other white collar crimes b/c the people who
commit those are typically not deprived of the
legitimate means of success
Hirschi: Control Theory
• Travis Hirschi assumed that family, school, and
other social institutions can greatly contribute to
social order by controlling deviant tendencies in
all of us
• If social control is lacking or weak, people will
commit deviant acts
Hirschi’s Social bonds
• The best control mechanism against deviance is
our bond to others:
1. Attachment to conventional people and
institutions- Teenagers may show attachment
by loving and respecting their parents, making
friends with peers, liking school, etc.
2. Commitment to conformity- can be seen in the
times and energy devoted to conventional
activities- getting a job, education, etc.
Social Bonds continued
3. Involvement in conventional activities- people
keep themselves so busy doing conventional
things that they don’t have time to be deviant
4.Belief in the moral validity of social rules- the
rules of conventional society should be obeys
• If society fails to strengthen the social bonds,
deviance is likely to flourish
Braithwaite: Shaming Theory
• John Braithwaite looks at how society controls us
through shaming
• 2 types of shaming
▫ Disintegrative shamming- wrongdoer is punished in
such a way as to be banished from conventional socity
▫ Reintegrative shamming- make the wrongdoers feel
guilty while showing them understanding,
forgiveness, or even respect
 Parents administer to children
 “hating the sin but loving the sinner”
Shame, Shame… We know your name
• Reintegrative shaming is more common in
communitarian societies such as Japan
▫ Discourages further deviance
• Disintegrated shaming is more prevalent in less
communitarian societies like the US
▫ Encourages more deviance
▫ Explains why crime rate is higher in US