AQA Sociology - Functionalist View of CRIME & DEVIANCE

This pack contains a 29-slide PowerPoint presentation and an accompanying student work booklet.

The lesson covers:

PART I:

• Starter Task - Brief re-cap of Functionalism
  [The re-cap is a 12 - slide summary of the FUNCTIONALIST perspective. This can be cut down, removed of edited to suit your learners needs]

• Definitions: Socialisation and Social Control

• Is Crime Inevitable? - Crime as inevitable and universalistic

• Anomie

• The Positive Functions of Crime

  • Boundary Maintainance
    • Dramatisation of Evil and ‘folk devils’
    • Task

• Adaptations and Change

• Kingsley Davis - Crime as a ‘safety valve’

• Bed Polsky - channeling of sexual desires

• Albert Cohen

  • Deviance as a warning sign’
  • Crime and Deviance - creates jobs in society
  • Management and regulation of deviancy

Evaluation and Critique of the points/perspectives covered above

Series of consolidation tasks - mind maps, essay and comprehension questions, writing tasks, key terms.

PART II:

Merton’s ‘Strain Theory’

• Define: Strain Theory
  • Structural factors leading to crime
  • Cultural factors leading to crime
  • Case study: American Dream/Wall St. crash
  • Five type of Anomie:
    • Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion

Evaluation and Critique of ‘Strain Theory’ studied in this session