CC100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Gabriel Tarde, Symbolic Interactionism, Sociological Perspectives
Chapter 8 - Sociological Perspectives
What is Theory?
● “An objective, educated guess about a set of assumptions. Scholars argue that theorists
provide plausible explanations for reality.”
● Recognize an issue or significant problem - produce hypotheses - collect data
(evidence) about issue - develop explanation - test and retest theory
What is Good Theory?
● The importance of testability
● Must fit the research question (be applicable)
● Operationalizing: can it be “used”?
● Avoiding the ecological fallacy (common sense)
● Are grand narratives good or bad?
Choice Theory
● James Q. Wilson
● Thinking About Crime (1975)
● Criminals:
○ Lack inhibition
○ Seeks excitement and thrills
○ Have low stake in conformity (little to lose)
○ Some are rational, will fear severe punishment
○ The irrational must be incapacitated
● Therefore:
○ Reduce opportunity for crime
○ Use prison to incapacitate and deter
CRIME PAYS
Sociological Perspectives
● According to the functionalist paradigm of society, there is a general consensus
surrounding the underlying moral framework that Emile Durkheim called the collective
conscience → defines a society’s values and norms, as well as its response when those
values and norms are violated (look at external factors that influence us)
● The collective consensus of society defines behaviour that does not conform to it as
deviant
● Consensus? E.g. woman arrested for giving pigs water, arguments on both sides
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● Symbolic interactionism can be traced to the work of Gabriel Tarde, who focused less
on the social order than on the social processes through which (criminal) behaviour is
learned - notably imitation and interaction (i.e. similar to Aristotle's laws of learning) with
others in the individual’s social environment → stop sign means stop but is just symbol -
trained
● Derived primarily from the writings of Karl Marx, conflict theories see society not as a
largely consensual whole but as an assortment of disparate groups competing for power
and resources. From this critical perspective, it is society’s most powerful who define
what or who is deviant, typically in a way that best satisfies their own interests.
● Marx & alienation (making iphones for 5 or 6 dollars but cost $500)
Social-Structural Theories
● The Human Ecological School
○ The ecological school of criminology is a sub-discipline of criminology that
studies how elements of the physical and social environment interact to create a
criminal environment
○ The concentric circle theory is an early human ecological theory, according to
which cities develop from the inner city to the suburbs in a predictable series of
concentric rings, each of which encompasses a particular set of social and
environmental characteristics
○ The social disorganization theory is a sociological theory that sees deviance
and crime as consequences of a breakdown of social control in environments
characterized by social and economic instability
○ Cultural transmission theory is a sociological theory that sees deviance as a
socially learned behaviour that is transmitted through successive generations,
especially in disorganized urban settings
● Anomie / Strain Theory
○ Anomie is a state of deregulation, breakdown, or normlessness in society,
usually attributed to decreased homogeneity
○ Two propositions are central to Durkheim’s thesis:
■ Social organization is necessary to keep undesirable humans tendencies
in check
■ Where social order breaks down and social norms lose their influence,
anomie develops and crime increases significantly
○ Merton’s Strain Theory
■ Sees emotional turmoil and conflict as resulting from individuals’ inability
to achieve socially approved goals through legitimate means
■ He identified five distinct “modes of adaptation” to the goals and means
approved by society: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and
rebellion
■ 1. Conformity: Without conformity there would be no social order. Most
people, regardless of their social and personal circumstances, are
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
An objective, educated guess about a set of assumptions. Scholars argue that theorists provide plausible explanations for reality. Recognize an issue or significant problem - produce hypotheses - collect data (evidence) about issue - develop explanation - test and retest theory. Must fit the research question (be applicable) Have low stake in conformity (little to lose) Some are rational, will fear severe punishment. The collective consensus of society defines behaviour that does not conform to it as deviant. E. g. woman arrested for giving pigs water, arguments on both sides. Derived primarily from the writings of karl marx, conflict theories see society not as a largely consensual whole but as an assortment of disparate groups competing for power and resources. From this critical perspective, it is society"s most powerful who define what or who is deviant, typically in a way that best satisfies their own interests. Marx & alienation (making iphones for 5 or 6 dollars but cost )
