CRIM 1650 Lecture 3: Chapter 8 social control and deviance

• School: York University
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRIM 1650
• Professor: James Kilgor

Document Summary

1950s was dominant theory, more theoretical but less descriptive than chicago school. Functionalist approach focuses on interrelationship of parts of society with one another and with society as a whole and looks for unsuspected and unintended linkages between parts. Idea that deviance is a natural product of social order and may even have positive effects on systems. Rules and rule enforcement are used to hold the the social system together. Unlike classical theory functionalist theory rarely focused on the subject of crime. Claims that social conditions are frequently structured in such a way that they unintentionally produce deviance. Chicago school blamed weak structure for permitting deviance to occur, functionalists went beyond this and said that strcture produced strctural strain that caused deviacne. For example medical school has too many doctors, with too little medical needs needed which leads to unncessary billing etc.