Sociology · Oct / Nov 2023 · Paper 21 · Question 3

0495

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Although there is a dark figure of crime, individuals can learn a lot about crime and deviance from the media. Crime and deviance can be different from each other. There are different sociological 3 explanations for why people commit crime, act in a deviant way or adopt a master status. Marxists blame capitalism for crime whereas functionalists blame a lack of social order.

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3(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘master status’? One mark for a partial definition, e.g. being seen as criminal. Two marks for a clear definition, e.g. a social position that overrides all others and becomes the way the individual sees themself and how others see them.
3(b)[4]
Describe two ways capitalism may cause crime. Possible answers:
frustration – workers may be so frustrated by the way they are treated and exploited at work by their bosses that they take their anger out on their partners at home – domestic violence;
consumerism – capitalism has created a society where status and identity are defined by material possessions, the pressure to get these may lead to crime;
relative deprivation and marginalisation – Lea and Young – comparing oneself to others and realising what you have not got may lead to resentment and anger that is demonstrated through crime;
unequal wages – capitalism exists to make maximum profit so bosses will pay workers as little as they can – this may mean some people turn to crime to buy what they want;
competition – capitalism operates on a ‘divide and rule’ system that puts workers in competition with one another – greed can lead to crime;
financial assets – the capitalist system is based on money/profit and the ownership of private property, therefore those who lack this may resort to crime as a way of getting it;
white-collar/corporate crime – individuals may commit such crimes due to the pressures of the capitalist system in jobs where status and position are linked to making as much money as possible;
any other reasonable response. One mark for each point correctly identified (up to maximum of two). One mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of two).
3(c)[6]
Explain how crime can be different to deviance. Possible answers:
crimes are always illegal as they break the law, deviance is not always illegal as it’s about breaking social norms;
crimes are typically looked upon negatively by society whereas many acts of deviance are not e.g. ‘cheeking’ the teacher in the classroom can be seen as a way to gain peer group status;
crimes are typically dealt with by formal agents and processes of social control, deviance is more likely to be dealt with by the informal agents and processes of social control;
crimes may be more serious than acts of deviance e.g. murder vs anti- social behaviour;
consequences for crimes tend to be more severe than for acts of deviance e.g. going to prison is more severe than being told off;
criminality is more likely to be universally agreed upon than deviance which is far more likely to be culturally specific and relative;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. Responses may be short and un/underdeveloped. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point, but there may be a tendency towards simplistic answers, engaging with sociological ideas without using sociological language. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will have clear and accurate explanation, showing good sociological knowledge and understanding. Sociological terms and concepts should be expected and explained. At the bottom of the band, the range of points covered may be narrow or lack detail. Higher in the band, answers will cover more than one point in a well-developed way or cover several points in less detail.
3(d)[8]
Explain why there is a dark figure of crime. Possible answers:
crime is not known about – if the victim does not realise they have been a victim of crime then the crime will be unlikely to be reported to the police e.g. fraud;
victimless crime – some crimes do not have a victim to report the crime e.g. drug users, prostitution etc.;
some crimes are not reported to the police due to their sensitive nature – domestic abuse and sexual crimes are notoriously under-reported for this reason;
some crimes are not reported to the police due to lack of trust – the community may not have good relations with the police or may have a fear of reprisals from the criminal;
white-collar crimes – these are a large dark figure because they rarely come to the attention of the criminal justice system – Marxism ‘selective law enforcement’;
some crimes are not recorded by the police – they may think they are too petty or not likely to be solved or may consider the victim unreliable e.g. a gang member, a prostitute etc.;
police discretion – police officers can decide whether the reported crime / the person committing a criminal act needs to be formally sanctioned – if not then the crime will not make it into the statistics;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. A tendency to description is likely. Responses may be short and undeveloped and points stated without explanation. Sociological terms and concepts are unlikely to be used. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will show basic sociological knowledge and understanding. Responses maybe underdeveloped and lacking in range. At the bottom of the band, candidates are unlikely to use sociological terms and concepts accurately. Higher in the band, candidates may be beginning to use sociological terms and concepts with greater accuracy. However, some aspects of the answer may only be partially developed/explained. Band 3 [7–8 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding and will be well-developed and explained. Sociological terms and concepts will be used accurately overall. Answers will be well-focused on the question and there will be a range of points presented. At the top of the band explanations will be clear throughout.
3(e)[15]
To what extent does the media influence ideas about crime and deviance? Possible answers: Arguments for:
media as a source of knowledge – most people have little direct contact with crime so they rely on the media for their knowledge and ideas;
media stereotypes – fear of crime – despite crime rates falling, research shows that people think crime rates are rising and crime is a serious problem – this has been caused by the media;
unusual crimes – it is those crimes that are most unusual and dramatic that feature the most in the media (news values) – this persuades people to believe that they are more common than they really are;
criminals – the media sets the agenda for who the public see as criminals and this tends to be based on stereotyping e.g. Cicourel’s ‘typical delinquent’;
moral panics (Cohen) – the media use sensationalism and exaggeration to create moral panics on crime – this causes public concern and puts pressure on the formal agencies to do something about it;
folk devils – the media represents criminals as different from ‘normal people’ – this creates a stigma about who commits crime;
glamourising criminality – critics comment on the power of the media to use criminal role models to imply that crime can be positive – this may influence the audience’s ideas;
consumer society – the focus in the media on consumption and acquiring material possessions may influence the audience to consider criminality as a means to acquiring these goods and status symbols;
any other reasonable response. Arguments against
official statistics – it is not the media but the official crime statistics that influence how people think about crime – they reveal the patterns and trends in criminality and the media just report on these;
police – the actions of the police in terms of targeting, police presence, stop and search rates etc. are more likely to influence the public’s perception of crime than the media;
courts – with the power to sentence criminals, it is the courts that determine how the public think about crime and deviance as their sentences portray what crimes are considered the most serious;
government – the government set a country’s laws and determine what is acceptable and what is not, this then affects how the public will think;
variety of media forms – the media exists in so many different forms and styles today that representations of crime and criminals will also be very diverse, thus the power to affect people’s ideas may be limited;
too deterministic – whether the media influences people’s ideas about crime will depend upon the individual – we do not have to believe everything that is in the media (selective media models);
family – as the primary agent of socialisation, the family teaches individuals their norms and values and what to think about crime and deviance not the media – this formative socialisation is crucial;
religion – if an individual is religious it is likely that these beliefs are more influential than the media in forming ideas about crime and deviance;
peer group pressure – many peer groups and sub-cultures engage in deviant behaviour and there is lots of pressure to conform to group norms, this is where many young people learn their ideas about crime and deviance from, not the media;
education – schools encourage young people to conform to society’s norms and values and sanction those that do not – this process is more effective at influencing ideas about crime and deviance than the media;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–4 marks] Answers in this band may be vague and largely based on common sense showing limited knowledge of the debate. Use of sociological terms or concepts is very unlikely. Responses may be short, undeveloped and one- sided. Lower in the band (1–2 marks), expect one or two weak points. Higher in the band (3–4 marks) candidates may offer more than two points and provide a weak definition of key terms in the question. Band 2 [5–8 marks] In this band candidates will show some basic knowledge of the debate. Alternatively, they may offer an answer which is list-like in nature but there will be no real attempt to assess the issues raised by the question. There may be limited/some use of sociological terms or concepts. Responses may be underdeveloped and lack range. Answers may be simplistic and two- sided or only cover one side of the debate. Lower in the band, the response may be rather narrow in the points covered and there may be some development. Higher in the band, more points are likely to be covered with some development. Alternatively, a list-like answer with some development covering both sides of the argument may score up to 8 marks. A one-sided answer cannot score higher than 8 marks. Band 3 [9–12 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding of the debate. Sociological terms and concepts will be used with greater accuracy and/or frequency. For the most part, answers will be well-developed, focused on the questions and there will be a range of points presented. There will be a two-sided response but it may lack range on one side. At the bottom of the band, candidates may provide a narrower range of developed points. At the top of the band, expect a wider range of developed points and clear focus on the question. Band 4 [13–15 marks] Answers in this band will show excellent knowledge and understanding of the debate. There will be a strong grasp of the arguments as well as accurate and frequent use of sociological terms and concepts. Answers will be well- developed, clearly focused on the question and discuss a wide range of points. Responses will be two-sided and have a range of points on each side. At the bottom of the band (13 marks), the answer may lack a specific conclusion. Higher in the band, there will be a clear attempt to offer an assessment of the ‘To what extent.?’ part of the question through a focused conclusion.

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